Yukon Employees' Union Newsletter, September 2021

Yukon Employees’ Union September 2021

Union Training in a Virtual World.

The pandemic changed how YEU delivered union education. Instead of our traditional in-person group sessions at the YEU Hall, we went virtual. Using Zoom as our virtual classroom, we have held 48 union educational events since April 2020.

Virtual educational events allowed more members to participate; almost 200 participants attended union education events from April 2020-March 2021 compared to 151 over the same period in 2019-20.

Is this Discipline? and Dealing with Conflict in the Workplace were our most popular courses. Workplace OH&S Committee members joined a 4-part course on making Committees more effective while many new members joined introductory sessions like Welcome to Your Union and Know Your Rights.

We know that our Zoom sessions may exclude some members with limited internet access, or no device so we make arrangements to use computers at Yukon University Community campuses, or the YEU Local Room in Whitehorse.

Fall 2021 Course Highlights:

Welcome to Your Union: A 45 minute introduction to the union for all YEU members

Should I Complain? (NEW!): A great 1 day course for all members to better understand processes for making complaints and resolving issues

Health and Safety Training for Employee

Reps on Workplace Committees: 2 day course to build stronger Health and Safety Committees

Unionized Supervisors (NEW!): A 1 day course for all lead hands, supervisors, crew leaders and any member with supervisory duties

Shop Steward Orientation: we still need stewards in many workplaces so consider this an invitation!

In the planning stages for Winter 2022 are a session on pensions and a course for Local Organizers - members willing to take on a larger role in keeping their workplaces engaged.

Who can attend training? Any interested member! Some courses are geared more to stewards but if you’d like to attend, please get in touch.

Members can participate in most courses with no loss of pay by applying for Union Leave.

Do you want the YEU to come to your workplace to present on a particular topic? We can do mini-sessions on your break time by Zoom or in-person as Covid regulations allow.

Contact Lynne Pajot, YEU Education Officer for all Union Education requests, questions and feedback. lpajot@yeu.ca

NEWS

From the President’s Desk Steve Geick

What a summer! Floods, fires, a pandemic, a municipal election on the horizon and now a federal election in the works; it sounds almost Biblical.

What does the fall hold in store for YEU and our membership? Bargaining, more bargaining, conventions and the ongoing work of ensuring that employers do more to keep our members safe.

There is lots of talk about mandatory vaccinations for federal workers and those who work in federally regulated industries and workplaces. While this is a hot-button political issue during the election campaign, the conversation was inevitable.

While YEU and PSAC are supportive of vaccination programs that will help to ensure the safety of our members in their workplaces and communities, we will not accept employer mandates that include discipline for those who choose not to be vaccinated or cannot be vaccinated.

Kudos to all the Yukon Government worker Locals for their hard work to prepare for the Bargaining Input Conference. Their input and participation helped us have a successful event - the first hybrid in-person/virtual conference we have ever held.

YEU Members from worksites and communities around the territory (and in some cases, temporarily out of the territory) had the opportunity to review, debate, and prioritize the bargaining demands which will advance to the bargaining table.

Certain themes emerge early at each round of bargaining. This round, the major topics brought forward by the membership include health & safety, employment status, harassment & discrimination and working conditions. Following 18 months of working through a global pandemic, those themes of concern are not unexpected.

Thanks to the work of the delegates, we now have two strong and united teams who will face the employer team across the bargaining table.

The main theme that was reiterated again and again at the conference is that we will not bargain concessions. This means that we will not accept a contract that sees our members lose benefits that exist in the current contract. The delegates made their priorities clear, and we will do our best to address them all. After all our members have endured in the last few years, the employer will know early on that we are taking this round very seriously.

Mobilizing members, and making sure they know what’s taking place at the table is a critical piece of a successful round of negotiations. If you can help keep the membership informed and engaged, please give me a shout. Working with the PSAC, we’d like to talk with workers in every worksite to make sure everyone knows what’s going on, and feels involved in the process.

