JOURNAL VOLl
NOl
OCTOBER- OCTOBRE 1964
CUPE is One Year Old
Le SCFP a un an
THE Canadian Union of Public Employees is one year old. It came into existence on September 24, 1963. Looking over the first year, one has to note two things: it has been growing normally and probably somewhat faster than most unions and, secondly, CUPE has had some of the normal pains of growth. One year ago, when the merger was accomplished in Winnipeg, the fathers of this Union certainly had the impression that the task of raising the new-born could not possibly be more difficult than that of making its birth even possible. The first trouble with pulling a large union through its first year is that it tends to walk before it can crawl and to run before it can walk. In other words, CUPE was born
lc 24 septembre 1963, lc Syndical canadien de Ia Fonction publique vient d'avoir un an. Si d'unc part il a peut-Ctre progressC plus rapidement que Ia plupart des syndicats, au cours de sa premiere annCe d'existence, il faut bien constater d'autre part qu'il a, au cours de cette premiere annCe, rCcoltC sa bonne part de problemes de croissance.
with so many obligations inherited from its parent organizations and imposed on it because of the fact that it was already a full-grown organization from the start. The second difficulty experienced during the first year was also a matter of heritage or parentage and had to do with actual merger. While the merger as such occurred on a certain date, actual and full merger will take a long time.
NE
Au moment de Ia fusion, ses auteurs avaicnt certes !'impression que les douleurs de croissance ne pouvaient !'emporter sur lcs douleurs de l'enfantement. Les dificultCs que lc SCFP a rencontrCes au cours de sa premiere annCe et qu'il a heureusement surmontCes pour Ia plupart lui venaient sans doute de ses parents, mais aussi et surtout du fait que le SCFP se devait, a partir du premier instant, de se comporter comme un grand syndicaL 11 est ne avec les devoirs et les responsabilites d'un grand syndicat. Force nous est bien aujourd'hui de constater que si Ia fusion s'opc!re a un moment de J'histoire, elle ne se realise completemcnt q u 路a v c c le temps. Tout permet aujourd'hui de su pposer que le SCFP a devant lui une longue et fructucusc carriCre.
"The State of The Union"
Bilan D'une Annee
A First YHr Assessment of the Canadian Union of Public Employees
Fiche de sante du Syndicat canadien de Ia Fonction publique Q Ia fin de sa premiere annee d'existence.
bv S. A. Little. Notional President
par S.A. Little, president notional
T"~ty~~!~!~~t!I~!s:;in~!:~~;;h~v:~ o;i!:~ ~:n1~ia~n~o~oi~ o:~rn~~~~g~~~~ft:~~
JL EST TOUT noturel d'oborder une revue de Ia premiere annee d'activite du Syndicat canadien de Ia Fonction publique en commen<_;ant par le congres de fusion de Winnipeg oU le syndicot est ne dons l'enthousiosme.
at the time of the Founding Convention. Delegates from all over Canada met there for what will probably in retrospect be considered one of the important occa~ions in Canadian labour hislory, to effect tbe first major merger of unions since the creation of the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956 and to set the basis for a single union for the public service in Canada.
The officers, delegates and staff left the convention hall with a determination to build a new and stronger union on the foundations laid by the two former unions and to do a job for both the organized and unorganized in our jurisdiction. The next important task for myself and Brother Rintoul, the National SecretaryTreasurer, was the setting up of the administration in our new head office in Ottawa. Staff had to be transferred from the former National Union of Public Service Employees' head office in Toronto, the former National Union of Public Employees' headquarters had to be moved
:~~~ ~r:ri~~tt s~a~1 ~a~~~ ~ hirel:l for the new union. This took most of our time in the initial period because the future administration of the union depended on it.
