Yukon Employees' Union February 2017 Newsletter

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Yukon Employees’ Union 2285-2nd Ave. Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 1C9

NEWS

Breaking new trail for workers' rights & social justice.

February 2017

Yukon Employees’ Union

All Signs Point to Job Action in Watson Lake

Dear friends & neighbours:

You know us. We are the people who run the Zamboni, maintain Watson Lake’s parks, keep the water safe & make sure our town runs smoothly. We are your neighbours, your friends, your relatives.

This has been a difficult year for us.

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November 2014: We agreed to a one year roll over of our Collective Agreement, to allow the Employer time to undertake a full and comprehensive review of job descriptions. The Employer promised the findings of this very important and necessary review would be presented upon our return to the bargaining table.

September 2015: We chose representatives to speak for us at the bargaining table for our contract which expired on December 31, 2015 December 2015: Our current Collective Agreement expired.

May 2016 - January 2017: We have had several meetings with the Town’s bargaining team to try and reach a fair contract. Much to our disappointment, the review that was promised in 2014 has never been completed and presented.

Despite several meetings including one with the assistance of a federally appointed Mediator and more recently a federally appointed Conciliator, we have not been able to achieve a fair agreement for the town workers. Recent actions by the Employer have left us frustrated. As much as we want to make sure we can all work and enjoy our town, we also have to make sure we don’t cave in on the issues that matter to us.

February 2017: All of us who work for the Town of Watson Lake have made the difficult decision to begin job action in the near future and stand up and fight for what we believe in.

We care deeply about Watson Lake. We have, after all, chosen this as our home, where we raise our families and build our memories. Everything we do, we do with the well-being of our community and our families in mind. We worry about our safety, about the security of town resources & facilities and the ability to ensure we continue to build the stability and resilience of Watson Lake. We know in a small community there will be questions and divided loyalties. We ask for your support in this difficult time by sending a clear message to Mayor and Council that you want the Employer to return to the table for meangingful negotiations. If you have questions, please ask us.

UPDATE: Both parties are scheduled to return to the table In solidarity, your Bargaining Team, Sunday and Monday February 12 & 13th. We wish the team good YEU/PSAC Local Y029 Watson Lake Municipal Workers. luck as they continue to try & negotiate a fair contract. *At the time this newsletter goes to press (Feb. 6), the employer has not yet agreed to meet with our team again.

Asbestos in Yukon: Keeping Track and Staying Safe In Yukon, many older homes contain stable, non-friable asbestos. While it remains undisturbed and intact, there is very little risk to occupants, but in the rare occasion the asbestos is disturbed or made friable, the risk becomes significant. This is most likely to occur when removing old siding, flooring etc.

The PSAC’s Ban Asbestos postcard campaign was launched last November at the National Health and Safety conference in Montreal, just days before the government announced its long-awaited asbestos strategy. The goal is a full asbestos ban, changed codes and regulations by 2018.

At this point, the ban is still in the works, and not yet law.

It is worth noting that currently the government has stated they HOPE to have the ban in place by 2018.

According to data compiled by the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, asbestosis or mesothelioma is the leading cause of workplace related death in Canada.

"We welcome the government’s decision to ban asbestos, which is the result of years of hard work by activists in the labour movement and our allies,” said PSAC National President Robyn Benson. “Asbestos is the leading cause of workplace-related deaths in Canada; we must put an end to this epidemic.”

In response to the federal government’s announcement, Canadian Labor Congress President Hussan Yussuff stated “Now we need the provinces and territories to show the same leadership that the federal government has shown and move quickly to take stock of where asbestos is, harmonize regulation around disposal and remediation and ensure a comprehensive health response”.

Justin Lemphers, President of the Yukon Federation of Labour (YFL) states “The discovery of asbestos in a public school clearly demonstrates the need for a Yukon registry.

The YFL feels the Yukon Liberal Party has an opportunity to protect Yukon workers and citizens by requiring, at a minimum, Red Seal standards for asbestos abatement are adhered to.”

How many public buildings have asbestos material? While this is being determined, there is an opportunity to establish workplace guidelines, a Yukon registry and public education relating to removal and disposal. The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) could identify asbestos-containing products. Consider addressing this in your collective agreement, in joint workplace health and safety committees and at the dinner table.

Submitted by Dianne Williams - Chair, PSAC Yukon Health & Safety Committee

The PSAC’s campaign to ban asbestos is still underway.