Remember - this is YOUR collective agreement, and you can help us make it even stronger.

For the first time, our upcoming YEU convention will be happening in a totally virtual environment. Your Locals have selected delegates who will help set the direction of the organization for the next 2 years. If you’re not a delegate but have something to say, get in touch with your Local and make sure that they are bringing your thoughts and concerns forward.

It’s been a busy and sometimes challenging couple of years, but we continue to work hard with and for our members. Remember, we can only help fix what we hear about - bringing your concerns forward is an absolutely critical step in the process of ensuring safe and equitable workplaces.

We’re going to the federal polls September 20th; make sure you ask candidates who knock on your door what they plan to do to improve the lives of Canada’s workers.

When you speak to candidates for the October 21 Mayor and Council elections, ask how they feel about labour issues; remember, every mayor and every council member becomes an employer for city, village, hamlet and town employees. Knowing where they stand is important, no matter where in the territory you live and work.

Although we can’t celebrate Labour Day together this year, we honour workers everywhere for their labours. Now more than ever, the value of every single job and the importance of every single worker in this country is crystal clear.

As always if you have any comments or questions please drop me a line, give me a call or stop by the office.

In solidarity,

Steve Geick, President Yukon Employees’ Union

I’m Jan Slipetz and I’m a Shop Steward for YG Local Y010. I’m was at the YEU union hall on a short assignment for 2 months this summer, a Shop Steward mentor to help new Steward trainees.

My first union job was in 1984 as a Teamster. I worked as a grocery cashier at Super Value in Whitehorse, paid a good union wage back then ($14.85/hour).

I started working for YG as an Inspector in 2002 and a few years later, I started having trouble with Management. There was no Shop Steward in my workplace so I went to the union for help, support and an ear. A Labour Advisor listened and filed a few grievances on my behalf. We won, and to this day, I doubt I would have a job with YG had I not had the union and the Collective Agreement backing me.

I signed up as a Shop Steward in my workplace soon afterwards and I have been active ever since. I’m a proud YEU Member and Shop Steward!

I grew up in Thunder Bay, home to factories, grain elevators, CNN and CPR, Great Lakes Pulp and Paper Mill, Abitibi Mill and nearby mining towns like Atikokan and Redrock. It was known as a blue-collar town back then because everyone carried a lunch pail to work.

My mom quit school in grade 7 to support her parents and siblings on the farm. She trained as an RNA and worked many years in the hospital until she injured her back. In those days, nursing assistants did a lot of heavy lifting, had no union protection and probably no benefits either.

My dad worked at Canada Car, a factory that built fighter bombers, farm machinery, and subway cars for Toronto and New York. He was a union member of the UAW and he always said the factory was noisy, dirty and dusty.

He always voted in favour to strike and I remember my dad striking in front of Canada Car. No one could afford to live on strike pay, but they went on strike anyway. Despite the

hardship, my mom supported the strike too.

In the early 80’s, he said the company offered a raise of 10 cents an hour. Out they went on strike again, for better wages, better working conditions, better health and safety, and better treatment by foremen and management.

I heard many work stories at the supper table and still have fond memories of my dad, now 90, having a shot of whiskey after work- he said to wash the dust away. My mom is still alive too at 88 and they still live at home in rural TBay.

These past two months I’ve heard many concerns and issues from members. Our Shop Steward trainees are working hard and lots of members are coming to them for support. We need more shop stewards everywhere!

COVID-19 put a burden on our members with new issues that aren’t addressed in our Collective Agreement. I hope upcoming bargaining offers solutions like more sick time for regular and auxiliary/seasonal employees. This is so important during a pandemic to maintain health and safety and prevent wage loss. I hope we achieve a new YG remote work policy (for those that apply) that will be sensible and catch us up with the rest of Canada.

In my time at the union hall I have learned that our Continuing Care facilities are alarmingly short staffed, causing extra work and placing impossible expectations on the backs of our members.

The longstanding overuse of Auxiliary hours shuts workers out of term and full-time positions. These paying members have no benefits, but work thousands of hours alongside full-time, permanent employees.