This was immediately fo llowed by the setting up of the five departments that had bee n agreed to at the time of merger, namely Organization, Public Relations, Research. Education and Legislative. It was important not only to get these departments functioning, but also to ensure that the maximum se"rvice could be given to the loca ls across the country. The next problem involved the creation of the fi ve regions of the union for Canada. namely Western, Pmiric, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic. The Merger Committee had felt that it was necessa ry to have a degree of decentralization to the Regions in orde r to ensure an effective se rvicing set-up for a un ion the size of CUPE. particularly because membership is so widely spread across the ten provinces. In addition, the area staff had to be adjusted and
the staffs of the two fo rmer unions had to be integrated into a single structure. !think it can be sa id that this has been successfull y done , although we do not have as manj staff in the field as we would like. Organizing the Unorganized One of the major tasks of our new union was obviously that of organizing the unorganized in our jurisdiction and I am happy to report that in the first year 39 new locals have been chartered across the country, and new units were added to existing locals. One of the important areas of development has been in hospitals mainly because this is a group whose wages and working conditions arc well below the rest of the community and who arc badly in need of the strength and protection that union organization can bring. I am also happy to ("rurn to State ... page 4)
On se rappcllc que des dClCguCs de partout au Canada sc sont alors rCunis en un congres qui passcra probablemcnt 拢1 l'histoirc comme J'un des mo ments marquants de l'histoire du synd ical isme au Canada, pou r rCalise r Ia premiCre grande fusion depuis !'institution du Congres du Travail du Canada en 1956 et pour jetcr lcs ba ses d'un syndical destinC it rCunir taus Jes employes de se rvice public au Ca nada. Officicrs, dClCguCs et permanents ont qu ittC Ia salle du congrCs bien dCcidCs a Cdifier un nou veau syndical plcin de vigucur et continuant ]'oeuvre de scs deux prCdCccsscu rs. II no us inco mbait d'abord. au confrere Rintoul c-t it moi -mCmc, d'Ctablir notre bureau centra l it Onawa. II f:tllait dCmCnagcr le bureau de J'Union nationalc des Employes de service~ publics de To ronto i1 Ottawa et dCplacer,
iJ Ottawa, ]'ancien bureau de J"Union nationale des Employes publics. 11 fallait surtout engager de nouvelles employCcs de bureau. Cettc tflche nous a pris le plus clair de notre temps au dCbut. II importait de bit:n faire un travail dont dCpcndrait l'avenir mCme de notre nouveau syndical. Vint cnsuitc, ou en mCme temps, l'Ctablissemcnt d c s cinq dCpartcmcnt,; Ctablis par dCcision du congres de fusion, soi l lcs dCpartcments d'organisation, des relations extCrieurcs, de recherche, d"Cducation ct le service juridiquc. II importait non seulemen t de lancer ces services mais de s'assurer en memc temps qu'ils rCpondraient lc micux possible aux besoins de taus nos syndicats locaux it travers le Ctnada Vint cnsuite l'Ctablisscmcnt de~ cinq rCgions que compte aujourd"hui le SCFP de t'At(Voir Bilan, page 3)
ONTARIO SUMMER SCHOOLPort of the group of about 60 students from locals in Ontario who attended the first Ontario Summer school organized by CUPE . It was held at the UAW's permanent camp at Port Elgin, Ontario, on Lake Huron during the week of August 23 to 28. Also present when the picture was token, some of the instructors and deportment heads who were invited to lecture at the general sessions.
CUPE JOURNAL du SCFP
JOURNAL monthly b y th e Canadian Union of Pu blic Em ·
ploye ea. The policy of this pope• is to laeUitate a free e:rpreu ion of
oplnlon. Allreadera are invited toeontrlbuteaiqnedarticl" , let·
\era and c:ommenq.
The paper
renrvu the riqbt to accept or
Pu blicotionmenauell eduSyn·
dicat canadien de lo f onction publiqu e. Le preae nt journalentend la· voriser ]g li.be rtG d'expreu ion. II invite done tel lecteu ra 0 lui a dresaer letttea. a rticlea e t comme ntoirH, e n oyont aoin dele.
alqner.
ll se. H erve cependont
cmd aot oeceuarUy thoae of the Union or ]q oUicera.
le droit de publier a u de •• ie ter tou a&c:ri ta. Lea vuea e :rprim eea n 'enqoqent que Jes a uteurs e\ ne so ot pa1 nece..a lreme nt porta· g&e. po:r le ayDdicczt au aea dirigeanta
Plecue oddreu all cone.· pandence to CUPE Journal, 176 Gloucuter Street, Ottowa 4.
Prliue d 'addresser toute car · re1pondarice au Journal du SCFP, 178 rue G\oucnter. Ottawa 4.
reject ODY auhmluion. The vt..,l ezpreaedin algned con· trlbuUon.arelho.eoltheouthort
~'
One Year of Growth In its first year of eltistence the Canadian Union of Public Employees has achieved a rate of growth which in all probability will be the highest of any union in Canada. In the first ten months the number of local unions increased by 8% and the total membership (including Rand formula payees) rose by 8%. This. achievement is all the more remarkable when we consider that this rate of growth was recorded during a period in which the integration of the staff of the merging organizations had to take place. It was also a period in which new systems had fo be introduced and assignments revised in the internal reorganization which had to take place following the merger. Before going into details of the progress made, perhaps it would be appropriate to outline the structure and function of the Department of Organization. At the outset it must be remembered that servicing and not organizing is the main function of the Department. Our servicing commitments to 522 local unions having some 600 collective agreements to be negotiated is our first obligation. Organizing, which receives less than ten per cent of our effort, has to be accomplished as the servicing requirements permit. This demand for servicing can be appreciated when it is realized that on an average our field representatives have to service 25 local unions and the total area to be serviced elttends from coast to coast. The structure of the Department of O rganization consists of a Director, four Regional Directors and twentysilt field Representatives operating out of four Regional Offices (Saint John, Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg) and eight area offices (Vancouver, Kelowna, Saskatoon, St. Catharines, London, Sudbury, Ottawa and Rouyn-Noranda). These offices also employ a clerical staff of thirteen. One of the main objectives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees is to organize the unorganized. Unlike many other unions we are in a position where our potential is eltpanding at a great rate. This means that in order to keep pace with growth in public employment, we must continue to organize vigorously. From 1951 to 1961 the number of civic employees in Canada more than doubled. This trend is still continuing and the new hospitals and schools which are springing up all over Canada bear testimony to the increased potential in hospital and school board employees.
