2019 Local Union Bylaw & Policy Conference

2019 Bylaw & Policy Conference

On May 4, 2019, more than 360 registered Stewards and Executive Board took part in the UFCW Locals 175 & 633 Bylaw & Policy Conference.

This conference takes place every four years and is an opportunity for members to make proposals on their Union’s policies and procedures, and bylaws. In addition, the day featured presentations from President Haggerty, Secretary-Treasurer Kelly Tosato, and a number of guest speakers.

A Union member speaks with a couple of Union Reps during the Friday evening registration social.

UFCW International President Marc Perrone and UFCW International Secretary-Treasurer Shaun Barclay graciously assisted during registration to help get the Stewards all of their information and conference items.

UFCW Int'l President Marc Perrone (right) and Int'l Secretary-Treasurer Shaun Barclay (centre) assist Union Rep Paul Hardwick with registering delegates for the conference.

A Union Steward speaks with their Union Rep during the Friday evening social.

Following a traditional welcome by Wanda Whitebird of the Mi’kmaq nation Bear Clan, President Haggerty gave an in-depth presentation on what’s taken place at the Union over the last two years and what’s happening as we move forward.

Wanda Whitebird of the Mi’kmaq nation Bear Clan performs a traditional welcome.

President Haggerty reinforced the Local’s commitment to servicing and negotiating strong collective agreements that include good wages, benefits, and working conditions, as well as better health and safety rights, anti-harassment and anti-violence policies, pension protection, and inclusive, gender-neutral language. In addition, he reported briefly on the work of each of the Union’s departments and committees as well.

President Haggerty stands at the podium on stage to give his presidential address at the conference.

President Haggerty speaks with Union Steward James Mulhern at the registration social.

When it comes to helping workers win Union representation, President Haggerty spoke proudly of our Organizing Team, which boasts a 90% success rate despite employer-friendly legislation in this province. Over the last two years, our Team helped 3,112 new members from 37 workplaces gain the Union advantage as members of UFCW Locals 175 & 633.

Union Steward Steve Belanger (left) and Executive Board VP Michael Collins pose with a young supporter at the registration event.

Executive Assistant Sylvia Groom (right) and Union Rep Lee Johnson-Koehn (back) smile for a photo with Executive Board VP Nancy McKay.

As our economy and industries shifted in the last two years, more than 780 members lost their jobs to closures. In addition, many members in the last two years have experienced layoffs and, especially in our retail workplaces, a drastic reduction in hours.

The topic of politics took up a large part of President Haggerty’s presentation to the delegates. With a current provincial government that is decimating publicly funded programs, and an upcoming federal election too, it’s an important time for the Union, all members, and all working people to get involved.

A Union Steward registers for the conference.

The Union is politically active in a number of ways. Through constituency lobbies, direct lobbying of Members of Parliament and Provincial Parliament (MPs and MPPs), and taking part in protests and days of action. The Union continues to fight for workers’ rights and more at every opportunity. Read more about how politics affect working people in President Haggerty’s message on page 3 of this issue of Checkout.

President Haggerty stands at the podium as the conference begins while other Union offiicers and executives sit at tiered tables on stage.

Secretary-Treasurer Kelly Tosato gave a detailed presentation on the assets, income, and expenditures of the Local Union. Since last reported at the Education & Finance Conference in 2017, the combined equity of the Local Unions has increased by more than $2 million. Secretary-Treasurer Tosato also reported that the Local 175 Strike Fund currently has assets totalling $8.4 million, putting us in a good position to support any members that decide to take strike action.

Secretary-Treasurer Tosato presents the Union's financials to the delegates.

The audited financials for last year will be presented to members for approval at the upcoming June membership meetings. In conclusion, Secretary-Treasurer Tosato thanked the Union’s Investment Committee – comprised of nine Local Union officers, staff, and Executive Board members – who oversee the Local’s financial investments for their hard work.

Local 175 Recorder Karen Vaughan presents the Delegates Report to the conference.

This year’s conference included a number of guest speakers: UFCW International President Marc Perrone, recently elected UFCW International Secretary-Treasurer Shaun Barclay, and UFCW Canada President Paul Meinema.

