Manitoba Municipal Elections Votes! This Fall!
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MANITOBA MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS VOTES! THIS FALL! THE UFCW LOCAL 832 MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2018 A Message from the Secretary-Treasurer Beatrice Bruske THE NEXT ELECTION WILL BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT Municipal elections are coming up all across ensure that their recommendations are not only Manitoba this fall, on October 24. While that may still heard but also acted upon. This includes ensuring seem like a long time away, the time to start paying that money set aside for transit safety will be spent attention to the upcoming civic election is now. on transit safety and also ensure that it will be spent on a special constable designation with the Hopefully, we all get to enjoy a glorious Manitoba Winnipeg Police Service, rather than on a for-profit summer, but as we lead into the fall, many of us will firm providing that service. Many of us or our family be receiving emails and flyers in the mail and knocks members rely on this system to get us to work, on our doors from candidates vying to be our next school, or out shopping. mayor, reeve, councillor or school trustee. While most of our attention will be put towards who Libraries, recreation centres, roads, and especially is running for mayor or reeve, we can’t forget the snow clearing are the first things that come to mind role of the school trustee. For many of our members, when I think of our municipal government. While and many of us, the position of school trustee has those are important aspects of our communities, a big impact on our work or our families. UFCW the reality is that our municipal government is 832 represents a number of members working for responsible for so much more than that. Their Winnipeg School Division 1 as school bus drivers duties include public transportation, police, fire and in Virden as teaching assistants, school bus and emergency response services, public parks drivers, janitors, etc. The school trustees vote on the and sidewalks, water and sewer infrastructure, collective agreement those members work under. and waste management, including garbage and As a parent of a special needs child, I know that recycling. funding for educational programs and supports as In both Winnipeg and Brandon, proper funding well as teaching assistant levels is directly impacted to have good, reliable and frequent bus service is by decisions that our school trustees make. important. Last fall, the Pallister Government froze Please make sure you inform yourself on the issues, transit funding at the 2016 levels to the munici- ask the candidates where they stand when they palities and is no longer requiring that the money come to your door, and most importantly, go vote given be spent on transit. Removing a spending on October 24. If you are in Winnipeg and would like restriction may sound like a good thing, but in reality more information on labour-endorsed candidates, this allows the city to leech funds appropriately set they will be posted online in the coming months. aside for transit into other projects. Transit safety is becoming a much bigger concern than in years past. Our municipal government can enact changes to keep riders and drivers safe by working with the Amalgamated Transit Union to INSIDE THIS PRESIDENT Jeff Traeger ISSUE: SECRETARY-TREASURER Beatrice Bruske EXECUTIVE ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT Marie Buchan UNION REPRESENTATIVES Sandy Forcier, Director Carmela Abraham Ron Allard Aline Audette On the cover: Brenda Brown Municipal elections coming this fall Geoff Bergen Getting Ready for Loblaw Negotiations ....4 Joe Carreiro Claudia Colocho Point of contention at bargaining table ....5 Kim Ferris Seasonal hazards .........................6 Sharon Grehan New face on executive board..............7 Jason Hawkins Roberta Hoogervorst Members facilitating members ............8 Mike Howden Scholarship Opportunities ................9 Wendy Lundy Harassment in the Workplace ............11 Curt Martel J.P. Petit PRIDE proud.............................13 Morag Stewart Member Profile ..........................14 LEGAL COUNSEL & Heavy workloads on the rise .............15 WORKERS COMPENSATION Maple Leaf Brandon Members Garry Bergeron, Director Compensated Over $51,000 .............15 Debra Malmquist What does class got to do with it? ........16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING Erin Selby, Director UNION OFFICES ORGANIZING Winnipeg Brandon Mike Howden 1412 Portage Avenue 530 Richmond Avenue E. Winnipeg, MB R3G OV5 Brandon, MB R7A 7J5 NEGOTIATORS 204-786-5055 204-727-7131 Martin Trudel, Director 1-888-UFCW-832 1-800-552-1193 Sonia Taylor Blake Crothers TRAINING CENTRES Winnipeg Brandon HEALTH & SAFETY 880 Portage Avenue 530 Richmond Avenue E. Phil Kraychuk Winnipeg, MB R3G 0P1 Brandon, MB R7A 7J5 COMMUNICATIONS 204-775-8329 204-726-8337 Chris Noto, Coordinator 1-877-775-8329 Dalia Chapa HEALTH CARE OFFICE 296 Marion Street Winnipeg, MB R2H 0T7 Canadian Mail Publications Sales Agreement #40070082 204-943-1869 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ufcw832.com Loblaw Member Forum on April 9, 2018 GETTING READY FOR LOBLAW NEGOTIATIONS With the Sobeys/Safeway contract ratified, the new methods on its website and social media to union is now preparing for negotiations with increase member engagement, and there will be Loblaw Companies Ltd. one final member forum for those working at No Frills stores. So far the union has hosted a telephone town hall, held two member forums, and hosted a shop Your collective agreement expires on September stewards meeting. 