On the conclusion of our merger in September 1963 there were a number of local unions which did not affiliate with CUPE. Consequently we started out with less members than we had anticipated. Our starting membership therefore consisted of 78,317 (including Rand) in 483 local unions. This is based on the first month (October, 1963) of per capita tall: paid to CUPE and eltcludes the eight local unions which did not affiliate. The per capita payments for August 1964 show the membership up to 84,596 in 522 local unions- an increase of 39 local unions and 6,279 members, for a gain of 8% in both categories. Since our merger, we have instituted some 50 organizing campaigns. To date 39 have been successfully concluded and before long we expect further gains from some of those still in progress. Our greatest organizing effort to date has been in the hydro fie ld in Quebec. This activity is rendered more eltpensive and time consuming because of the opposition encountered from the CNllJ. I hope that as a result of this effort it will be possible to announce the success of the Shawinigan campaign which has been supported by the many contributions from our local unions. At the present time we are employing silt temporary organizers in this campaign in addition to our regular field staff. Perhaps I could sum up the eltperience of the Department of Organization to date by saying that we have accomplished much but we are conscious that much remains to be done. We have more than regained the initiallo~~ of eight local unions. We have established a good rate of growth in a short period of time. Howeve r, in view of the rapidl y increasing potential and the many thousands of unorganized public employees who need the protection of union membership, our progress has not been what it should have been, or what it could have been, had we been in a position to devote more time to organizing. This is no refl ection on the efforts of your field staff who -are doing a good job. But it mu st be realized that when you orga nize 39 new local unions, you have 39 new unions to dive rt your time from organizi ng to se rvicing. It is ironical that our very success in organizing dive rts our energie s fro m organizing to the ta«.k of servicing. by William Buss. Din:-clnr of 0rRani7.ation
Your New Journal - A collective effort with a responsible attitude and a broad outlook. T his paper has a job to do. First a nd fore most it is an instrument of informa tion and, as much as possible, fu ll information. It hopes grad ually to establish itself as a good, reliable medium of communication and information among all the members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees wherever they may be in Canada. Information is a condition of progress, good spirit and militancy. Every local and every member has a part to play in making the information available . This Journal is not and is not meant to be the voice of the officers and leaders of CUPE. It will reflect the views, desires and needs of membership at large and not just those of some of the leaders and some of the members. It will endeavour to be a link among the various elements that make up the Canadian Union. By faci litating an eltchange of views and eltperiences, it hopes to be a true reflection of the
Welcome Decision of Regina City
Hall Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees welconl.es with pride the deeision just made by Local 7, Regina City Hall Employees, to become part of Canada 's largest public employees' union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
spirit that made th is Union possible in the fi rst place. Militancy is often a rare commodity these days. Su rely this cannot be bla med on automation. If a nything, the age of automat ion should also be the age of a more ferve nt militant spirit. The will to work together with spirit fo r the things we believe in remains a condition of success even in this automated age - especially in this automated age. "Your union is only as good as you make it" is still true and loses nothing in the repeating. Our opponents are strong we have to be strong. We have to meet them on their own grounds. We have to pool what means we have and stand together, prepared to cooperate with others. This paper has a responsibility -the responsibility of a large union. It aims to discharge this responsibility in a forward looking spirit, bearing in mind the best interestS of its members but never forgetting the common interests and the good of all Canadians. As a union, we are already committed on a number of scores. We have passed resolutions concerning issues like
In this efort to reflect the views, desires and needs of the members of CUPE, to be a good medium of information, to promote and defend the decisions made by conventions, this paper will take a broad perspective and outloOk, be guided by the open-mindedness necessary in this age of instant international relations and not only Canadawide, but continent-wide and world-wide interdependence. To be the voice of membership as well as leadership, this Journal needs the co-operation of every section of the Union. All in all it will be the instrument that together we are prepared to make it.
John F. MacMillan, Director of the Atlantic Region of the Canadian Union of Public Employees was elected President of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour during the annual convention of the NBFL held in Edmundston in September. He succeeds James A. Whitebone who had been president for 32 years. Brother MacMillan i s former President of the Saint John Police Protective Association, the Saint John District Council of Civic Employees and the New Brunswick Po- . !icemen's Federation. In January, he was re-elected Pre~i dent of the Saint John District New Democratic Party Club. Philip Booker of Fredericlion and Leo McCluskey of Saint John, both elected VicePresidents, are the other two CUPE members elected to the 10-member Eltecutive Board.
PERTH PUC STRIKE At a recent meeting of the Smith FaUs and District Labour Council, President James Griffith congratulates CUPE representative Elmo Gilchrist for the leadership given during the Perth strike. In the background, Stan Condie and Douglas Crawford, respective· ly vice-president and executive member of the Smith Falls Council.
contracting out, work for relief, unemployment insuram;e, portable pe nsions, the right to strike and ma ny others. These positions need to be re-asserted a nd applied to specific situations as these situations arise. ThiS paper is bound to support the policy decisions made democratically by its Convention . Until such decisions are changed, the official voice of the Union should support them. This includes, in accordance with the terms of the resolution passed by the Convention, urging the locals to support the New Democratic •Party.
