IMPORTANT UPDATE – CUPE 543 Bargaining Updated 09 February 2017

Bargaining Update for CUPE 543.1

(City of Windsor) Members

A conciliator from the Ministry of Labour has been assigned to help facilitate talks between CUPE 543.1 and the City of Windsor.

Talks will take place on 22 and 23 February 2017.

09 Feb 2017

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To all of our Members who work for the City of Windsor.

To date, the Negotiating Committee has met with the Employer on seven occasions to bargain our next Collective Agreement. Our last bargaining date for the year occurred on 05 December 2016.

While a number of items remain outstanding, there has been some progress made at the table. Both sides have committed to get back to bargaining again in the New Year. Our next bargaining date is 09 January 2017.

Your Union is committed to bargaining a fair Collective Agreement for you, our members.

CUPE 543 would like to wish all of our members and those whom our members serve a safe, happy, and enjoyable holiday season. We will provide you with further bargaining updates in the New Year, as we are able.

In solidarity,

Mark Vander Voort

President

as of 15 December 2016

December 15th, 2016|

City of Windsor Caretaker Colleen Watson-Ruckle Shares Her Story With the Windsor Star

September 20th, 2016|

United Way Back to School Donation Drive 2016

September 20th, 2016|

Canadian Red Cross: Alberta Wildfires Relief Effort

CUPE Local 543 is encouraging all Members and Windsor-Essex Residents to donate to the Red Cross Fort McMurray Evacuee Relief Effort.

Please see the CBC (matching donations) link and Red Cross article below.

Please note that the Government of Canada has agreed to match individual donations in aid of Fort McMurray residents:

CBC News Story: Fort McMurray donations to the Red Cross to be matched by Ottawa, Trudeau says

The Red Cross responds to Alberta fires

Posted May 05, 2016 by Anna Teehan

The Canadian Red Cross has mobilized to help the people affected by wildfires in Alberta. Massive wildfires have triggered the largest fire-related evacuation in Alberta’s history, and due to high temperatures and wind the situation has the potential to become more serious. 12 communities, including Fort McMurray, are currently impacted by the fires, which have damaged and destroyed homes and property.

When people evacuated their communities, they left not knowing if they would have homes to return to. Evacuated residents find themselves in need of a place to stay, food, water and basic supplies.

The Red Cross has a network of highly-trained volunteers who are there to help, and we’re actively scaling up our operations in response to the fires. We are supporting registration, family re-unification, assisting in shelters in Edmonton and Lac La Biche, as well as providing accommodation and basic necessities like food and water. Specially-trained volunteers are providing care and comfort to those who have suffered emotional trauma. Additional personnel are on standby and ready if needed.

We will be working alongside those affected not just today, but for the weeks and months and even years that follow as they recover.

Canadians looking to help can make a donation to the Alberta Fires Appeal, which will help us deliver assistance to those who need it.

If you have been evacuated, or are looking for family members who have been evacuated, register online or by calling 1-888-350-6070. Registering helps response organizations, like the Red Cross, provide support as well as helps reconnect family members following the evacuation.

Looking for more information about wildfire safety? Learn how you can be prepared for forest fire emergencies.

http://www.redcross.ca/blog/2016/5/the-red-cross-responds-to-alberta-fires

May 6th, 2016|

Workplace Safety Must be Canada’s Bottom Line

OFL Statement on National Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job – April 28, 2016

Thursday, April 28 is the labour movement’s most solemn day. Thousands of workers, friends and families of fallen workers will gather at ceremonies across Ontario to recognize the National Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job. As we mourn for the dead, the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) will continue to fight for the living.

The OFL’s six-year-long campaign, “Kill a Worker, Go to Jail,” made history earlier this year, when Metron Construction Project Manager, Vadim Kazenelson, received Ontario’s first prison sentence for workplace negligence causing the deaths of four workers and the serious injury of a fifth. The sentence was the first of its kind in Ontario, since the Criminal Code of Canada was amended in response to the 1992 Westray Mine Disaster, to allow for the criminal conviction of negligent employers.

“Workers have been fighting for health and safety rights for centuries but we know that we won’t stop the carnage in the workplace unless employers come to realize that there will be serious personal consequences if they put workers’ lives in the line of danger,” said OFL President Chris Buckley. “No prison term or financial penalty can bring back the workers who died or undo the pain felt by their families, but we hope the threat of jail time will send a shiver down the spine of every employer and make them see accident prevention as an occupational priority.”

According to the latest statistics from Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), 226 workers reportedly lost their lives in 2015 due to workplace tragedies or occupational disease. Roughly 230,000 Ontario workers are injured or made sick at work every year, thousands of others pass away years later due to resulting health complications, and still other cases, undoubtedly, go unreported or unacknowledged. It amounts to a workplace epidemic that has needlessly cost tens of thousands of lives and impacted literally millions of working families over the years.

This year, the OFL has joined the Canadian Labour Congress in calling for a total ban on asbestos. Every year, 145,000 Canadian workers are exposed to asbestos in their workplace and, tragically, over 2,000 are still being diagnosed with often fatal diseases, like mesothelioma and lung cancer. These startling figures have earned asbestos a reputation as the number one workplace killer, yet after banning the mining and export of asbestos in 2011, Canada continues to allow the importation of products containing asbestos.

