Westman Area Council
18 May 2010
5:30 PM
Elkhorn Resort
Meeting called by: Glen Johnston
Type of meeting: General Meeting
Facilitator: Note taker: Roy R Clark
Timekeeper:
Attendees: Trudy Taylor, Jeff Sexton, Martin Kaminski, Roy Clark, Susan Norman, Loretta Moar, Holly Serle, Mel Hindle, Tracy Thor.
Regrets: Glen Johnston
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 5:40 PM by Susan.
Introduction
Susan welcomed all members present as well as those from the local area.
Agenda
The Agenda for the meeting was read.
Previous Minutes
Previous meetings minutes were read. Holly made a motion to accept the minutes, Martin seconded this. Motion carried.
Introductions
Introductions from the floor were made by all attendees.
Treasurers Report
There has been no action on the council’s bank account since the last meeting. Jeff made a motion to accept the minutes, Martin seconded this. Motion carried.
Fight Back Campaign
Notice went out yesterday (17 May 2010) in regards to meetings which will be held in Winnipeg on the 22nd of June and in Brandon on the 16th of June. Meeting are scheduled from 09:30AM to 4:00PM. There is an interest to get more members outside of Winnipeg involved. Issues that will be discussed include:
Reductions within the Public Service and the services that they provide due to the last Federal budget,
Wage increases for most; however, these must be absorbed by the departments and agencies within existing budgets,
Eliminating work, consolidating tasks at locations while limiting observable cuts,
The Public Service needs to keep track of these issues as they are easily hidden from the public,
The separate meetings are meant to gain interest by additional members,
The Brandon meeting will be held at the UFCW office, and
The meetings are also intended to build connections and networking between members.
Think Public 2010
This campaign is being rolled into the Fight Back Campaign. There was a round table discussion in regards to advertising these issues to the public as well as the public perception of the Public Service.
Habitat for Humanity
The Area Council would like to get more members involved in this community activity. It was suggested that there be a call out to area members to gain their level of interest. Events should be advertised as the Union’s or the Public Service’s support to the community that they reside in.
Relay for Life
We will need a team for next year.
Education and Training
There is a need for 8 people and a weekend to host the training to hold training locally. There is a desire to host training outside of Winnipeg. Discussed interest in TUB or grievance handling, and 5-6 people have expressed interest in the Riding Mountain area and 3-4 are known to be interested in the Brandon area.
Collective Agreement(s)
Many of these are coming up soon for renewal. Bargaining conferences are expected to start this fall. Representation from as many groups as possible is a goal.
Resolutions and Bargaining
There will be some education or awareness sessions on resolution creation and the bargaining process in the fall.
Bargaining Teams
They will be looking for members for the bargaining teams.
PRC Convention
This will be held in Regina at the Regina Inn, June of 2011. Resolution requests should be coming through soon.
Federal Budget
This has had a huge impact on all federal departments and agencies, much more than in the recent past. There is increased stress on the organizations and individual members as the departments or agencies are required to still provide the same services within budget cuts. There is concern with members that some delayed infrastructure maintenance will begin to impact on health and safety concerns. It was noted around the table that these issues need to be addressed through health and safety committees.
PRC Woman’s Conference
Will be held in Saskatoon on 10-12 September.
PSAC National Woman’s Conference
Will be held in Ottawa on 22-24 October.
Attendance
All members should encourage other people to consider attending these events.
From the Floor
Loretta expressed interest in a Human Rights Committee. This requires members from 3 components and 4 meetings per year. The letters need to come from the National Component Presidents.
Martin expressed that he was happy that the meeting was held here.
Jeff recommended that we come here more regularly and that it was good to see new members.
A letter from John Gordon was read. Information to set up an e-mail system via membership list would allow increased involvement of members.
Jeff made a motion for the council to pay for $10.00 per person for the meal, Martin seconded this. Motion carried.
Next Meeting
The next meeting was not scheduled.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 PM by Susan.