Fourteen employees of the Perth Public Utilities Commission have been on strike since last July 16 for the right to be represented by CUPE. Scabs have been hired from out of town to take their jobs and there is little possibility of a settlement in the immediate future. The strike for union recognition-a kind of strike prcva-
lent back in the '30's--concerns Section 89 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act which enables a municipality or a muncipal corporation to eltclude its employees from the application of the Act. Knowing that they have public support-unequivocally eltpressed at a public meeting in August- the strikers are not at all discouraged. A citizens' committee has bee n organized and is getting a petition signed in favour of taking a referendum vote on the repeal of Section 89. This being an election year, a slate of candidates to the council and part of the PUC is being drawn up. While the battle is far from being over and won, there is eve ry hope that it will be a victory, especially if the strikers can be assured of financial backing from their comrades in Ontario. This strike, although it conce rns but a small group of worke rs in Perth , is of the greatest importance to every civic employee in Onta rio. A victory at Perth could tip the scales aga inst that legal absurdity.
OCTOBER -
OCTOBRE 1964
RILAN , .. suite de Ia paae I
!antique au Pacifique, Ia region de !'Ouest, ce\le des Prairies, celle de !'Ontario, celle du QuCbec et celle de !'Atlantique. II fallait, avait dCcidC le comitC de fusion , dCcentraliser dans une certaine mesure l'administration en Ia rCpartissant entre des regions en mesure d 'assurer un service plus efficace. Nous devions en outre remanier Ia nouvelle Cquipe et intCgrer les services des deux anciens syndicats. Jc crois pouvoir affirmcr que nous avons rCussi, rna scule reserve Ctant que nous avons beaucoup mains de permanents que nous \c voudrions. Un important sc c t cur de progn!s a CtC celui de Ia province de QuCbec et de l'Ctatisation des compagnies d'C\cctricitC dans cette province. Je suis heureux de dire que Ia plupart des employes de ces compagnies se sont joints au SCFP et que, dans le cas de Ia Southern Canada Power, pour n'en nommer qu'une des plus grandes, lcs employes de bureau aussi bien que les employes des services extCrieurs font maintenant partie du SCFP. A Ia Shawinigan, nous affrontons une vigoureuse o pposition de Ia part d'une association do minie par Ia compagnie et jouissant de l'appui d 'une centrale rivale, Ia CSN. Cette June a de bcaucoup dCbordC les cadres de !'organisation. Elle s'est etcndue a des luttes juridiques devant Ia Commission des Relations o uvriCres. Notre division du QuCbec et le eonseil des employes de I'Hydro-QuCbcc, de concert avec tout notre personnel du QuCbec, ont abattu un travail gigantesque dans cene campagne et j'ai confiance que les employes de Ia Shawinigan, comme lcs autres employes de !'Hydro, fe ro nt bient6t pa rtie du SCFP. Un autre problCme il rCsoudre est celui de \'article 89 de Ia Loi sur les relations ouvriCres de !'Ontario. Notre syndical et le reste du mouvement syndical o nt eu beau proteste r a n'en plus fin ir centre cette loi injuste, ils n'ont pas encore reussi a Ia faire abolir. Comment comprendrc qu'cn 1964, dans Ia plus grande province du Canada, une tcllc disposition legislative subsiste encore alors que toutes les autres provinces ont retirC les leurs. ~tant donne l'envergure de no tre syndicat, le deuxiCmc plus important affiliC du CTC et le plus grand syndical exclusivement canadie n, on s'attend de plus e n plus a le voir jouer son vrai rOle au sein du mouvement syndical, au Canada et a l'Ctranger. Le confrere Rintoul, par exemple, est a liC reprCsenter le SCFP au congrCs de l'lnternationale des Services publics qui avail lieu dernierement it Stockho lm. II a mCme, pendant lc congrCs, prCsidC un important comitC, celui des resolutions eta CtC Clu a l'unanimitC membre substitut du comitC exCcutif de l'ISP pour J'AmCrique du Nord. J'ai pour rna part eu l'honneur d 'Ctre Clu vice-prCsident du CongrCs du Travail d u Canada a l'asscmbiCe biennalc de Montreal. Avec lc confrCte Black du Local I80, jc reprCsente notre syndical au conseil exCcutif du CTC. C'est avec fiertC que je vois le SCFP jouer un rOle de plus en plus marque au sein des d iverses fCdCrations provinciales du CTC. Autres secteurs importants de notre participation: nos versements volontaires d 'un cent par membre et par mois
