NBOD Report
Niagara Falls Local #16
October 2010


Niagara Falls has seen the membership grow to new heights and I am sure we will soon surpass 400 members in our local. A new building is about to be opened at Queenston, with the addition of four more booths being built meaning more members to staff those. Both commercial and traffic will now be in the same building, leaving behind two separate buildings that should have been demolished years ago.  We welcome many new members to CIU Local #16 and also members whom have transferred in from other locations. At last count the district is about to hire approximately 55 more officers.
An incident happened at Queenston in early May on which I will give a verbal report during the NBOD. The incident resulted in four grievances being filed, with one against a superintendant, and two against the chief. We found out a number of do’s and don’ts and will be more than happy to fill you in on the events.
Bargaining is once again on the horizon, one of the reasons I put my name forward to be on the bargaining committee was with full intentions of once more being a member of the bargaining team when meeting the employer at the table. In order to be able to do so I humbly request you consider me when voting as to whom will represent CIU at the bargaining table. At this time I would like to once again thank all the office staff for rendering all the help they have given us, and continue to do so when requested. I hope you all realise we can’t do our jobs for our members without your help.
Many thanks to Carmen for coming to Niagara Falls and chairing a meeting for our CR’s. Although our members want action now, they did appreciate you telling us the task at hand in our fight to reclassify our CR’s. We know it is time for our CR’s to be paid what they are worth.


In solidarity,


Fred Milligan
President
CIU Local #16
Niagara Falls

 

 

President’s Report
September 2010
Ottawa:
After some time away from the work place for holidays, I am now in Ottawa to deal once again with Union matters. As a member of the bargaining team I was called to Ottawa on short notice while still in Europe to report to the team. I got a phone call while in Belgium that my presence was requested and I was to fly to Ottawa on Saturday the 19th instead of Monday as things were happening. I did miss the opening of October Fest in Munich because of this as I flew back a day early, but I’m sure I’ll get another chance at that one later in my life. Because the bargaining meeting was at the same time as the Board of Directors meeting, Shelly Kurgan took my place at the Directors meeting. As usual I will provide my members with a short synopsis of what was discussed at the meeting and a short version of the reports. A full version will be at our website for those interested, including management. The following message I got from our National President:
Dear Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) Members:

I wanted you to hear this directly from me and as quickly as possible: in the coming weeks, the PSAC and Treasury Board are entering into early and expedited negotiations of our collective agreements. Treasury Board recently contacted John Gordon to see if there was any interest in bargaining this fall. After discussions at the PSAC National Board of Directors, we agreed we should take the opportunity to bargain over issues important to our members – including economic security in uncertain economic times and table-specific issues that have arisen over the past years. To this end, and to the extent possible, the five previous PSAC Bargaining Teams (PA, SV, TC, FB, EB) are being reconvened to Ottawa. Team members have been contacted and are preparing for discussions with the employer to take place starting early in the week of September 20th. Should tentative agreements be reached, members will have an opportunity to vote on their ratification. If not, we will proceed with the regularly scheduled bargaining process. Communications will be key throughout this process. PSAC will provide updates and information as it becomes available. A Treasury Board Bargaining Update will be posted on the PSAC website, with more to come. I would invite you to share the link with your members, to visit the PSAC website on a regular basis (www. psac-afpc.com) and to subscribe to the PSAC “Bargaining News” e-mail lists. Our Union believes that, given the current circumstances, entering into bargaining discussions at this time is the most responsible option we have, and that doing so is in the best interests of our members. That’s the context. Now it’s up to the Bargaining Teams to do the best job they can at their respective tables. As Component leaders, it’s our job to inform our members and to stand solidly and in solidarity with our Bargaining Teams.
In Solidarity, Ron Moran National President

 

I must add that the team had already met in Ottawa during the month of August and we had prepared a package for the membership with our demands, demands that came from the membership’s many demands. I am very happy to add that Morgan gay will once again be our chief negotiator at the bargaining table. This is the result of your team demanding from National PSAC President John Gordon that he assign Morgan to the team, a demand that was successful.