Although the federal government has made a commitment to stop the use, export and import of asbestos containing material by 2018, there is still so much work to do. We can be proactive while the Federal government establishes the guidelines. We need your help to keep this issue alive in the minds of Yukoners.

The Canadian Medical Association voted in favor of designating chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous substance in 2012. Due to the high risk of developing cancer decades after exposure to friable asbestos, at-risk workers should consider having their exposure put on record with their physician, get a CT scan if the doctor deems it appropriate, and discuss with their doctor when to file a YWCHSB claim.

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YEU NEWS February 2017

From the President’s Desk Steve Geick

I

t's hard to believe, but in 9 short months the YEU Triennial Convention will be upon us again. The Convention Call package will be available in early April, so please watch for it. For those of you who have never attended a political convention, it’s a great opportunity to get involved in guiding the strategic direction your union takes over the next 3 year cycle.

Delegates from all YEU Locals were invited to attend the 2014 Convention and the subsequent strategic planning session that shaped the laid out our mandate for the past 3 years.

The members set 3 priorities for the newly elected executive and YEU as an organization. The priorities identified by our members were strong collective bargaining, improved access to education and a focus on comprehensive member representation. That was a pretty big shopping list!

While I’m sure we haven't fulfilled every member’s wish list, we have made really good progress. Here is a list of the targets we have met, and accomplishments we are proud of: • • •

We have maintained concession free bargaining, and have not lost ground in any of our collective agreements

We have steadily increased both the frequency and focus of YEU delivered education

We have worked tirelessly with the Locals to help recruit, train and mentor the shop steward network. To that end, we created and staffed a two year Shop Steward Coordinator position and developed new training modules and products to help stewards in their work.

YEU volunteer representatives and staff work hard to ensure our members can access excellent representation at each level of an investigation, dispute or grievance.

Ongoing changes to the way queries and grievances are handled internally help ensure a seamless intake process for members. In 2017, YEU will add a 4th Labour Relations Advisor to ensure your questions and grievances are Page 3

addressed in a timely manner. Our Labour Relations Advisors work with management and workers, providing the Union’s voice at Labour/Management joint consultation sessions throughout the year. This helps keep dialogue flowing and can keep small issues from growing. These regular discussions can provide greater understanding for both sides when efforts to interpret a collective agreement might otherwise result in conflict or grievances. Sometimes the best kind of member representation is proactive and avoids a grievance in the first place.

The decisions the Union’s leadership team makes cannot be made in a vacuum. They require input and direction from those that use the services. That's you! Each Local has its own process by which delegates to convention are chosen.

You need to stay connected to your Local to find out when and where YEU 2017 Convention delegate selection will take place. We need your voice, whether you are a new union member or a seasoned acivist.

So much of what happens organizationally goes unnoticed because members do not stay connected to their locals. You don't need to be an executive member or a shop steward perhaps volunteering at community events is something you enjoy doing. There are so many opportunities and options available to you; find out what your Local has planned and get involved. Your Local has nothing planned? Make it happen! The more people engaged, the more hands to make things work, the more a Local can do!

Many of our active members tell us the friendships and relationships they have built while working together have been a lasting benefit of their involvement. That’s certainly true for me. Many of my close friendships have evolved out of my union activity... a great side effect!

You’re not sure which Local you belong to or how to contact someone from the Local executive? Want to know more about being a delegate to the YEU 2017 Convention? Give us a call and we'll point you in the right direction.

YEU NEWS February 2017

What does your union do? For starters, we support workers by helping to negotiate fair contracts. When there is trouble at work, our Shop Steward network and staff work together to answer questions & help resolve conflict.

Shop Stewards are volunteer union reps in the workplace; YEU provides training and resources to help them advocate on your behalf. If you have a question about your collective agreement, your rights on the job or your responsibilities as a union member, talk to your Shop Steward first.

Your union hosts special community events such as the annual Feed the People Barbeque, held on Labour Day in Shipyards Park, feeding over a thousand Yukoners a year for over 20 years!

Your union assists local groups like the Salvation Army and the Whitehorse Food Bank. Our members come together to help out in many ways throughout the year. YEU also supports

You Submitted a Leave Request?

important events like the Young Women Exploring Trades & Technologies conference, Skills Yukon Competition, the Peter Gzoski golf tournament for Literacy & more.

Come join us! Be a part of what Your union does. Call us at 667-2331 or email contact@yeu.ca

Don’t take No Answer for an Answer!