i1 Ia ConfCdCration interna1ionale des Syndicats libres. Beaucoup de nos locaux prennent part a ce programme depuis des annCcs ct le nombrc des participants a augmente depuis Ia fusion. J'entrevois le jour oll taus lcs locaux du SCFP assureront cette participation financiere au C ISL. Conseils ct divisions du SCFP En vertu de Ia constitution. les divisions provinciales et les conseils rCgionaux du SCFP ont unc grande importance. Au cours de l'annee, nos d ivisions provinciales ont tenu leurs congrCs de fondalion ct l'activitC de tous ces groupements semblent sc dCvelo ppcr sans cesse, surtout pour ce qui a trait au domaine trCs important de Ia ICgislatio n provinciale. Dans les regions oU nous comptons plusieurs tocaux, nous avons Ctabli des conseils regionaux. lis font un apport des plus utile au travail d u syndical, notamment en ce qui concerne les questions municipales et le dCveloppe· me nl de notre programme Cducalif, en collaboratio n avec le dCpartement d'Cducation du SCFP. Nous avons, au cours de cene premiere annie, engage de nouveaux reprCsentants, en partie pour complCter nos ·cad res et pour remplacer ceux qui sont partis. Une entente spCciale nous a pcrmis de retenir les services d'un personnel suppiCmentaire, griice :l des modalitCs financihes spCciales. Au Manitoba, par excmple, le Local 500 a consenti a payer un surcroit de taxe per capita pour s'assurer les services d'un autre representant dans Ia province, tandis que Ia rCgion du QuCbec se paye un prCposC au programme d 'education en langue fram;aise, griice il une taxe spCciole qu'elle s'est imposCe. Puisqu'il s'agit de probiCmes fina nciers, je dois signaler les limites trCs Ctroites imposCes il notre expansion par lcs ressources financiCres que nous avons convcnu de nous do nner au moment de Ia fusion. II nous arrive sans cesse, de partout au Canada, de nouvelles demandes de service. Ces demandes se muhiplieront, mais tant que nous n'aurons pas aecru notre revenu, il nous sera impossible d'accCdcr :i ces demandes. L'avenir Au seuil de Ia seconde annCe, qucls sont les grands problCmcs qui se posent? II para it assez clair, a l'hcure actuelle, que notre tiiche consistera encore en grande partie :l fai re de ]'organisation. C'cst ]i, unc t;'tche qui tire en partie son importance du fai t que les employes des services publics qui ne sont pas syndiquCs constituent un danger qui menace sans cesse nos syndiquCs. Nous dcvrons en plus, dans les limite ~ dCjit exposCes, Chlrgir les services que nous <IS· surerons a nos membres et ;, nos loc<~ux . C'est non seulemcnt ~ouhaitable mais <tbsolumcnt nCcess<~ i re, vu Ia complexitC de plus en plus grande des problCmes que nous affro nto ns. Comment se porte notre syndical £1 Ia fin . de ccttc premiCre annec d'existcnce? II se porte tres bien et conserve son cntho usiasme du dCbut, en depit des difficultCs. Si les membrcs ct le personnel permanent travailknt aussi fort durant Ia seconde annCe qu'au cour~ de Ia premiCrc. nous aurons un excellent rapport ;, prCsenter au congrCs de Vancouver, dans unan.
Le CollCge canadien des Travoilleurs en visite II l'llydro-QuCbec- M, Roger C hartier, directeur du personnel, accueille le professcur Gilles Beausoleil, direcfeur du coiiCge, ef un groupe d'employis de seNices publics dans lequel on reconnait: les confrCres Andre Asselin, prisidenl du conseil syndical de !'Hydro-Quebec, Henri Desroches de Ia FraternitC canadicnne des Cheminots, prCsident des Clhes, Paul J acquet de Montn!al, George Fairfield de !'Hydro-Ontario, RJ. Bowman de Ia Commission scolairc de Richmond, Gerald Springer de I'HOpital de Ia Saskatchewan, a.insi que des camarades de Ia Mala.isie, de Ia TrinitC, el des Barbades. Lcs confreres Robert Dean et Jacques-V. Morin accompagnaienl Ia dCICgation.
Les employes manuels de Montreal entreprennent Ia lutte Ia plus serieuse depuis les annees 40 Au cours d'une asscmblCe monstrc tenue au marchC Atwater le dimanche 20 septembre. les employes manuels de Ia ville de Montreat ont autorisC leurs reprCsentants syndicaux a commencer a nCgocier immCdiatemcnt en vue d'obtenir Ia sCcuritC d'emploi a leurs titulaircs ct plus de sCcuritC sociale a leurs ouxiliaires. Jamais chez lcs employes monuels de Ia ville de MomrCa! avait-on vu assembiCe plus nombreuse ct plus enthousiaste. Pl•Js d 'un millier d'employCs intCresses on t CcoutC les proposito ins avancCcs par Roger Lampron, president du Local 301 du SCFP ct AndrC Thibaudeau, directeur du SCFP dans le QuCbec. Les deux chefs syndicaux o nt rappeiC les durcs Junes qu'ont dU mener les travailleurs pour obtcnir le droit de sc syndiquer et de nCgocier collectivement, puis les lois qui leur o nt supprime le dro it de gr~ve.