From the National President:
Collective Bargaining report made prior to the recall by Treasury Board:


When you’ve been in this line of work as long as I have, you somehow begin to feel you’re always either in bargaining, preparing for bargaining, or recovering from it.
Our collective agreements will all expire in June 2011 which is in less than a year and I’m proud to report that our Union has never been more ready than we are for this upcoming round.  The Union’s Regional Bargaining Conferences are scheduled to take place in November and December of this year while the National Bargaining Conference is set for January 2011.  The members of CIU’s Standing Collective Bargaining Committee have decided they would continue accepting bargaining demands until September 10th, 2010 and we have received a record number of such demands.
 
We all anticipate the upcoming round will be very difficult at all of the tables.  While the federal government hasn’t imposed a wage freeze, what it has done (in an unprecedented way) is informed Departments and Agencies that any wage increase they may choose to negotiate must be found within current budgets.  This, with-and-of-itself, is certain to set the stage for dysfunctional dynamics and, ultimately, turmoil at the bargaining tables.  Fortunately, we have the privilege of belonging to a Union made up of members who will respond to this situation aggressively and with resolve. This never fails to make me proud to be your leader; in fact our local and regional activists are so effective that often the only thing someone like me has to do … is light a match.

While at the table I was called by the national president to attend the Board of directors meeting on Saturday morning as where the other members of the team. The reason for this was that the bargaining team was to be selected for the next round should these talks break down. I am happy to say that once again the Board of Directors elected me as a member of the bargaining team that will meet with the employer. If you find my report a bit seesaws, the reason is obviously that we were recalled to the bargaining table and some reports were made before that recall, but for your information I left those where they were. We met with the employer starting Tuesday September 21, 2010.


Here are the union demands:

The employer wanted the union to agree to:

This offer we cannot agree to as too many members would lose money under that deal. The employer did not want to deal with our demands but expected us to agree to all of their demands. Although the employer indicated they wanted to bargain, nothing could be farther from the truth. They were not interested at all to deal with any of our demands and after two weeks of bargaining we have seen nothing but the same old employer unwilling to deal to make the lives of our members easier. They did want us to deliver and deliver with nothing in return. We thus came home on Monday with NO deal. As a Union we will have no problem to justify this decision to declare a stalemate at the table.

 

The Bargaining Committee met in the National Office on August 5 to 7, 2010, and on September 22, 2010.
As you are all aware, the previous Collective Bargaining Team is currently sitting at the table in an expedited bargaining process with the employer.  As such, two of the current Committee members, one Board member, and the Committee Chair are on that Team. The Team is currently in a “blackout” situation and cannot discuss any communications between PSAC and the Team or between the employer and the Team. Even though the previous Team is currently at the table with the employer, the PSAC and CIU are still continuing down the originally scheduled path of collective bargaining as our current agreements expire on June 20, 2011.
PSAC issued the input call for bargaining demands, together with its Program of Demands (suggested demands) for the next round of bargaining in June 2010. PSAC set a deadline of October 1, 2010, to have the demands submitted to the PSAC Centre. In preparation for this, the Committee set a deadline of July 31, 2010, for receipt of CIU demands.
The Committee reviewed all demands received in Ottawa on August 5, 6, and 7, 2010. The number of demands submitted was extensive and outstanding. There were 112 FB demands and 76 PA demands. Demands were not submitted for the SV, TC, or EB bargaining units. After a careful review, the Committee categorized FB demands into 29 categories and PA demands into 22 categories. FB demands will be prioritized by CIU at the PSAC bargaining conference and the top 20 will be taken. PA demands will be prioritized by the Committee and the top 20 will be submitted to the PSAC on October 1, 2010.

Johnstone Decision:

The Committee discussed the CHRT decision on family status. Since the decision, the Committee is aware that a number of members have come forward seeking representation on working conditions relating to their accommodation requests. Members of the Committee have noticed a pulling back from management on their hard line stance of accommodating members. Each case is to be looked at on an individual basis.

Vests:

There is still an issue of ill-fitting vests. Members who are seeking guidance should request an accommodation. There will be a requirement to provide the employer with medical information to assist in providing the accommodation. They should involve their local union reps and if there is a problem, then the Board should refer them to EO rep.         

 Human Rights :

The Committee discussed the filing of a human rights complaint and the importance of the one -year deadline in filing the complaint. The number of complaints that CHRC is receiving against CBSA is also increasing. The purpose of the CHR Act is to ensure equality and freedom from discrimination. The ten prohibited grounds of discrimination are based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability or conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted. CBSA is falling short of protecting its members, and we as a Union need to be well educated to protect our members’ rights. The number of members seeking advice has increased dramatically in the last year. It should also be noted that the CHRC is now in the process of auditing CBSA. On October 14, the Chair of this Committee will take part in a one on one interview with the CHRC. Board members with examples of concerns they want brought forward, please contact the chair. A memo will be sent out to the Board after this interview.