“There is absolutely no justifiable reason to delay a full ban on asbestos. Indeed, Canadian lives are depending on it,” said Buckley. “It is time to start listening to the resounding scientific evidence, it is time to start listening to the tragic stories of the families of fallen workers, and it is time to make workplace health and safety a national priority.”

OFL Officers and staff will attend Day of Mourning Ceremonies in cities and towns across Ontario. The province’s labour unions, regional labour councils, injured workers’ groups, family members and allies will come together demand action – from our courts and from our governments – to ensure that every employee who heads off to work will return home safely to their family at the end of a workday.

“Canada has the opportunity to show the world we care about stopping the tragedy of asbestos and protecting the lives of every worker. We believe the National Day of Mourning on April 28 offers a tremendous opportunity for meaningful action to make workplace health and safety the bottom line for every employer,” said Buckley.

For a list of Day of Mourning events across Ontario, visit: http://canadianlabour.ca/event-calendar/all-events/ontario-day-mourning-events-2016

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow the OFL on Facebook and Twitter: @OFLabour.

April 28th, 2016|

CUPE 543 Elections 2016

Position	Nominated	Voting Date
President	VANDER VOORT, Mark	Acclaimed


1st Vice-President	SIMONETTI, Jessie	Acclaimed



2nd Vice-President	FERRIGAN, Chris	18-May-2016
	HANNON, Patrick	18-May-2016


Recording-Secretary	MCCULLOUGH MALBOEUF, Mary Lou	Acclaimed


Treasurer	PETTEN, David	18-May-2016
	VIRGA, Mike	18-May-2016


Sergeant-At-Arms	BOULIANE, Kim	18-May-2016
	FERRIGAN, Chris	18-May-2016
	MAILLET, Janice	18-May-2016
	PARENT, Jason	18-May-2016


Chief Steward	CHARETTE, Ed	18-May-2016
	MAILLET, Janice	18-May-2016
	PARENT, Jason	18-May-2016


Exec. Member-At-Large (3 positions)
Exec. Member-At-Large (3 positions)	BOULIANE, Kim	18-May-2016
	DOAN, Carol	18-May-2016
	FERRIGAN, Chris	18-May-2016
	HANNON, Patrick	18-May-2016
	MAILLET, Janice	18-May-2016
	SMITH, Jim	18-May-2016
	VIRGA, Mike	18-May-2016
	WEAVER, Diane	18-May-2016
	WILSON, Tonya	18-May-2016

April 25th, 2016|

SAMS UPDATE April 2016

SSWCC_April 2016 Memo re SAMS update

April 11th, 2016|

PRESS RELEASE: City of Windsor Caretaker Issue

City of Windsor makes a sham of local democracy by reintroducing an already defeated motion, says CUPE

WINDSOR, ON – The City of Windsor is about to witness the dismantling of local democracy if key elected council officials get their way and reintroduce a motion already defeated in November seeking to contract out caretaking services at a variety of city operated and maintained facilities, warned the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing municipal workers at the City of Windsor.

“What we have here is a repackaged motion that was already discussed in a public forum with consultation and input from the community in November – Council listened to the community, voted to defeat the motion to outsource public services, and that decision needs to be respected,” said Mark Vander Voort, president of CUPE 543, representing the ‘inside’ municipal workers. “Less than four months from the defeated vote, a similar motion, dressed up in sheep’s clothing, is being reintroduced to council. This is a sham and shame on those on council who are plotting behind closed doors to bring this back to the floor of the city chamber.”

The original motion to contract out caretaking services was defeated on November 16, 2015, after a public outcry about the importance of keeping public services in-house. The community and the workers rallied to, not only keep services in-house, but highlighted the need for the city to provide quality jobs to deliver quality public services. But less than four months after the vote, a ‘repackaged’ motion, ‘tailored’ to shift votes to get this ‘revamped’ motion approved, is being pushed on the agenda for Monday’s council meeting.

“It would appear that, not long after this vote in November, some council members may have initiated meetings behind closed doors to restart this whole process, looking for new tactics to contract out public services,” said Rob Kolody, president of CUPE 82, representing the ‘outside’ municipal workers. “We live in a democracy, Council spoke and voted to invest in public services by keeping the caretaking services in-house. One cannot just revisit an already defeated motion within weeks and repackage it and reintroduce it to council within months of a defeated decision so it can be approved. This is not how democracy works.”

“We are witnessing a new low in the City of Windsor,” said Vander Voort. “The message is loud and clear, if certain council members do not get their way, they will do whatever it takes, up to and including ignoring the values and principles of democracy, to get what they want. Windsor residents deserve to know what and who is driving this ‘back door’ approach to dismantle public services in Windsor.”

“Is this how business will be conducted in Windsor,” continued Kolody. “This is not only about contracting out caretaking services, but more important to Windsor residents, this is about how democracy is being bent by some elected councillors to suit their agenda.”

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For more information, please contact:

Mark Vander Voort, CUPE 543 President, 519-903-5515

Rob Kolody, CUPE 82 President, 226-347-2222

Lisa Marion, CUPE National Representative, 613-305-4952

James Chai, CUPE Communications, 905-739-3999

COPE491/EW

Press Release 04MR2016

March 4th, 2016|