De nombreux travailleurs ont pris Ia parole pour dCnon..::er vigoureusement Ia pratique de l'affermage des travaux municipaux, qui oonsistc il. conficr a des entrepreneurs privCs l'exCcution de certains travaux, risquant ainsi de priver les employes rCguliers de Ia ville de leur gagne-pain. Au dire de plusicurs, non seulement lcs entrepreneurs cxplo itent-ils odieusement le personnel non syndiquC qu'ils embauchent, mais ils causcnt des dCpradations il l'outillage achete par Ia villc aux frais des contribuables. D'autrcs o nt rCctamC plus de securitC sodale pour les employes dit " auxiliaires", c'est-a-dire ceux qui ne dCticnnent pas de pastes permanents. lis ont dCclarC qucccs travaillcurs viventdons I'Cternelle angoisse de Ia mise :\ pied et que ce scrait Ia plus CICmentaire justice sociale a leur fa ire que de leur r~ccorder plus de sCcurite socir~le, ce
qui s'appelle communCment "avantages marginaux". Le prCsident du local, Roger Lampron, a aussi insistC sur \'importance d'obtenir de nouvelles clauses pour adoucir le sort des employes manuels exposCs aux accidents. "Nous rCclamons. at'il-dit, un comitC conjoint syndical-patronal pour Climiner les accidents, nous rCclamons un personnel qualifiC pour donner les premiers soins aux blesses." Pour sa part. le dirccteur du Syndical canadien de Ia Fonction publique (F T 0CTC) A n d r C Thibaudeau, Cgalement secrCtaire de Ia FTO, a dCclarC que cctte luUe pour Ia sCcuritC dans laquclle s'engage le Local 301, securitC de l'emploi. s..!curitC socialc, sCcurite contre les accidents, est Ia June Ia plus sCrieuse entreprise dcpuis les cCICbres baHiilles des a nnCes 40 oU il a fa llu allcr jusqu'il. Ia grCve.
Une annee de croissance Au cours de sa premi~rc annee d 'existence, le Syndical canadien de Ia Fonction publiquc a rCalisC un taux de croissance qui se rCvClcra probablcmcnt lc plus Cleve pour un syndical canadien. Au cours des dix premiers mois de l'annCe, le nombre de nos syndicats locaux a augmentC de H% ct globaleme nt le nombre de nos membres (y compri~ ceux qui rciCvcnt de Ia formulc Ra nd) a au~si augmente de 8 %. Cette rCalis:~ · tion est d 'autant plus rcmarquable q ue ce rythme de croissance a Cte possible ma lgrC l'intCgration du personnel des deux syndicats qui se sont fusionnCs. Cc fut Cgalcment une pCriode oU il a fallu Cta* blir de nouveaux systCmes et reviser ]'organisation interne :'1 Ia \uite de Ia fusion. Lorsquc Ia fu~ion s'est rCalisCc en septembre I963, un certain no mbre de syndicats locaux ne sc sont pas af· filiC\ :m SCFP. Nous avons
done comme nce notre premiere annCe avec moins de mcmbrcs que nous nc l'avions prCvu. Nous avions au dCbut 78,3 17 membres (y compris ccux de Ia Formulc Rand) rCpartis entre 483 locaux. Ces chiffres sont fondCs sur notre premier mois de cotisation soit octobre 1963. a \'exclusion des 8 locaux qui ne se sont p:!S affil iCs. En aoUt 1964, les cotisations visaient 84,596 membres dans 522 locaux, soit 39 locaux ct 6,279 membres de plus. ce qui rcprCsente un gain de 8 % pour lc no mbre de locaux et Je nombre de me mbres. Nous avons e ntrepris depuis Ia fusion 50 campagncs de recrutement. Jusqu'id, 39 ont Cte mcnC il bonne fin , et ava nt longtemps nous aurons probablcmcnt d 'autrcs gains a cn regi~tre r par suite de campagnes no n e ncore tcrminecs. Jusqu';\ maintenant, c'est lc doma ine de I'ClectricitC dans lc QuCbec qui a fa it !'objet de
nos efforts les plus marques. Cette activitC coUte plus chcr e n temps et en argent, Ctant donne !'opposition que nous rencontro ns de Ia part de Ia CSN. J'espi:re que nos efforts aboutirons au succCs de Ia campagne de Ia Shr~win igan qui a CtC soutenue et appuyCe par lcs nombreuscs contributions de nos Jocaux dans tout lc Omada. Nous cmployons i:1 l'hcure actuelle six organisateurs temporai res en plus de nos permanents pour assurer lc succi:s de Ia campagne. Dire que nous avons rCalisC beaucoup jusqu'il maintenant mais que nous sommes conscicnts qu'il reste CnormCment a faire, resume !'experie nce du dCpartcment d'organisation jusqu'il. cc jour. Nous avo ns plus que repris Ia perte de 8 locaux au depart. Nous avons assure un taux de croissance satisfaisant courte pCriode.
4
CBRT Convention At its recent Convention in Windsor, Ontario, the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Transport and General Workers considered resolutions from some of its locals recommending consideration of merger of the Brotherhood with CUPE. These resolutions were replaced by a substitute resolution which empowered the CBRT National Executive Board to set up a liaison committee which could discuss all matters of common interest between the CBRT and CUPE. This resolution was passed and the matter is now in the hands of the Executive Board of the CBRT.
As the Windsor Convention has only just concluded, the National Executive Board of CUPE has not had the opportunity to consider the decision of the Brotherhood in this matter nor has there been any interunion discussion by the officers of either organiza· tion.
NEW CONTRACTS A renewed tWO·\·ear agreement between the City of Brantford and CUPE Loc al 375 provides for a 4% increase in 1964 ;~nd 2% in 1965. The new maximum annual rates in the final yea r are: derk typist $2,665;_ derk _stenographer $3.8 18; pumpmg statiOn operator $4.679; junior assessor $5,328; se nior assessor $5,863 A new two-year agreement between CUPE Local 392 and th e City of Vancouver School District, providesfora7-ce nt increase in 1964 and a further 7 cents in 1965. The rate for a school clea ner in 1965 will be $2.28 pe r hour.