Grievance Backlog – New National Office tracking System
We continue to make strong headway with our grievance backlog. Along with our work to represent members on their grievances (specific national and Branch reports will be provided during the 4th NVP’s report), we also made significant strides to enhance the manner in which we will track and administer grievances in the National Office on which I will comment. Here are some key highlights:

 

CR/AS Classification Campaign
Only in the federal public service can you come across files which span over three (3) decades and which remain nowhere near the point of resolve.  Most don’t realize that classification reform pre-dates the union-led federal pay equity files; in fact it was classification reform which gave rise to the pay equity complaint when the initial findings revealed in the mid-eighties clearly showed that the occupational groups made up primarily of women were earning considerately less than those dominated by men for performing work of equal value.  Examples such as nurse’s aides (HS’s) who, in spite of such things as biological exposure, were earning roughly 5000$/year less than the janitors (GL’s) who worked in the same hospitals.
The administrative support occupational groups across the entire public service including of course CR’s and AS’s, were also accordingly flagged as being in complete violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act given their clear wage/gender imbalances.
Some may argue that, thirteen (13) years after being filed, the 1997 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision regarding the pay equity file had fixed these imbalances.  Fact is this isn’t even close to being true; while lump sums and ongoing adjustments were indeed ordered by the Tribunal and finally paid out in 2000, these were solely meant to be interim adjustments pending the implementation of a gender-neutral classification standard across the entire Public Service.  Those of us who have been around long enough remember all too well the series of failed attempts at trying to fix this fundamentally important component of the Public Service.  One would have thought that putting in place a fair job classification standard which respects the fundamental human rights principle of gender-neutrality should have been a priority for federal senior bureaucrats; and yet….
Amazingly, to this day, there is still an army of people wearing bad suits who roam around Ottawa (well primarily around Ottawa) justifying their existence with PowerPoint decks which suggest they are working towards classification reform.
Nothing short of a crime has been committed by how this file has and continues to be handled.  While the victims certainly include the Canadian tax payer who is being blindly robbed by these so called implementers; it has more so profoundly impacted the affected workers who have witnessed hollow promise after hollow promise.  We have clerical workers who come to us with incontestable hard evidence supporting their classification grievance files; some can even demonstrate there are workers sitting elsewhere in the Public Service performing identical duties and getting paid at a higher classification level or sometimes not even being placed in the same occupational groups.  Understandably, these workers have stopped believing a few decades ago that classification reform will come in and fix all of these blatant anomalies.   In the interim, frustration levels can only swell given the antiquated classification standard which remains in place can do nothing to fix these injustices (benchmarks include comparators such as using a typewriter for crying out loud!).  
While the CBSA had been working on an initiative which was set to address, at least in appreciable part, some of these injustices through a Department wide job-description/classification review and standardizing of clerical level jobs, we are now informed that CBSA has decided to indefinitely place this initiative on hold under the pretence of their budgetary obligations.   While CIU only represents a small percentage of the Public Service, workers affected by classification reform; we are nonetheless placing this file back on the front burner and plan to coordinate efforts for this community to aggressively mobilize.  Everything of substance the CIU has ever attained for its members has been the product of getting into a scrap with the Employer so the CR/As community is in good hands when it comes to taking on the “Man”.
CR’s and AS’s form the administrative backbone of the Agency, among other things they know everything about how Agency money gets spent so the sentiment of fairness takes on a particularly dominating role in the minds of some of these workers and accepting anything less than what is fair is simply no longer an option. The Employer has, all this time, been assuming that this community would never push back; collectively, we will gladly prove them wrong!
The ongoing CR/AS Classification Campaign is a hit. CIU has developed a unique and very catchy visual identity for this campaign. The branding reflects the power and the outstanding presence of CR and AS members in our Union in spite of being often eclipsed by the more mediatized issues related to FB members. Accordingly, a new distinguished image has been created to reinforce CIU’s wish for their CR/AS members to be proud and show their solidarity to the employer. In the next few weeks, you will, at many occasions, have the opportunity to show this image through different media in a collective effort to support our CR/AS members.