I’d like to see employment conversion language in our CA meaning these jobs would automatically be converted after a time period. This happens in some Collective Agreements in Ontario. And let’s get rid of the word precarious employment!

I have made contact wth many shop stewards over these two months. I’ve asked “what are you hearing in your workplace?” What are the issues?” “What further training do we need for Shop Stewards and for our members?

There are some great courses coming this fall. I hope you’ll check out the YEU website; yeu.ca/training and have a look at the course schedule for the coming months.

Becoming a Shop Steward is one of the best decisions I’ve made and one of the most rewarding! Listening to our members talk from their heart and working with other Shop Stewards has and continues to be a ‘real’ genuine experience – filled with honesty and integrity.

In Solidarity, Jan Slipetz

YG Bargaining Conference Let’s Get to the Table!

Yfirst in-person PSAC Bargaining Conference in well over a year. Since the advent of COVID-19, these important meetings have been held virtually. There was plenty of energy and excitement as we greeted one another - safely - in a shared space after being so long apart. Ta’an Kwäch'än elder Betsy Jackson opened the event with a thoughtful and inspiring welcome, reminding delegates to listen to each other, and to work together for a respectful event and a good contract.

The YG Bargaining Input Conference is always a key milestone on the road to a new contract. Members submit their ideas for contract improvements, Locals work on their submissions and YEU and PSAC staff offer suggestions based on common grievance and conflict themes.

This conference featured a hybrid in-person/virtual system which allowed participants to join remotely thanks to Upstream Events, a Tagish based company specializing in event technologies. Upstream Events has also created the platform we will use for our October Triennial Convention, so this was an excellent introduction to the technology for many delegates, and for YEU staff.

One key element of the BIC is the collaborative selection and ranking of bargaining proposals, previously done through a dotmocracy exercise. Thanks to the technology provided by the Upstream app, delegates were able to strategically and anonymously upvote priority demands, allowing for a more secure and accurate process with excellent record keeping and speed.

At the conference, we held general discussions on the status of our contract, the history of some items in the CA, and the impacts of the pandemic. Throughout this crisis, we’ve seen inconsistent application of leave use policies, arbitrary work-from-home rulings, and some alarming disregard for employee health – both mental and physical. The need to actively support good mental health of workers has emerged as a key issue for this round of bargaining.

We were fortunate to be joined virtually by Denise Hampden – PSAC’s Ontario Regional Education Officer, labour activist and fierce defender of labour rights. Denise led a powerful virtual workshop entitled Anti-racism Strategy Through Collective Bargaining. This workshop helped shine a light on some items in our CA’s that may be overlooked as racist and generated some very important conversations. YEU is committed to the ongoing work of decolonizing our negotiated contracts and our workplaces; these efforts will continue as we bargain this agreement with the Yukon Government.

Delegates spent a fair bit of time and energy discussing the broken RWO processes. Challenges include racism in the workplace and no meaningful remedy for discrimination

against racialized workers, slow responses in general, and particularly in response to harassment complaints. Accountability and accessibility are a significant problem and one for which we will be seeking resolution.

Two bargaining teams were selected with alternates, should someone need to step away. The non-monetary team meets the employer first and works through those proposals that do not represent a cost to the employer. The monetary team follows up with all cost-associated proposals and brings forward any items that were not resolved at the first rounds of talks.

This is very hard work, and the support of membership is very important in the success of the bargaining teams. Facing your employer across the table can feel daunting. When you’re on a bargaining team, your time is not your own and your commitment must be as unwavering as your resolve.

The teams will meet in late September, and the first round of talks is scheduled for early October. If you are not already subscribed for email updates, please do so. We will only send bargaining updates to personal email addressesplease ensure your profile is up-to-date at yeu.ca/subscribe.

