Report of the Fourth National Vice-President

National Board of Directors

April 2010

 

This reporting period you will see has been very busy.  Before I jump into it, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Sister Chantal Prud’Homme on her new position as executive assistant to the National President.  Although the title states her commitment to Ron’s position, I can assure you she is an invaluable resource to all the members of the National Executive, and NBOD.  I would like to thank her for all of her hard work.

 

 

Health and Safety

 

Since we last met there have been significant developments on the health and safety front.  At the last Policy meeting, I was pleased to be able to extend an invitation to Brother Brett Evans to attend as an observer.  Brother Evans was in Ottawa for the JHA 3 BSO working group and was able to attend.  I was also pleased that although Brother Evans was there as an observer, Co-Chair Camille Therriault-Power granted the latitude to allow him to speak to a few items that pertained to the marine environment.  The meeting carried a robust agenda, and many of the items are outlined in more detail below.

 

 

H1N1

This has now become the mandate of the public health agency and failing another outbreak has been removed from the agenda.

 

JHA3

We had asked that the message posted on Atlas concerning the unions support of the JHA3 action plan be removed as we felt it was misleading to the membership.  Indeed we had offered some input on the action plan, however most of our points were not reflected and as such we continue to disagree on this study for the most part.

 

For the BSO portion of the study, we have now formed a working group in hopes that we might have better luck in having our concerns dealt with.  I am pleased to announce that after consultation with the National Executive, I have decided that the working group will consist of Brett Evans from Nova Scotia, Leanne Hughes from Victoria and Island, Brother Brian O’Farrell from PIA, and myself.  Our first meeting has taken place with the employer and I think we all agreed that it was a productive one. Many issues from the former CFIA, Legacy immigration, and marine environments were discussed and the members were unambiguous about their commitment to a safe work place. I certainly look forward to working with these three and learning from their vast experience to make the BSO job a safer one, and ensure the employer is well aware of the hazards of our job. 

 

E Comm – radio communications strategy

This is an area that I had been asked some time ago for some help from Sue Neumann.  E Comm is a very valuable radio/communications system in place in Vancouver and used by our inland enforcement officers as well as Vancouver Police, RCMP, Paramedics and other first responders.  The CBSA had decided that the system would be replaced by hand held MIKE radios (cell phones).  The E Comm System provides our members with one button emergency response from all first responders in the lower mainland and is such a strong system that it is the envy of enforcement officers throughout the country.  The system was set to be shut down on September 1^st, and I was able to get it extended at that time until October 31.  I was then able to get the employer to extend the membership through to January 1, 2010, and now until September 30, 2010.  This is an issue where the almighty dollar is seemingly taking precedence over the health and safety of our members and I am committed to trying to change that.  A letter to Stephen Rigby from myself and Ron has gone out in hopes of sending a strong message that the members in PREC will not take this sitting down.

 

 

Atlantic Police Academy / Firearms Trainers

I was contacted recently by Sister Francine Stuart regarding a concern the trainers were having with the new facility in PEI.  The facility was said to be the worst that is currently in use by the CBSA, and standards in place were thought to be of significant risk to the trainers and members attending the training.  Extreme noise levels in the building have caused the trainers to request a noise level study to be completed to ensure the safety of our members.  Also, concerns over air quality, (the facility does not possess the CBSA mandated 15 meters of clearance behind the shooters for airflow) have led the trainers to request an air quality study as well.  Both these requests were made in early December and the employer (Patti Bordeleau) has now admitted to me that the ball was dropped and no one seems to know why or how.  As of the writing of this the studies have been completed, and the trainers are back to work at the facility.

 

 

Category 3 medical testing

This is a hot button topic for our members across the country right now.  There was some debate over who would handle it, and it was ultimately decided by Ron that it would fall on the lap of EO rep Sister Karen Church as it would be an accommodation concern.  I agreed to stay on and assist Sister Church as it will be on the Policy safety and Health Agenda.  Sister Church and I did have a conference call with the employer (Greta Hill and Patti Bordeleau) and we learned a number of things.  First, all expenses, including time to do the assessments, would fall on the shoulders of the employer.  It was agreed that Health Canada would in most cases accept the decision of the member’s private physician.  It was also stated that this testing is in place in all other armed federal agency’s and some that are not armed.  The employer did commit to getting me the statistics (accommodation numbers etc) regarding the implementation of it for the other sites.  I am still waiting for these numbers.  The rollout has begun however, and we’re hoping that much of the concern was for nothing.  I encourage Board members to contact Sister Church with any concerns that arise, and I will be happy to assist where I can.

 

 

A.E.D.’s in the work place

The last policy committee meeting again brought this issue to the agenda.  The union strongly believes that automated external defibrillators should be standard in all work sites.  The employer stated its refusal based on Treasury Board policy.  I asked the employer co-chair to lobby the T.B. jointly with the union to change this archaic policy.  Ultimately, cost and other factors such as a lack of training (a statement that we believe we can refute quite easily) led her to say no.  Plans are in the works for nationwide bake sales to help raise funds for this important initiative.  More on that to follow.

 

 

 

 

Violence Prevention in the Work place

The committee has worked on the policy statement on Violence prevention in the workplace.  I am happy to announce that the final draft will be released soon and is very much the same as the policy in place by PSAC.