NBOD members protesting for CR reclassification:


Board of Director members picketing for CR Reclassification:

Arming and Joint-Force Initiatives
As the National President of our union, part of my job is to point out when members of CBSA management aren’t doing theirs. Depending on the issue and who’s occupying what chair at a given time, the frequency and forum of those, shall we say, pointed observations can vary as members who’ve followed our battles can attest.
Recently, I gave an interview in a story that ran in the Ottawa Citizen where I described how CBSA’s policy to refuse our officers to be armed while performing duties away from a port of entry was unreasonable, unjustified, and unlawful. I cited a Montreal case currently before the Occupational Health and Safety Review Board where we are assisting members who are seeking an end to this clearly dangerous and unjustifiable practice.
These days the CIU even being in the news seems to get under the skin of certain management types who aren’t exactly used to dealing with unions that actually speak up and out to defend their member’s, so a reaction from 191 Laurier was certainly not unexpected. To my surprise and pleasure I am pleased to announce that CBSA’s Executive V.P., Monsieur Luc Portelance, wrote to the national media to point out that the case in question dealt with Officers assisting police agencies but not on CBSA related actions. M. Portelance went on to note,
“The safety and security of our officers is one of the Canada Border Service Agency's (CBSA) highest priorities. As is clearly stated in the agency's policy, when the CBSA takes an active role in Joint Force Operations with other agencies, CBSA armed officers are authorized to carry their firearms.”
Make no mistake; we’ll continue whatever it takes to ensure like authorization for Officers in police assistance situations but we are nonetheless extremely glad to see CBSA completely, unequivocally and publicly has acknowledged CBSA Officers are fully lawfully empowered to perform mandate duties, while armed, away from designated points-of-entry. This has been the CIU’s position for years and it’s good to see we now have a management partner in that position. So….let’s talk about that Border Patrol project in Lacolle, Luc…
CBSA is currently reviewing all of its policies related to fire arms – I think this is good news and I look forward to working with the Border Security Committee to review the policies and provide input to management where necessary.

 

From the 1st. National VP:
Border Patrol
The Lacolle Pilot Project is currently in operation. The RCMP has taken the lead – or should I say CBSA management has gladly let the RCMP take the lead. For our part, management has agreed to assign one BSO to this Project and that BSO’s role is to reach out to the community.
To justify its decision to pass the buck to the RCMP and to say that a border patrol is not part of the Customs mandate, management conveniently cites a 1932 policy that probably hasn’t seen the light of day in my lifetime.
Once again, I am utterly disappointed that CBSA management has decided that it would be too much of an administrative headache to get involved in something meaningful like a border
patrol – that is what it thought about arming – and that it decided, instead, to let the RCMP do the work. I remember the days when management and government MPs were routinely quoted in the media as saying “Customs Inspectors don’t need to be armed; we have police who always respond quickly to calls for assistance at the border.”


News release:
RCMP ANNOUNCES CBSA TO JOIN BORDER INTERDICTION PATROL UNIT OTTAWA, SEPTEMBER 10, 2010 - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has confirmed that Border Services Officers (BSO) from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would be participating in the ‘Phase 3’ interdiction component of the recently announced Border Patrol Pilot Project now being launched in the southern Quebec region. Speaking on behalf of the RCMP, whom have lead the project long advocated by the Customs and Immigration Union and the Front-Line Customs & Immigration Officers it represents, RCMP Corporal Luc Thibault advised the national media last week that nine(9) RCMP vehicles will begin patrolling in the region this month, with each car staffed with an RCMP Officer partnered either with an Officer from the CBSA or the Sûreté du Québec. CIU National President Ron Moran offered his support for the initiative and the decision to include CBSA in all aspects of the pilot project including the joint force, intelligence-led patrol which will carry out its duties along the border between the designated ports of entry. From his Ottawa office, Ron Moran declared: “We are very pleased with this important strategic development which will take advantage of the specialized expertise and authority of the Officers we represent, a key asset promoted by the Conservative government when engaging the arming initiative, as well as contribute to increased cost effectiveness for this fundamentally important project. An intelligence-led, mobile, joint-force interdiction capacity is a critical element for effective border security strategy which targets the illegal smuggling of drugs, guns and people into Canada and we salute the Government for their continuing commitment and decisive action in these areas.” Moran also noted the approval of CBSA participation in this project as being consistent with a welcome recognition from CBSA management in recent months of an expanded role for the Agency beyond a presence at designated ports of entry.
Moran further stated that: “This important step is fully consistent with the recent public acknowledgement by CBSA senior management that BSOs are lawfully empowered to perform their mandated duties away from points-of-entry which is what this project involves. This is an excellent example of how joint force co-operation can lead to a cost effective enhancement in border and national security which benefits all law abiding Canadians who want to see their communities kept safe.”
The pilot project which is set to begin this month has been a CIU objective for years and was a commitment from the Government in its 2008 election platform.
The CBSA plans to certify firearm instructors in 2012. The CBSA will continue to use the RCMP training plan, methods, and materials.

