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YEU 10th TRIENNIAL CONVENTION ϮϬϮϯ Vice President Report Justin Lemphers
I’m writing this report on July 30, 2023. I won’t read it until the end of October. Turns out, I have a few things to talk about from the past year and a half. I’ll start with bargaining. A big shout out to all Locals and members who completed bargaining! To those who are now in the process or about to get started – may the process be as smooth as possible. We heard from members that bargaining talks were the most challenging and uncivil in memory. Employers by and large were much more difficult than they had been in the past. Every bargaining improvement under these conditions is all the sweeter for the adversity brought by the employer. To everyone who had any involvement – be it on a bargaining team, on a picket line, sharing information with fellow members, doing desk drops – THANK YOU! All those efforts pay off and build solidarity. Member services and the diversity of membership is the next thing I’ll address. We had a lot to learn from the still on-going pandemic about how we support our members. My prediction for October, when this is tabled, is that Covid is still present and likely beginning to surge again in the Yukon. How I’d love to be wrong! The pandemic was an eye-opener in terms of just how diverse our membership is. By that I don’t mean different employers, I’m referring to differences in belief. This diversity was best represented in our membership newsletter, with *most* of the YEU Executive coming out in opposition to convoy occupations across Canada. Most, but not all. Even on our Executive, there was a diversity of opinion, comfort and belief. YEU staff as the frontline received both support and criticism for our stance on the pandemic. They were often at the receiving end of many political issues related to the pandemic. Members used whatever means of contact they could to praise or criticize YEU. This meant staff were often on the receiving end of communications that were harassing, bullying, and in some cases, hurtful and hateful. It is with gratitude and respect that I acknowledge all the challenges faced by the staff at YEU. The last few years have been rough. Thank you for your work, professionalism, and dedication. Pandemic aside, my thanks to the staff for pulling together this convention. Without you, our work supporting the membership would be damn near impossible. The YEU Executive, similar to YEU staff, had changes throughout the term. To those who stepped away, thank you for all you did. To those who are here with us at the conclusion, it’s been my pleasure to work with you. To those who will be standing for the next term, I have some advice. The best path to walk keeps people and what they need at the core of every decision. Employer relationships, both administrative and political, will hopefully have the new Executive working with employers to walk a people-centric path. Too often, I hear from employers “our system isn’t designed that way”. I’ll admit, it’s a trigger for me. Employers forget that they built systems to be accountable to people. A payroll system is to ensure people get paid appropriately. A health and safety system is to keep workers safe. Systems are a product of people and designed to serve their needs. Far too often, employers cede control to systems and give them more preference, resources, and support than individuals.
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Workers’ Safety and Compensation Board provides an example of how systems are sometimes prioritized over people. Throughout the last two years, I’ve worked with WSCB to improve the systems people rely on for health and safety. Part of this meant challenging WSCB on their understanding of the role YEU plays in workplace health and safety. We know from workers that there is a fear of reporting health and safety concerns. WSCB has also acknowledged the fear and agreed that many members won’t file incident reports or contact a safety representative. Those workers often come to us with their concerns and a request for anonymity. The challenge we faced from WSCB was their refusal to accept our concerns on behalf of workers, because their system wasn’t built that way. As I write this, we have just met with WSCB and discussed how we can work together to support reporting by YEU on behalf of vulnerable workers. By the time we get to the Convention, I’m hoping this issue has been resolved. While this relationship continues to be challenging, it’s not without change and the possibility of making things better for people. Yukon Human Rights Commission is another place we’ve been working on building relationships. Grievances are very complex issues and the potential intersections between YEU and YHRC are being recognized and established more frequently. A denial of leave may not, on the surface, appear to be a human rights issue. More and more frequently we’re finding that the reasons behind ‘straight-forward grievances’ are anything but. Someone could be denied leave for a religious holiday, to celebrate a life event with their partner, or because their employer doesn’t think they possess enough English to communicate with clients. Unfortunately, these examples aren’t just theoretical. During the last two years we have had several meetings with staff from Yukon Human Rights Commission. We continue to develop this relationship and look forward to expanding the training and education we provide to all members on the intersection between human rights and workplace rights. The office for Yukon’s Ombud, Privacy and Health Commissioner and Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner is another place we have been busy building relationships with. Yes, that’s actually four offices under one roof. Similar to YHRC, we’ve had staff from the Ombud’s office come and explain their functions and processes. It has been helpful for YEU staff to make these connections and learn how an issue might not merit a grievance but can be referred to the Ombud’s Office. Or, in some cases, a YEU grievance or complaint is pursued in step with the YHRC and the Ombud’s Office. The end goal in these collaborative cases is always ‘how best can we help the person’. It is so refreshing and invigorating when we can collaborate on people-centric problem solving instead of fighting about which system is to be used! While we’re making improvements in these areas, we would be able to do so much more with legislative reform. Reforming key Acts and Regulations is something I hope occupies a significant part of YEU’s political agenda in the lead up to the next territorial election. The Public Service Act trespasses on protected grounds in the Yukon Human Rights Act by explicitly excluding casual workers from unionizing. Casual employees are the most precarious workers in Yukon government’s workforce, and they carry a significant balance of the work of government. These workers deserves equal rights and protections to all other public service employees. The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Act was recently amalgamated and yet there are still significant challenges within the legislation. This year happens to be the year of fire and flame for Canada and much of the
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world. There’s a growing body of evidence which shows just how dangerous wildland fires are, yet the workers who face the fires are not included in the list of professions for presumptive cancer risk. The Ombuds Act, Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Health Information and Privacy Management Act, and the Public Interest Disclosure of Wrongdoing Act all need more teeth. These bodies under the legislation can only make recommendations, they have no powers for compliance or correction, like orders or fines. This is a significant issue that has come to light because of conversations with the offices and troublesome ATIPP results. A recent example of this is an ATIPP which revealed direction from the Yukon Public Service Commissioner to senior administrative YG staff to destroy records. The Employment Standards Act also needs to be beefed up. The Employment Standards Board has a very narrow scope and currently only works for people in pursuit of pay disputes. Wrongful dismissal is not part of their mandate to hear under the legislation, which means that workers without the protection of a collective agreement have little support or protection. These are just a sampling of both the pieces of legislation and the issues with them that I hope YEU carries forward into the next mandate. In closing, my thanks go to everyone who is taking the time to read this. You, and every other member who can’t be at the convention, have my gratitude and respect. We may not agree on every issue, and we may have different beliefs and values. Our differences make us stronger as a collective and we, the union, are better for it. Thank you for all that you do. With respect, Justin ៴ ៶ ៵