There will be no union meeting this month. We are cleaning and sterilizing the union hall.

Thank you for your support and understanding

There will be no union meeting.

Le 24 avril 2020 - Récemment, vous avez dû entendre aux nouvelles que votre employeur Shaw a annoncé un chiffre d’affaires d’environ 155 millions de dollars pour le dernier trimestre. Cela devrait nous donner une raison de nous réjouir, mais malheureusement Shaw a décidé de sauter sur l’occasion pour réduire ses effectifs, et cela inclue certains de nos membres de l’Unité 60.

La compagnie a contacté le Syndicat pour obtenir son consentement avant de proposer des indemnités de départ volontaires aux membres qui pourraient choisir cette option (comme l’exigent les conventions collectives de Vancouver et de Surrey). Le Syndicat estime que ce choix vous revient, en fonction de vos circonstances individuelles. Cependant, tout au long des discussions concernant cette indemnité de départ, nous avons signifié à la compagnie que cette offre est de loin inférieure à celle qu’elle avait proposé aux employés non syndiqués il y a seulement 2 ans de cela, et que, dans un contexte de pandémie mondiale ayant des impacts majeurs sur le marché du travail, l’offre risquait ne pas bénéficier d’un fort taux d’engagement.

La compagnie, dans son orgueil, avait alors déclaré qu’elle estimait que son offre était extrêmement généreuse et qu’elle était convaincue que celle-ci aboutirait aux réductions souhaitées. Ce ne fut pas le cas.

Bien que le Syndicat reconnaisse que des réductions de main-d’œuvre puissent parfois être appropriées, nous dénonçons sans équivoque de telles réductions effectuées par une entreprise rentable lors d’une pandémie mondiale, alors qu’il y a encore du travail pour nos membres tout au long de cette période ! Telus, par exemple, n’a licencié aucun membre car il y a énormément de travail à accomplir dans le secteur des télécommunications à l’heure actuelle. En fait, Telus propose beaucoup d’heures supplémentaires et embauche des techniciens dans diverses villes et collectivités de l’Alberta et de la Colombie-Britannique.

Des centaines de milliers de travailleuses et travailleurs dans le monde sont confrontés à des licenciements, car leurs industries sont gravement touchées par les mesures de distanciation sociale. Les télécommunications n’ont pas souffert de cette baisse de production ni d’utilisation de leurs services, bien au contraire. Il n’y a pas moins de travail, il y en a plus, car les entreprises cherchent à augmenter leur bande passante afin de permettre à leurs employés de travailler à distance.

À cause de cette pandémie, les licenciements sont si nombreux dans de multiples secteurs que le gouvernement fédéral a lancé des programmes qui subventionnent les employeurs jusqu’à 75 % du salaire des employés impactés, afin de maintenir le plus grand nombre possible de personnes au travail. Malgré cela, Shaw réduit ses effectifs. C’est une cupidité sans vergogne et une attaque contre les...

As the uncertainty of this unprecedented pandemic continues, we are facing new and challenging situations within our plant. The Company has informed us they are implementing a plantwide Labor Grade 1 pool per their LMP of regressed Employees (a little over 200) from identified departments who, by seniority, could not retain a position in their home department as a result of reduced operations. These Employees were canvassed by management and will be used to fill temporary vacancies throughout the Plant as needed and dis-place non-core contractors as possible by seniority within the pool. As this temporary reduction in the workforce takes place, the Company has notified us and the State that the remaining pool Employees will be laid off.

 In order to accomplish this the Company will be providing appropriate training for pool Employees. It is important to remember safety is still number one. Proper PPE and training are imperative.  Please be sure to look out for our Brothers and Sisters who may be in different areas. If you feel as though you may be in an unsafe situation, please reach out to your Safety Representative or Zone Griever.

 Please keep in mind, the Company’s LMP shall not deprive us of any rights outlined in the Basic Labor Agreement. Any questions regarding this should be directed to your Zone Griever or Union Representative.

 The situation is still very fluid and is changing rapidly. We will continue to keep you updated as new information surfaces. Please continue to exercise safe and healthy practices at work and at home. Thank you for your continued patience during these difficult times.

In Solidarity,

Pete Trinidad Sr. 
USW Local 6787 President 

Your Local Union has been hard at work with your safety at the forefront as we battle this pandemic.

 Local 6500 is once again taking the lead on protecting workers all across the mining industry.

 We have raised many issues regarding the lack of enforcement during this time and we are doing everything we can to hold the Ministry to task. We have had many field visits from the Ministry conducted by phone with only narratives issued. 

 The attached letter to the Minister of Labour from USW District 6 Director Marty Warren is a result of all the work Local 6500 is doing.

In Solidarity, Malcolm Mills

Members and Retirees of Local 5328

Great news!! Recalls!! There are 10 people being recalled for next week. The following week, the company expects 25-30 more.  

 Jobs are now posted for those being recalled and those in the plant. As people are recalled, you will have the opportunity to apply for jobs you were previously on, if they crew up. Remember, if you apply for a posting and are awarded, you cannot apply for another posting that has a lower job class for 6 months. You can apply up any time. 

 I received the information from HR.  Here are the requirements for SUB pay.

In order to process the SUB payment:

 -Employees need to provide proof of payment from Service Canada Website via email to [email protected] Please see the screen shot below for your reference.

-Your name must be on the document for Proof.

-The email subject should contain: SUB/ Full Name and Date

-Emails with the picture of their deposits will not be acceptable.

-The payments will be on the pay days as per eligibility.

Here is the example on what needs to be sent to HR as proof.

You will need to register on line or have something that has your name on it with the dates that you are paid for EI or CERB. 

 Have a great and safe weekend. 

Anthony Ciaramella 
President
USW Local 5328

April 23, 2020 - For the attention of our members at Shaw: 

Recently you will have heard in the news that last quarter your employer, Shaw, posted their profit numbers at approximately $155 MILLION. This would normally be reason to celebrate, but unfortunately, Shaw has decided to take this opportunity to downsize their workforce, unfortunately including some of our members of Unit 60. 

While the company did come to the Union for consent to offer voluntary departure packages (as is required in the Vancouver and Surrey Collective Agreements) to members that may choose to leave voluntarily, the Union felt that this choice was best put to you to make based on your individual circumstances. However, throughout the discussions about this departure offer, we advised the company that this offer is far inferior to the offer that they gave to the non-Unionized employees only 2 years ago and that, in light of a global pandemic happening that has major impacts on the job market, the offer was not going to have a large take-rate. 

The company, in their hubris, stated that they felt their offer was extremely generous and they felt confident that they would get their desired reductions. This was not the case. 

While the Union does acknowledge that there are times when a workforce reduction is appropriate, we unequivocally denounce a profitable organization doing so during a global pandemic when there is still work for our members to do during this period! Telus, for instance, has not laid off any members because there is still plenty of work to do in the telecom sector at this time. In fact, Telus has been offering a tremendous amount of overtime and is hiring technicians in various cities and communities throughout Alberta and British Columbia. 

There are thousands upon thousands of fellow workers around the globe that are facing layoffs as their industries are severely impacted by Socially Distancing measures that are being undertaken. Telecom has not had this dramatic decrease in production or utilization, rather the opposite is true. There is more work not less as businesses struggle to increase their bandwidth to provide the ability for their employees to work remotely. 

Lay-offs are so commonplace in many industries because of this pandemic that the Federal Government has initiated programs that will subsidize employers up to 75% of impacted employees’ wages in efforts to keep as many people working as possible. Yet Shaw is downsizing. This is unabashed greed and an attack on the...