The RCMP brought up liability concerns regarding unsupervised firearm practices but CBSA has been told that solutions have been found and unsupervised practice should be back on track soon.

The CBSA will be making a decision regarding the 25 meters testing within a few weeks. This will be out at about the same time as the CBSA decision on the Grounds Report due September 30.

The CBSA is planning to have an independent risk assessment conducted to determine the need for arming at airports. The analysis will include terminals, tarmac and JFOs. The CBSA will have to go back to Cabinet for approval and funding.

In 2012, POERT will include firearm training fully integrated into the course. All recruits will get the full training regardless of the mode they will be working (including airports). All recruits will have to qualify in firearm training as a condition of employment.

 

CBSA Lookout System
On another positive note, I’m glad to report that, in a dramatic and welcome change in practice, CBSA recently entered the two thugs on the run from a US prison who might be headed to Canada immediately as a national alert with the appropriate armed and dangerous designation. This timely and complete information entry has not always been the norm and so, once again, we appreciated the action that was taken. As always, we speak truth to power and that includes when management gets it right.

Canadian Police & Peace Officer’s Memorial
Customs Officer George Arthur Jackman
This year will mark a very special Memorial Service for CIU members as one of our fallen Officers will finally be recognized for having made the ultimate sacrifice after a 57 year wait.
In St-John’s Harbour in the afternoon of January 18th, 1943, Newfoundland Customs Officer George Arthur Jackman and nine(9) fellow Officers boarded the Portuguese vessel the S.S. Villa Franca to conduct a search. After several hours of searching the vessel, Officers climbed down the Jacob’s ladder and boarded the Customs Harbour Boat. There was no sign of Officer Jackman. A search was made of the S.S. Villa Franca for Jackman and the Harbour was subsequently dragged but sadly rendered no results. A Magisterial Inquiry was conducted but in the absence of a body no death certificate was ever issued.
Even back in the forties Front-Line Customs Officers played a major role in assisting other law enforcement agencies with their respective mandates. The Newfoundland Customs Department (keeping in mind this incident predates Newfoundland joining Canada) played a major role during World War II through both Customs related searches and by assisting the war-time Security Division of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in alien and spy related investigations. To this day, rumours remain that foul play was involved in Customs Officer Jackman’s death. Research has proven that major German spies operated on Portuguese vessels which often visited Canadian ports during the war.
The Customs & Immigration Union wishes to acknowledge and formally thank Retired Deputy Chief of Police Gary Brown of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for his research, for having brought Officer Jackman’s tragic death to light, and for having personally submitted Brother Jackman’s Police & Peace Officer Memorial application.


OSH Committee report:
The Committee discussed that local OSH committees are referring almost zero issues to the National level. This has been an ongoing problem. If there is a problem with the employer refusing to sign off, that needs to be brought to our attention. Otherwise if issues are still unresolved at a second meeting, efforts should be made to follow the procedure and refer.
Lab 1070’s – The Board should inform local OSH committees that all Lab 1070’s absolutely must have a corrective action attached. Members should insist on this at the local levels. This has improved dramatically, however the diligence must be maintained.
Furthermore, the committee believes that hazardous occurrences are being vastly under reported. The importance of properly reporting injuries will also be outlined in both an N.O. Memo and the H/S portal on the website.
The Committee was made aware that a portal was in the works for the website that will outline protocols for referrals to the Policy committee, work refusals, and other health and safety issues.  It will also feature an area where members can post problems and successes from local committees that may help other members across the country.
Local OSH committee minutes should also be sent to the National Office to the attention of Brother Baizana for monitoring.  Since this initiative at last Board, only one has been received.

 

In solidarity,


Fred Milligan
President
CIU Local #16
Niagara Falls