8 September 2020
Brothers and Sisters,
Your Local 2603 held their first Union meeting since the epidemic sent most of us home last March. We were mandated by our District Lodge to start having our monthly meetings again in person. We social distanced and wore masks to protect everyone. Your Executive Board had our meeting and then we were joined by 3 other members for our General meeting at 3:30. I am including a condensed version of my report to keep all of you informed.
Finance had 14 layoffs in total and another 9 pending for August 31/20 were recalled. We have had 17 retirements in total since Spring which brings us a total of 31 in staff reductions.
We were able to reduce the number of layoffs due to our mitigation programs. Your Shop Committee recently won their grievance for the Family Responsibility Days. All members receive 5 days leave with 3 of them being paid. These are to be used to care for a sick family member and must be requested through your Manager. Canada Life is taking a long time to process member’s sick claims. If you or anyone you know is having issues please contact me as I can assist in having the issue resolved. Have also looked into the issue of Customer Relations handling some Refund claims and another Manager doing some of our work. Both have been resolved. Finally, all members should be aware that if you take vacation outside of Western Canada you must quarantine for 14 days as per our Provincial Guide lines. You must use your existing vacation to quarantine and cannot include working from home as part of your quarantine. This is a Finance Branch ruling. This does not include quarantining due to sickness in your family due to exposure locally.
Lastly, I want to say that this is your Union and we need your support to keep it running. Please check the Union Website – iamaw2603.ca for updates. I hope to see more of you at our next meeting on October 13, 2020. Your opinions matter as you have a say in how we run Union business and where your dues get spent. Please stay safe!
In solidarity,
Brenda Backe
LL2603 Shop Chair