President Perrone thanked the members for their support during the recent Stop & Shop strike in the North East U.S. that saw 31,000 UFCW members take to the picket lines. Those workers “believed in something so basic, but so important,” said Perrone. “They believed that the hard work they do, the customer service they provide, is worth something. They believed that a company was successful because of their hard work – not in spite of it. They believed that proposing actual cuts to healthcare, wages, and benefits when the company you work for makes billions isn’t just wrong, it’s immoral.”

UFCW International President Marc Perrone speaks to the delegates.

President Perrone noted that Stop & Shop’s sales across all of its stores dropped by over 75% and as much as 90% in some areas.

That’s the power of standing together.

He spoke about the shared values of all UFCW members: To achieve dignity, respect, and justice. “These are not just mere words we use, but they define what we, as one united union family, stand for,” he said.

Secretary-Treasurer Barclay congratulated the Local Union on its outstanding organizing successes in the last couple of years. He noted that Locals 175 & 633 is among the very top percentage for organizing wins across all of UFCW. He applauded the diverse approaches our Organizers take to meet and gain new Members across many sectors of the economy.

“I’ll always be an organizer at heart and I’m inspired by the great work Locals 175 & 633 are doing to grow our union family,” said Barclay.

UFCW International Secretary-Treasurer Shaun Barclay talks to the delegates about the importance of organizing new members.

Secretary-Treasurer Barclay also spoke of changing opinions across the United States with regard to Unions: “In a recent Gallop poll in the U.S., 62% of the public had a positive view of Unions. That’s the highest rating in 40 years.” Further, he cited the recent Stop & Shop work stoppage as a great example of how public opinion can work in workers’ favour; the struggle for a better life resonated with many working Americans.

National President Paul Meinema spoke to the group about the political climate in Canada and the work being done across the country to lead the way in terms of job protection and transition, new forms of representation for gig economy workers, and continued pressure on our elected representatives to enact good legislation and policies to protect workers.

UFCW Canada National President Paul Meinema addresses the conference.

President Meinema also spoke of the impressive recovery made in the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP) over the last few years. In 2015, the CCWIPP Board of Trustees instituted changes to improve its standing with respect to a funding shortfall. Since then, our Local Union and UFCW bargaining units across the country, have been achieving good success in bargaining and within the membership’s ranks to secure a better financial position for the plan going forward. President Meinema thanked the Stewards who’ve been part of the negotiating committees achieving these successes for all of their hard work and dedication.

To end the morning portion of the conference, the Local Union’s Bylaw & Policy Committee took to the stage to go through the proposed amendments to the Policies and Procedures, and Bylaws. Your Committee is comprised of:

• Co‐Chairs: Sylvia Groom and Jim McLean.

• UFCW Local 633: May Chalmers and Marylou Mallett

• UFCW Local 175: Colleen Cox, Linval Dixon, Kim Hunter, Sharon Kempf, Joe Marteniano, Jim Montgomery, Guy Morrisette, Joy Searles, Leighton Stephenson, Rick Szyja, Karen Vaughan, & Byron Williams.

The Bylaw & Policy Committee on stage chaired by Sylvia Groom and Jim McLean.

The amendments discussed and voted on were put forth by members at the November 2018 membership meetings. In addition, some Bylaw changes were suggested by UFCW International to eliminate old or redundant language and other housekeeping items.

Rows of delegates seated at the conference raise their hands to vote during the bylaw & policy portion of the day.

For each amendment, the Committee recommended concurrence or non-concurrence, which was then put forth to the delegates to vote. Several of the proposals brought Stewards to the microphones for respectful discussion and debate. The proposals will be brought to the membership at the June meetings for a vote as well.

A Union Steward stands to speak at the microphone during the Bylaw & Policy portion of the conference.

A Union Steward voices their opinion at the microphone during the Bylaw & Policy portion of the conference.

The afternoon was full of motivation and thoughtful discussions from Farrah Khan, Gabrielle Carteris, and Tanya Talaga.

Farrah Khan works to raise awareness about the intersections of gender-based violence and equity through education, policy, art creation and advocacy. She has founded and co-founded numerous initiatives, and is a member of the Government of Canada’s Federal Strategy Against Gender-based Violence Advisory Council. In 2018, Farrah was appointed to the Gender Equality Advisory Council for the G7 Summit. Currently, Farrah is the manager of Consent Comes First at Ryerson University.

Farrah Khan speaks to the delegates about gender-based violence and oppression.

Three in 10 Canadians say they’ve been sexually harassed at work, but few ever report it to their employer.