27, 2018. You can stay informed as bargaining progresses by visiting our website at ufcw832. Local 832 President Jeff Traeger and Secretary- com/loblaw. If you have any questions as we Treasurer Beatrice Bruske will be touring stores progress into bargaining, don’t hesitate to ask throughout the province this month to meet as your union rep or any member of the bargaining many members as possible. UFCW is also using committee. THIS IS YOUR LOBLAW BARGAINING COMMITTEE Jeff Traeger Beatrice Bruske Roberta Hoogervorst Jason Hawkins Vikki Allard Nadia Aoubichat Florence Barr Kathy Brnjas Lydia Brock Brad Broome Marie-Paule Burke Dianne Gibson-Pierce Kathryn Lunt Olga MacLean Carmela Masotti Linda Miller Robin Moore James Moran Lisa Schmik Nancy Sommerfeld UFCW832.com/loblaw 4 May / June 2018 NEGOTIATING POINT OF CONTENTION AT BARGAINING TABLE Martin Trudel Negotiations In the last issue of UNION, I explained the difference because it helps them predict claiming patterns between fully-insured vs. self-funded health plans. more accurately when setting rates. Now, I would like to expand more on the cost issues of benefit plans as they are always a crucial point of Benefits— Types of benefits you have in your plan: contention at the bargaining table. This is becaue an • Prescription drugs are driving the cost of employer is constantly aiming at reducing its benefit extended health coverage (EHC) up. Typical cost and a union is constantly trying to improve the coverage for EHC is 80% co-insurance (or 20% benefits coverage for its members. out-of-pocket to the employee), and a marquee Below are a few examples of what can affect the plan will offer 100%. cost of a benefit plan: • Paramedical practitioner coverage for services Age — Typically an older workforce will result in such as physio, chiro, and massage typically benefit plan providers increasing its premium cost. range from $200 to $500 per practitioner per year. Volume — Single or family? Expect to pay about double the single rate for family coverage. Health coverage costs vary also but generally for single it is about $30 per month and for family it is Type of Coverage — Life and dependent life around $150 per month. insurance, accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D), short and long-term disability and critical We haven’t even touched on dental yet! illness coverage all vary in cost. They can be indexed Dental plans are usually divided into three levels to earnings or offered as a flat amount. Premium of coverage —basic, major and orthodontic. Basic cost is based on the total volume of coverage. covers regular cleanings and check-ups. Major is for Here are samples of monthly rates. As you can see, more in-depth work such as crowns and bridges. the range of the costs vary considerably. Orthodontics is just that, and can be limited to dependent children only or be inclusive of adults. Life Insurance Single: 10¢- $1 per $1,000 Family: $1 - $4 per $1,000 Each of these coverage levels comes with AD&D 3¢ - 25¢ per 1,000 its individual co-insurance level and possible deductible. Cream of the crop plans offer 100% Short-Term Disability 20¢ - $1 per $10 of weekly earnings basic, 80% major and 50% orthodontics. Coverage Long-Term Disability 20¢ - $3 per $100 of monthly earnings maximums also affect the rate. Maximums for basic and major range from $500 to $3,000 for a Critical Illness 10¢ - $4 per 1,000 specific period. Ortho usually comes with a lifetime Other factors that affect costs are: maximum of $1,000 but can go up to $5,000. Industry — Do you work in a professional office at Rates for dental generally range from $30 for single a desk, or are you involved in manual tasks such as and $150 per month if you have family coverage. lifting inventory and using heavy machinery? Our job is to try to get you, the member, the Turnover — Does your workplace have a lot of best benefits at the least cost to you while at the "turnover"? Insurance carriers love stability negotiating table. May / June 2018 5 HEALTH & SAFETY SEASONAL HAZARDS... BE AWARE, BE PREPARED Phil Kraychuk Health & Safety With summer almost here, I would like to remind you again about seasonal hazards. Summer is an enjoyable time of the year; however, keep in mind that the sun can be very dangerous.