From Local Y017 Activist to Federal Candidate Lisa Vollans-Leduc

As someone new to the Yukon, my union involvement offered a sense of community. It also provided a space to talk politics with like-minded people; although most shared fundamental values, we could have safe arguments and discuss issues that were important to us. I also started getting involved on the PSAC side of things through the Pride Committee and the Regional Human Rights Committee, working locally and nationally.

YEU: Of all the roles you’ve filled, which has challenged you and taught you the most?

YEU: What inspired you to get involved in the union? Did you come from a union family?

LVL: My dad worked at Chrysler, CAW Local 444. He got the job at 19 years old about a week before he and my 17 year old mom got married. He knew that with his union job he’d be able to raise a family. They went on strike in 1984, in Windsor under Premier Bob Rae. The strike lasted 5 weeks. I remember the whole family went to a union meeting: Santa was there, and we all got presents. My dad explained that unions are about people taking care of each other – because of the strike, some of these kids wouldn’t get any more gifts that year. As a kid it meant a lot to me that there was someone taking care of these families. I could really relate to that; thanks to the union, everyone would get a gift. Thankfully they negotiated a deal and went back to work right before Christmas but I learned at 7 years old about the social activism role of unions.

Connecting with other kids who were questioning their sexuality was sometimes difficult in small town Ontario. I became an LGBTQ activist in college through a group called One in Ten and I think this group saved my life. I started meeting people who were like me, and I made friends. At university, a few of us started a gay group on campus, successfully advocating for safe spaces, and for project funding.

YEU; When did your union activism begin?

LVL: As a university student, I got a temporary part-time job at Chrysler with my dad. I couldn’t volunteer for the union as a temporary worker but when I moved to the Yukon, I got hired with Yukon Government as an Auxiliary-on-call. I went to the YEU hall in 2003 to sign my union card and I met Laurie Butterworth, the President of YEU. We shook hands, and he encouraged me to volunteer, connect with my Local and go to a Y017 meeting. I immediately got involved. By 2004, I was elected Chief Shop Steward for Local Y017 and was elected as AOC rep at the YEU Triennial Convention.

LVL: For many years I did front line work at the Whitehorse Young Offenders Facility. It was very challenging to work within a system without the power to change things that felt wrong to me. I learned to adapt my approach to working with kids. I was already trying to blend the rules, responsibilities, to respect the humanity and youth of those in custody, and my union training built my confidence. It allowed me to incorporate a human rights lens into what I was trying to do every day at work.

After reading the TRC, I found it difficult working in the truth, while not able to pursue the reconciliation piece at work. It felt like I was working in a system greatly influenced by the residential school processes.

How would you change that system?

LVL: I’d start by implementing the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action. Almost 100% of the kids I worked at the Yukon facility with were indigenous. In fact, 45% of kids incarcerated in Canada are indigenous, though they make up only 8.8% of national population.

How did your union work help prepare you for the challenge of running for office?

LVL: PSAC’s Union Development Program was amazing. I was able to translate that leadership training into my work. I always worked on the front line, and while I sometimes acted as team lead or supervisor, once I got rid of the illusion of ‘running the place’ I just grabbed hold of leadership from where I was standing. I would never have had the confidence to do that without union training.

Grassroots activism has the power to shift policy. When I am really troubled by something or want something to change, I believe I have an obligation to get up and address the issue or I will regret it. I am a non-conformist, and I’m not afraid to speak truth to power. I guess I’ve been training for this since the day I signed my union card.

Lisa is the Yukon’s NDP Candidate in the 2021 Federal Election

James Calbert (Cal) Best was born in New Glasgow NS July 12, 1926, the son of Dr. Carrie Best and Albert Best. When Cal was a 15 year old boy, his mother Carrie took him to the Roseland Theater in New Glasgow. After hearing the story of three black teenage girls who were forcefully removed from the whites only section of the theatre, Dr. Best and Cal went to the Roseland theatre and purchased tickets for a movie. In solidarity with the young girls, they sat in the white’s only section; both were forcefully removed by police and charged.

The Bests sued the theatre and fought the charges, challenging the legal justification of the theatre’s segregation policy, but unfortunately they lost the case.