Your Collective Agreement compels your employer to respond to your leave request within a reasonable time. In some cases, that’s 21 days, in other CA’s, the language requires a response “in a timely manner”. In the absence of a decision within the prescribed period, you may presume your leave is authorized.

In an interesting twist, some managers have found a way around that obligation. Some managers & supervisors are returning leave forms without approval or denial, asking staffers to wait a while and submit the request at a later date. Perhaps the manager is busy or not ready to make staffing commitments months ahead, but the effect is like being sent to the back of the line.

Remember, if your request is returned without an answer, it never officially happened. Accepting it back removes your supervisor’s obligation to respond. By the time you re-submit, other leave may well have been approved, and your request could be denied based on operational requirements.

It is your responsibility to submit a leave request in a timely way, allowing the supervisory staff to plan for staffing.

It is the duty of management to follow the collective agreement and return a decision within the prescribed time.

If your manager asks you to hold your leave form for later, please contact us at 667-2331, 1-888-YEU-2331 or email us at contact@yeu.ca

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YEU NEWS February 2017

U

How do you build a Local? One signature at a time!

nionizing a workplace isn’t always easy. It’s rarely smooth, simple or elegant. Often, the formation of a union Local comes as the result of workplace uncertainty, challenges or conflict between management and the workforce. The first worker to utter the word Union is often anxious to do so, concerned about potential negative impacts on their job or on the social dynamics of the workplace.

There are plenty of good reasons to unionize. Workplaces with good collective agreements often run more smoothly for everyone in the organization, with less conflict than workplaces with no such guiding document. For workers who feel their interests are ignored, a collective agreement is a good place to start.

Haines Junction’s Municipal workers have spent the last year or so building their new unionized Local. The workers got together, compared objectives and decided unionizing was their best route. They approached Yukon Employees’ Union to find out how to proceed.

with all members and that everyone has access to union training when it’s available.

It’s exciting to watch a new Local take shape. Everyone on the bargaining team is working hard for the good of the whole bargaining unit, and all the volunteers who have stepped forward to take on union roles are committed to doing their best for their colleagues.

Haines Junction Municipal Workers… make sure you thank your fellow union members. They have put in many hours on your behalf. Like them, we hope you will help build the strength of the Local by attending union meetings, taking part in training & union led activities. Make sure you take the time to participate in the bargaining process either through casting a ballot when there’s a tentative agreement or bringing bargaining input forward at the next round.

A union is as strong as its members. From what we’ve seen, Haines Junction Municipal Workers, YEU/PSAC Local Y042 is plenty strong. Congratulations, Haines Junction!

Together with YEU leadership and PSAC Negotiator Erna Post, they have spent much of the last year building a first collective agreement through a series of bargaining meetings with their employer. This is a new process for both sides, so of course the road has been bumpy at times, but they’re almost there, and a tentative contract is in sight.

A recent Annual General Meeting was held to confirm members of the young Local’s Executive team. These volunteers do everything from holding joint consultation meetings with management to try and resolve issues through simple discussion to acting as Shop Steward when needed.

They will do the work of ensuring information is shared

I’m Dan Robinson, YEU’s new Labour Relations Officer -Welcome Dan Robins, YEU Labour Relations Advisor

I have spent nearly 15 years with the Canada Border Services Agency and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. During that time, I have served in a variety of roles with the Customs and Immigration Union, (CIU) another component of PSAC.

I bring to YEU extensive experience in labour-management consultations, grievances, disciplinary matters and workplace accommodations. Although I’ve arrived at YEU direct from Newfoundland, I spent nearly 8 years in Beaver Creek; in addition to my job, I was a volunteer for YEMS, was the local fire chief, was one of two community coroners and for a time was part of Yukon Search and Rescue and the Canadian Rangers.

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I look forward to meeting you, the members of YEU, and assisting you wherever I can.

YEU NEWS

YEU Supports the Whitehorse Food Bank

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EU has long been a proud supporter of the Whitehorse Food Bank, so we’re really proud to show you this!

YEU has committed to sponsoring this year’s Food Drive bags. They will be distributed in April for the annual Whitehorse Churches All City Food Drive.

These empty bags will be distributed by volunteers to almost every home in the city. Whitehorse residents are invited to fill the bag with non-perishable food items, and the bags are picked up a week later. The bags will then be used on distribution days.

Not sure what to donate?