A two-year renewal agreement between CUPE Local 101. London City H all employees provides for a 4% increase effective January 1. 1964 and an additional 2% effectiveJanl!ary 1.1965. One more holiday has been added bringing the new total to 11 per year. The four-week vacation with pay is now granted after 20 years instead of 25 years service. For the first time. overtime will be paid at time and one-half. The car mileage allowance has been
revis<>d to provid<> ;, S35 per month flat allowance plus 6 c<>nts per mile. A two-year agreement between CUPE Loc:~l 191 and the Town of Kenora provides for a 3% increase in 1964 a nd a further J % in1965. New rates in the final year of the agreemenl are: labourer $1.88 per hour; Jlarbage collector $ 1.94: truck driver $1.97; cement finisher $2.05; heavy equipment operator $2.20: carpenter $2.33; mecha nic $2.47. Vacations have been improved by decreMing the requirement for a three-week vacation from 12 to 10 years. The four-week vacation appliesafter22years Under the new <L,Rreement no new employee will be exempted from the unemployment insurance coveraJle. Group life insurance cove raJle has been increased from $2.000 to $4.000 Seniority provisions have been improved to provide that "ApPOintments shall be made of the applicants senior in the service, andhavingtherequiredqualifications"". CUPE Local 69 and the City of Brandon have si,Rned a new 2ycar agreement providing for very substantial improvements of wages a.ndfrinJte_benefits. The maximum accumutauon of sick leave has been raised from 60 to 90 days. Premium pay at double time will be paid for overtime after four hours. Hours of work for city hall employees have been reduced from 40 hours to 36'1J hours per week. A new shift premium of
G. Kandasamy (seeond from leU), Secretary General of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE) in Singapore, on a recent tour of Canada, was welcomed to Ottawa by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and taken on a visit of the various unions in the Capita]. With him in the above picture, S. A. Lirtle, National President of CUPE, Francis K. Eady, Executive Assistant to the Nationa1 President, R. P. Rintoul, National Secretary-Treasurer of CUPE and Rick Otto, National Secretary of the Canadian Postal Employees' Association (CLC). THE STATE •. • continued from report that we have been successful in making our contribution to the white collar organizing drive of the Canadian Labour Congress by organizing office workers in the different parts of our jurisdiction. This job of organizing the unorganized is a tremendous one and places a heavy burden on both our financial and our manpower resources. This is naturally because many of th.e new groups are small or in remote areas and the cost of organizing and servicing them is, therefore, much higher_ This makes all the more regrettable the fact that Local 15, Vancouver City Hall and certain other locals in the West and Local 43, Toronto Civic Outside Employees, have refused so far to join the Canadian Union of Public Employees. I am at a loss to understand the basic reasons why these locals have refused to join. We have been told that they object to certain aspects of the Constitution but this is true of many other locals within the union and no doubt our convention in Vancouver in 1965 will produce a large number of constitutional amendments to rectify some of these differences of opinion. However, it is axiomatic that the only way you can change anything in our labour movement is to stay inside and fight it out. One thing is certain by ·staying outside the main stream of labour these locals will have no effect on any constitutional decisions because they will not be there to voice their opinions and _to add their votes to any decis1ons made.
paee I There have also been indications that these locals are dissatisfied with the per capita arrangements. Here again they have much in common with many locals that are part of the merged union, nor is this a one-sided affair. While there are locals who feel the per capita is too high, there are many who feel very strongly that it is much too low for the task facing our union. Another important area of development has been in the Province of Quebec as a result of the nationalization of the private power companies in that province. I am happy to report that most of the employees of these companies have joined our union and that in the case of Southern Canada Power, to name one of the largest, both the inside and outside employees are now under contract to CUPE. How· ever, in the Shawinigan Water and Power Co., we have been faced with major opposition from a company dominated association which is being supported by the rival trade union centre in Quebec, the CNTU. This battle has not only been an organizational one but also has involved long legal battles before the Quebec Labour Relations Board, -.yhich at the time of writing are still not resolved. Another problem that we sti ll face is in the Ontario Region, namely Section 89 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act. The latest victims of this legislation are the employees of the Perth Public Utilities Commission, who have been on strike for recognition since
July. These brothers have stood firmly behind their determination to have CUPE represent them and we for our part, supported by the CUPE Ontario Division, have given them o ur united support. At Home and Abroad Because of the size of our union, which is now the second largest in the CLC and the largest Canadian union, we are more and more expected to play a larger role in the labour movement both at home and abroad. For instance, Brother Rintoul represented CUPE at the Congress of the Public Services International, to which we are affiliated, and was Chairman of its key Resolutions Committee. He was also unanimously elected alternate member of the Executive Committee of the PSI for North America. I had the honour to be elected a Vice-President of the Cana-.. dian Labour Congress at its Montreal Convention and, together with Brother Black from Local 180, represent the views of our union on the Executive Council of the Canadian Labour Congress. Divisions and Councils Under the Constitution an important position is assigned to the Provincial Divisions and District Councils of the Union. In the past year the foonding meetings of the new CUPE Provincial Divisions have been held and the activities of all these bodies appear to be expanding, particularly in the very important field o( provincial legislative problems. In areas where we have a large concentration of locals, district councils have been formed and are making valuable contributions to the work of the union, particularly as regards the speci~ l. problems in the municipahttes and the development of our educationa l program in conjunction with the CUPE Education Department. During this first year we have hired new representatives, partly as additions to our staff and partly as replacements. In addition, we have some particu larly valuable arrangements whereby ex t r a
5 cents per hour for the evening ;~ ndnil.!ht s hiftsise•wbilshcd.
