Campaigns

The nation is watching closely while Banff, Canmore, Calgary and much of Southern Alberta faces devastating flooding and evacuations.PSAC has more than 4,300 members living in Southern Alberta. More than half work right in the downtown core, which has been completely shut down, including the Harry Hayes Federal Building.Our thoughts are with all of our members affected by this terrible disaster, and all Albertans who have had to evacuate their homes.We encourage everyone to stay safe and abide by the safety and evacuation notices.

Veterans Affairs has announced more jobs cuts today, which will again reduce services to veterans who have already felt the impact of severe cuts to the department since the 2012 budget.

Following a outright offensive email blast from Kelly Block, Conservative MP for Saskatoon - Rosetown - Biggar, announcing "federal public sector employee productivity to be tracked", PSAC member Jesse Todd, Agriculture Local 40022, took pen to paper to teach her what it means to be a civil servant. Read the original message below.

The National Board of Directors of the PSAC has fully endorsed the boycott of activities being put on by the employer while our sisters and brothers are suffering the very dramatic impacts of work force adjustment.

On May 30, 2013, a meeting was organized by the Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) Manitoba Region Council of Local Presidents and held at the Union Centre in Winnipeg.The meeting was well attended by members who work for all branches of Service Canada, as well as members from the Canadian Immigration Commission and the Immigration and Refuge Board.Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President for the PSAC Prairie Region, and Susan Norman, National Vice-President for CEIU Manitoba, were the featured speakers.

Last month, PSAC held leadership meetings across the country, including five in the Prairie Region. The purpose was to kick off the next phase of our We are ALL Affected campaign by taking it directly to our members. The meetings were meant to inform and train local presidents to organize and recruit others to hold one-to-one conversations with all their members. These conversations are designed to connect with members, hear their concerns and talk about the issues facing them and their union today.

Based on feedback and questions at regional leadership meetings, held throughout the Prairie Region in five different cities, we've created a Q&A page for members to get answers about your role as a PSAC campaigner, engaging members in face-to-face conversations, what the Rand formula is and what it means to the labour movement, and more. Do you have a question? Submit it here and check back for the response.

In April, the PSAC won a significant victory with a policy grievance on the alternation process in the Work Force Adjustment Appendix.

The following verse was written by Sherry Hunt, a PSAC member of Agriculture Local 30048 in Lethbridge. After reading about the latest cuts to government––with a huge hit to Agriculture in the Prairies––Hunt reflected on the past couple years of a Harper majority and how our country has changed.

Last week, another 530 PSAC members were told that they may lose their jobs, including 84 across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba––the majority are Agriculture Union members.