 

Issues from Atlantic Canada

I did refer to the Policy Committee a couple issues raised to me by Brother Tremblett.  First was the wearing of an empty holster when working in areas defined as “unarmed”.  The union was firm in our opposition to this practice stating a number of health and safety concerns.  The employer brought Calvin Christianson from the arming program in to speak to it.  We raised a number of issues, including plain old common sense...and in the end, the employer committed to reviewing this policy in April.

 

The next issue was protocols surrounding a bomb threat made in Brother Tremblett’s branch over the holidays.  There were questions as to whether or not proper protocols were followed and when our members were actually made aware of a possible threat.  The employer committed to ongoing consultation in this and assured the committee that all protocols were followed and there was never an imminent threat to the CBSA, our members or infrastructure.

 

Issues from Headquarters

I was contacted by Sister Stuart about a number of concerns raised by her and Brother Luc Sabourin from HQ, concerning the St-Joseph inland office in Gatineau.  I am pleased to state that I have visited the site with the sister and brother, met with management on the local, regional, and national levels and I am confident that these issues have been put to bed.  I believe we were also quite successful in opening new lines of communication between Sister Stuart and the regional management. 

 

Dosimeter program

Those of you that have members working in VACIS or marine modes are probably familiar with this program.  It is being phased out and replaced with a much more effective tool (albeit a bit more cumbersome).  The report detailing this is attached.

 

 

Labour Management

 

Since we last met I have taken part in RUMC in Windsor/St-Clair.  I am pleased to announce that we were able to over come many hurdles in this meeting and that this committee is functioning reasonably well.  In terms of VSSA seniority line bidding, we were able to negotiate the employer to define a week as “any seven day period”.  Although outside the C.A. we believe this language helps out members tremendously.  The RDG appears open to resolving issues within the region, so we need only to get them to this table and seem to have at least a 50/50 chance of resolving them.

 

We have also recently had a RUMC in the Niagara region.  VSSA negotiations in Fort Erie have been plagued with problems from an inflexible management team. I have made multiple trips to the region to try to combat this. Niagara Falls however has recently signed off on their VSSA’s.  We will continue to fight to ensure a fair process for all.

 

NORO and EO have completed a JLP on Union Management relations.  Most accounts seem to be positive and I have asked Brother Smith for a brief recount that I will share at the next NBOD to see if any other interest may be gathered.  I know that GTA has also completed a session and on the heals of it were able to sign off on Terms of reference.

 

We still do not have terms of reference signed off for NLMCC and I plan to bring this to a vote at this NBOD to ensure support is still there for continuing with no terms.

 

Fort Erie

 

As stated above, Fort Erie continues to have problems with their VSSA’s despite a huge amount of work by Brothers VanHelvert and Kontogianis.  I will continue to pressure management to resolve these and provide a level playing field. 

 

 

Windsor Branch

 

Windsor continues to have multiple issues with lower level management.  Multiple harassment complaints are currently being fought as well as seemingly constant micro management.  I have organized a meeting with union stake holders and all levels of management to try to combat these problems and establish a better working relationship and more functional union management relations at this level. 

 

Niagara Falls

 

I am pleased to say that I was recently able to help Brother Milligan overcome a seemingly small issue that was causing his members grief.  Local management had unilaterally decided that after September 1 they would no longer allow the members to accrue any cumulative time when working over time.  They stated that they would not be able to grant the leave and there fore would not allow it to be banked.  We were able to point out the short sighted nature of this and have this decision over turned.  Also, as noted Niagara Falls recently signed off on their VSSA’s to go to a vote.

 

Sarnia

 

Sarnia continues to function well.  Brother Coene and his members have signed off on all new VSSA’s and seniority bidding is well underway.  The new director of this port is for the most part a breath of fresh air and the members look forward to her continuance of this new style of management.

 

Brother Moran recently visited and was able to speak to all members on shift as well as attend info sessions during the VSSA voting.  Both myself and Brother Coene have received multiple positive comments about Ron’s visit.  Pictures of this tour are also on the website as well as being in the current issue of the magazine.

 

Young Workers

 

In this portfolio I would like to announce an exciting new development.  I have started a facebook page for CIU young workers and other members who can help mentor them.  Also, by the time you read this there will be a section of our website devoted to young workers.  I am working on the networking list which will be shared in both locations.  I would like to thank Jonathan Choquette, CIU communications officer, for his help with these programs.

 

I am also working on a mentoring program which will hopefully be ready for presentation at the next NBOD.

 

 

Tech Change

 

Nothing new on the audio video initiative.  I have attended a few meetings on the implementation of E manifest which, by all accounts seems to be both a success and the way of the future.

 

I also recently attended a meeting on the land border systems review.  I have attached the power point for that meeting and will share it with the board as well.  Although seemingly far off, there were some neat ideas presented at this meeting however we will see how they pan out as the employer has admitted that there is basically no funding available.   The employer did however state that this could change with some lobbying by the union....

 

I continue to work with Scott Newark towards an improved lookout system and a letter has been sent to Stephen Rigby in this regard.  The letter is attached.

 

I am also compiling a study of short falls within the current IPIL system.  This will be discussed during my report at the NBOD and opportunities to help will be provided.

 

This completes this report.  I have been very busy in this reporting period and found that even through the holidays I was receiving calls throughout the day.  I was required to make multiple trips to Ottawa and other areas, and it is clear to me that the members are in as much need as ever and I am committed to continuing to help them.  I find the victories rewarding and the problems challenging and I look forward to the second half of the term as we near our midway point.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

 

Jason McMichael