This injustice helped inspire the founding of The Clarion, the first black owned and published paper in Nova Scotia. Launched in 1946 by Carrie and Cal Best, The Clarion became a very important voice for black Nova Scotians.

The paper also became the champion for another case of segregation at the same theatre. Again, a black woman entered the Roseland theatre, sat in the white’s only section, and was removed by police.

Because the seat she purchased was one penny cheaper than the seat she occupied, she was charged with tax evasion. The Clarion became a champion for her cause and attempted to fund raise for a legal challenge as she fought the charges, but they came up short.

In 2010, 45 years after her death, the Nova

THE HISTORY OF BARGAINING IN PSAC

Scotia Superior Court granted a full posthumous pardon –the first ever in Canada. In 2016 the Bank of Canada announced that this woman would appear as the first woman, and the first person of colour, on the Canadian ten dollar bill; her name was Viola Desmond.

After receiving a degree in Political Science and diploma in Journalism from the university of Kings College, Cal Best moved to Ottawa in 1949 to begin a career as a federal public sector worker. While working with the Department of Labour in Ottawa

Best found it bizarre that the federal government would allow collective bargaining for federally regulated sectors but did not allow for collective bargaining with its own employees in the federal government.

Best set out to change that. He co-founded the Civil Service Association of Canada and became the first President of the PSAC in 1957 and continued to pursue collective bargaining rights for federal government employees.

In 1966, then Prime Minister Pearson announced he would enact free collective bargaining for federal government employees. The Civil Service Association founded by president Cal Best joined forces with the Civil Service Federation to form one union as the bargaining agent for federal government employees.

That merger formed the largest federal public sector union in the country then and now, the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Civil Service Federation President Claude Edwards became the first president of CSAC, while Cal Best went on to a very successful public service life,becoming the first black assistant deputy minister ever appointed. He also became the first black High Commissioner of Canada when he was appointed as Canada’s High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago.

Cal Best retired in 1990 and passed away in 2007 at the age of 81. As a human rights activist, union activist, public servant and a founder of PSAC, the work and impact of James Calbert Best should never be forgotten.

This is an excerpt from the address of PSAC National President Chris Aylward to the YG Bargaining Conference Aug. 11, 2021.

YEU Component Leadership

YEU EDUCATION BURSARIES Application Deadline September 30

Yukon Employees Union is offering 8 Bursaries to our members and their dependents this school year.

• Bursaries are $1000 each

• At least one of bursary is designated for a Trades student.

• The Percy Andrews & JoAnn Smith Memorial Bursary will be awarded for the first time this year.

Bursaries are for Yukon Employee members in good standing and their dependents. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited post-secondary university or college, attending either on campus or remotely due to Covid-19 changes implemented by the school.

Please submit your completed application package by the September 30 deadline. Successful applicants will be advised by mid-October; it’s important to provide a permanent address where we can reach you in the fall.

Use your smart phone’s camera and scan the QR code above to open the application form. Review the bursary application guidelines at https://bit.ly/bursaryguidelines21

YEU STAFF CONTACTS

Jim Crowell, Labour Relations Advisor; jcrowell@yeu.ca

Roseanne Elias, Membership Services Officer; relias@yeu.ca

Beckie Huston, Intake Advisor; bhuston@yeu.ca

Jessica Kish Labour Relations Advisor; jkish@yeu.ca

Richard Wagner, Labour Relations Advisor; rwagner@yeu.ca

Tammy Olsen, Financial Officer; tolsen@yeu.ca

Lynne Pajot, Education Officer; lpajot@yeu.ca

Haley Philipsen, Executive Assistant; hphilipsen@yeu.ca

Dan Robinson, Labour Relations Advisor; drobinson@yeu.ca

Deborah Turner-Davis, Communications; dturner-davis@yeu.ca

Michelle Parsons, Executive Director; mparsons@yeu.ca

Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm; YEU Office is not yet open to the public.

Steve Geick, President

Tony Thomas, Vice President Communities