Canned food

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Soups Vegetables Tomatoes or tomato sauce Fruit Meat/fish (tuna, chicken, ham) Canned Beans

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Pasta (375, 500, 900 g or large) Mac and Cheese Rice Peanut Butter Cereal, hot or cold (large) Granola Bars Soda crackers Sugar, flour

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Juice (1 or 2 L) Coffee (ground), not flavoured Tea (herbal, regular)

Dry Goods

Beverages

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Other • • • • •

Feminine hygience products (pads,tampons) Toilet paper Diapers (all sizes) Depends (medium-large) Soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes, razors, shampoo

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Homemade foods Opened Items Home pickled/canned goods Items containing alcohol Expired items (over 1 year)

Things they can’t use:

Prefer to support the Food Bank with a cash donation or a monthly contribution? Please visit them at www.whitehorsefoodbank.ca/donations/

YEU NEWS February 2017

A

ll of us at YEU are concerned for the privacy of YG employees and the protection of their personal & private medical history.

Sometimes workers must provide their employer with medical information to access a workplace accommodation or receive benefits. The right to privacy is quasi-constitutional, meaning it can’t be set aside or trumped by other policies or rules, so any exceptions to that right must serve a legitimate purpose. Any information shared has to be handled with extreme caution. An employee’s medical condition must have a genuine impact on their work, affecting attendance or creating performance issues. Without a significant impact, the employer does not have a right to medical information- period.

Employees seeking a medical accommodation are obliged to provide some information to the employer; we don't dispute that. However, the information must be limited to prognosis and limitations or restrictions that would affect your ability to perform your job. Often though, there is uncertainty about what the employer is entitled to, and how they should be using and protecting this information.

Your diagnosis is your business, not your employer's. Requests for information or history beyond what is genuinely needed are invasive; employees can never be sure who will see their private information once it has been provided.

We know of many instances where the Yukon government has collected extensive medical information on employees, far beyond what is required to access benefits or develop an accommodation plan.

In several cases, information about other family members has been collected and shared – clearly without their knowledge or consent. Over time, these reports have been copied, e-mailed and viewed by many people in various government departments as well as other service providers.

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This should never be allowed to happen; it can be very distressing for the workers involved, and is a significant concern for the union. Many employees do not ask for the union’s help at the beginning of the accommodation process, and end up providing a lot of unnecessary and deeply personal information to their employer.

An employee should share medical information only when absolutely necessary, and only the information absolutely required to reach an accommodation.

Any general requests for medical records should be refused. The employee should also refuse to authorize any employer representative to speak with their doctor directly. A reasonable alternative is to have the employer write their questions out so that the employee can discuss it with their doctor and consent to specific disclosure.

YEU has asked the Privacy Commissioner to examine Government of Yukon’s processes around collecting, using, sharing and retaining medical information related to the disability management and accommodation process. In the meantime, we can help employees navigate the inquiry and accommodation processes and support employees in protecting their privacy.

If you’re asked to provide medical info, call YEU at 667-2331, 1-888-YEU-2331 or email contact@yeu.ca.

YEU NEWS February 2017

Meetings & Events

Y010 Monthly Meeting: 2nd Tues., 5:30-7:30 p.m., YEU Hall Y017 Monthly Meeting: 4th Wed., 7:30 p.m., YEU Hall PSAC Committees Meetings: Contact PSAC RO

Staff

Christie Harper, Labour Relations Advisor; charper@yeu.ca Susan Koser, Labour Relations Advisor; skoser@yeu.ca

Dan Robinson, Labour Relations Advisor; drobinson@yeu.ca Beckie Huston, Intake Officer; bhuston@yeu.ca Tammy Olsen, Financial Officer; tolsen@yeu.ca

YEU Monthly Exec Meeting: 2nd Thurs., 5:15 - 7pm, YEU Shop Steward Round Table: Feb 15, 9am - noon, YEU

David Anderson, Shop Steward Coordinator; danderson@yeu.ca Roseanne Elias, Membership Svcs Assistant; relias@yeu.ca

Deborah Turner-Davis, Communications: dturner-davis@yeu.ca Laura Hureau, Executive Director; lhureau@yeu.ca

Yukon Employees’ Union Office, 2285 2nd Avenue Whitehorse YT Y1A 1C9 PH: 867-667-2331 Fax: 867-667-6521 Toll Free: 1-888-YEU-2331 Email contact@yeu.ca Visit www.yeu.ca, follow us on Facebook & Twitter & visit our blog; www.theunionbillboard.com Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.

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