Sexual harassment takes many forms, including but not limited to:

• Crossing Boundaries,

• Leering,

• Unwanted Flirting,

• Sharing Inappropriate Images,

• Degrading Jokes or Comments,

• Invalidating One’s Identity,

• Spreading Rumours about Someone’s Sexual Past, and;

• Intrusive Questions.

Farrah’s presentation to the delegates addressed a number of difficult issues. Using humour and her own personal experiences, she spoke about the vital importance of consent, and that consent is Freely Given, Informed, Reversible, and Engaged (FIRE).

The second guest speaker was actor, activist, and current SAG-AFTRA President, Gabrielle Carteris. “I had been an actor almost my entire adult life and I had always been a member of the union -- but I didn’t really understand what a union does,” said Gabrielle.

SAG-AFTRA President, actor, and worker advocate Gabrielle Carteris tells her journey of discovering the important of belonging to a Union.

It took an injury on set in 2006 for her to realize what it meant to be protected by a Union. Up until that point, Gabrielle admits she was someone who didn’t like to rock the boat. But, from the moment of that accident forward, Gabrielle has been an outspoken advocate and champion for workers’ rights.

“Our movement connects people on a deeper level and channels our collective strength towards the greater good. We inspire a sense of purpose and worth.”

She was on the front lines last year in Missouri, talking with

Union and non-Union workers on what Right to Work (for Less) really means. The voters in that state voted 67.5% against the anti-worker legislation because of community members and labour advocates, like Gabrielle, on the ground going door-todoor to speak directly to the people the law would have impacted.

“Never forget that unionism creates security, dignity, and ensures that people have a voice and that there is stability and certainty across industries and communities when they work with unions,” she added.

Next, delegates heard from Tanya Talaga, who is an award-winning journalist and author, and the First Ojibwa woman to deliver the CBC Massey Lectures. For 20 years, Tanya has worked as a journalist, and now columnist, for The Toronto Star.

Award-winning journalist Tanya Talaga speaks to delegates about her journey as an Indigenous reporter.

Tanya spoke to the crowd about the experience of Indigenous people in Canada and some of the hurdles she has faced as a journalist trying to tell their stories. She spoke too of the death of Tina Fontaine and how she called out media for not reporting her name, but instead calling her ‘dead girl’ in their headlines.

Tanya hopes to build a better future through her work to humanize the stories, like Tina Fontaine’s, found in Canada’s history of cultural genocide and colonization of Indigenous peoples, and ongoing oppressive and degrading practices that still go on today.

In her presentation, Tanya spoke of the amazing work done also by Cindy Blackstock, who works tirelessly to make sure Indigenous children get the same health care as non-Indigenous children.

Last, but not least, the afternoon ended with a funny and invigorating performance from Choir! Choir! Choir! This musical duo had the delegates laughing and up on their feet singing along to With A Little Help from My Friends by the Beatles.

Choir! Choir! Choir! gets the crowd on their feet in a sing-a-long at the end of the conference day.

Thank you to all of the Stewards for making this year’s conference a wonderful success!

A Union Steward, seated in the crowd, listens to one of the presentations at the conference.

Executive Board VPs Joy Searles (left) and Navidad Talbot.

A Union Steward takes notes during the conference.

Union Stewards seated in the convention hall listen closely to the day's presenters.

Executive Board VP Jamesantony Pathmarajah (left) and Union Rep Mario Tardelli.

Local Union Executive Board VPs react to a presentation.

Union Stewards pose with Executive Assistant Sylvia Groom (right) at the Friday evening registration social.

President Haggerty (left) and two Union Stewards stop for a photo during registration.

Delegates listen intently during one of the presentations at the conference.

A Union Steward seated amongst the delegates listens to a presenter.

Union Servicing Reps Dan Bondy (left) and Tim Kelly (right) smile for a photo with Local 633 President May Chalmers.

Union Rep John Beaton (centre) stops for a photo with two Union Stewards during the evening registration social.

Union Steward Chris Bernardi stands at the mic to speak his mind during the Bylaw & Policy portion of the conference.

Union Stewards at the conference watch/listen as a guest speaker presents to the delegates.

Union Rep Jacques Niquet (Left) and Executive Assistant Luc Lacelle (right) stop to smile for a photo with three Union Stewards during conference registration.