Som<> protection hr.~ in addit ion bee n established against thccon tr:~ctini.! ·OU t of administrative work Ex ample s of wa.r:c increases were: labourers from $ 1.60 to $ 1.65 perhour;trud dr~vers from $1.77 to S1.84;pipc layers from SJ.62 to $1.99: carpenters from S l.99 to S2.1J; Jlrader operators fromS2.04toS2.28. In a new two-~ear agreemenl between the Hoard of Education of the Ci!Y of Windsor and CUPE Loc:~l 27. the Board has agreed to repeal its by·law under Section 89 of the Ontario L1bour Relations Ace which excluded its employees from the Acfs provisions A section of the new agreemenl states: ""The parties hereto agree thm the provisions of the Ontario Human Ri ,llhCs Code as amended September l. 1963. and the Onl:uio Labour Relations Act as amended September I. 1963 shall apply to all employees... Other improvements included time and one-half for overtime; minimum call-back payof2 hours; a shift premium of 10 cents per hour in the afternoon and 12'h cents per hour at niJlht; a halfday holiday on Christmas Eve; three days bereavement pay; jury duty pay. Service requirements for a 4-week vacation were reduced from 25 yearsto20years. The agreement also provides for a 10% bonus for Saturday work when Saturday is a part of theregularshift. . ' Wageincreasesaverage $5 per week, bringing the weekly rates up to the followinR ma11:imums for the followin,Rclasses: female cleaners $68.50; caretakers $89.25. caretukerenJlineers$99.25;maintenance men $98.25 .
staff have been put on through special financial contributions. In Manitoba, Local 500 has agreed to pay an extra voluntary per capita tax in order to get an extra representative in that province and in Quebec, the Division has hired an extra representative to handle the French language education program in that province through a special per capita tax. While discussing problems of finance. I think I should mention the very real limits which are put on our expansion by the financial resources that were agreed upon at the time of merger. All across the country, we will constantly get demands for more service of various kinds, but until we can find a solution to oui income problems most of these requests will have to be turned down. The Future As we go into the second year of CUPE's existence what are the main problems that the future holds for us? I think it is plain that our major task will be more organizing. This is important in i t s e If because unorganized public employees represent a danger to the standards of those already organized. In addition, we will have to make every effort within the limits I have already discussed, to expand the service to our members and to our locals wherever this Is possible. This is not only desirable but necessary because of the increasing complexity of our problems. SASKATCHEWAN The Saskatchewan Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees held its Founding Convention in the Cavalier HotCI in Saskatoon during the summer. A constitution was adopted and the following officers were elected: President George Cairns, vicepresident, Brother Trulson, secretary-t reasurer, Brother D. M. Traill, (by acclamation), board members, Sister Colbow and Bros. Gray, Namtu and Jacobson.
Sam Thompson, President of CUPE Local 185, Etobicoke outside employ«s, addressing the membership meeting dur· ing which a conciliation board report was rejected and authority given the exeeutive to set a strike date if they are not successful in their further efforts to settle the dispute with the Township.
Local 1000
New 2-Year Agreement A salary increase of 8lh% over two years is provided for under a Memorandum of Agreement signed recently by CUPE Local I 000 and the Ontario Hydro and released to all members for their consideration prior to a referendum vote to determine whether the proposals for the new contract arc acceptable to the members. A general wage increase of2% in 1964 and 3 1h.% in 1965 are the major features of the proposed collective agreement to be submitted to membership. The 1964 increase will be retroactive to April I st, the contract anniversary date. Including a 3% cost of living increase already received in 1964 under the escalator clause of the collective agreement, the new increases would raise salaries by 8lh% over the two-year period. This amounts to 24c an hour for a skilled tradesman. In April 1965 the journeyman rate wilt be $3.05 under the proposed 11ew contract. The proposals to be put to a membership vote also in· elude introduction of Physicians Service Incorporated extended health benefit plan in which Hydro would pay 75% of the cost. A large number of members will benefit from the proposal for one month's vacation after 22 years of service, in 1965. In 1966 the service requirement will be reduced to 20 years. If approved by the Commission and the OHEU membership vote, the new agreement will be the first since 1957 to be negotiated successfuly without outside interven· tion. This will mean a victory of direct bargaining over compulsory arbitration in the relations between Ontario Hydro and its employees. Negotiations for the proposed contract lasted five months as opposed to 18 months required to reach final arbitration of the previous agreement. Negotiations wilt continue on development of the job evaluation supplement to the agreement and reorganization of Hydro's Data Processing Division on a shift basis. The Yorkton employees were previously members of the Saskatchewan Government Employees' Association. Discussions between CUPE and the Saskatchewan Government Association had been in progress for some time with a view to eliminating a jurisdictional dispute. All arrangements at Yorkton to provide an orderly procedure were handled by representatives of the two organizations without intervention by any third party.