Minutes of the
Union of National Defence Employees (UNDE)
Local 635
General Meeting
Held in the 22 Wing Theatre
5 Dec 13
EXECUTIVE
Acting President Bernie Morin
Secretary/Treasurer Betty Foy
Members in Attendance: 23
INTRODUCTION
1. On 23 Sep 13, due to WFA (Work Force Adjustment), Kevin McNama is no longer President of our Local, so Vice President, Bernie Morin has stepped up as Acting President until elected by the membership. He welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 4:15. In his opening comments he mentioned that we are not just a group, we are a Union Local and we need to restore pride in our Local. The UNDE Statement on Harassment was then read by Secretary Betty Foy.
OLD BUSINESS
2. There being no errors or omissions, Dennis Shannon made a motion to accept the minutes of the previous meeting dated 25 Apr 13, seconded by Sharon Brown. All in favour. - Carried
3. Ken Bovair made a motion to accept the year-end Financial Statements ending 30 Sept 13, seconded by Lori St Jean. All in favour. - Carried
NEW BUSINESS
4. On 2 Oct Acting President, Bernie Morin made arrangements to have a Town Hall at the Boat Restaurant
for an off-site venue away from the Base and a breath of fresh air to promote the Union and answer any questions members may have. There were also some handouts and gratuities.
5. There was an emergency meeting held to discuss assistance to CUPE Local 4616 in Bonfield as they have been on strike for a few months so far. It was decided, by a vote of attendees, to lend a helping hand and donate $500.00 to their Strike Fund which Bernie and Dennis delivered in person at the Rally on 24 Oct.
6. The contact person for North Bay Civilians is Shawn Beaumont in Borden and the Collective Agreement Website is: http://www.tbs- sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/coll_agre/siglist-eng.asp
Items discussed at the LMRC meeting held on 11 Oct 13
- 21 Oct – Military Writing – Full day for Senior Ranks and Public Servants in the Blue Room with 51 people in attendance.
- 23 Oct – Customer Service – ½ day with 17 attendees
- 1 Nov (?) – Formal Awards and Awards for Recognition of Performance
- 14 Nov – Creating a Harassment Free Workplace was held in the Blue Room with 12 in attendance and 2 facilitators (Set up by Trish Nelson, as stated in the last union meeting minutes)
- 20 & 21 Nov – Duty to Accommodate was held in the Algonquin Regiment classroom with 10 in attendance and
2 facilitators: Wendy from Niagara Falls and John from Toronto. (Also arranged by Trish Nelson as previously mentioned)
- Long PER forms are preferred by employees – gives better feed back (as previously mentioned)
- Managers need more training with PLPs (Personal Learning Plans)
- As of 1 Apr 14 PERs will be standard across all government departments. New civie PERs need Military concurrence. CPRR (Civilian Performance Review Report) training is available. Completion of training is mandatory by Managers.
- Work standards are set by Managers; therefore communication is required with the employee for input to set standards with regard to training as to what needs to be achieved. The employee needs the proper standards in order to be evaluated with the proper tools – “Management Agreement” is required.
(Training days: 5 days per employee for example). Still gathering data according to the experts: What do YOU need to help ME get that standard? Periodic reviews, it’s about capturing data and funding. Training must be prioritized.
- Peoplesoft 9.1 is coming.
- Union/Management Course – 2 Days - LMRC people should be first on a course
Comments resulting from the LMRC meeting
7. As summarized by Bernie, Good CPRR’s will give you continued employment and bad CPRR’s could get you out the door. We need to meet the standards and criteria required, and we need to be trained and educated about what is happening. Bernie will help to bring in more trainers and also will work with Trish with regards to job descriptions……….. more to follow.
OTHER BUSINESS
8. It is imperative for us to keep our Local alive or we will loose not only our financial assets as a means for education and community involvement and assistance but also our voice. If our Local goes into abeyance, we will lose our status as a stand alone and all our assets will be transferred to the nearest Local which is Petawawa. We will get absorbed and lost in the shuffle and Petawawa won’t service our needs since we are out of sight, out of mind. We must take care of ourselves and bring resources such as facilitators and trainers here to educate through training and ‘Lunch and Learns’. We must try to come together as a Union, share opinions and know your Collective Agreement. Managers don’t know and it’s up to us to educate them in order to get them on our side.
NOMINATIONS
9. Sharon Brown nominated Bernie for President, who accepted, seconded by Cindy Strain.
All in favour. – Carried
Rick Ethier nominated Dennis Shannon for Vice President, who declined.
Dennis Shannon nominated Ross Taun for Vice President, who accepted, seconded by Sharon Brown.
All in favour. - Carried
Bernie Morin nominated Betty Foy for Secretary, who after almost 6 years in that position, declined.
Sharon Brown nominated Diane Bessette for Secretary, who accepted, seconded by Cindy Strain.
All in favour - Carried
Bernie asked Betty if she would stay on as Treasurer and she accepted. All in favour. – Carried
Dennis Shannon is Shop Steward for CE, and Ross Taun is also Shop Steward for the Hospital
Thank you to all the members of our Executive.
ADJOURNMENT
10. There being no further business for discussion, a motion was made by Ross Taun to adjourn the meeting at 5:15 - Carried
11. The next Union meeting follows the next LMRC meeting to be determined at a later time.
Bernie Morin . Betty Foy .
Bernie Morin, President Betty Foy, Secretary/Treasurer
P.S. After almost 6 years and 15 sets of meeting minutes since I first started as Secretary in March 2008, I am very pleased that Diane Bessette has accepted this position and I will be happy to give her a helping hand to get started.