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he Official Publication of June 2000 he Telecommunications Vol. XXII Vorkers Union TheTransmitter No. 4 BROADWAY ellNiEe2 PRINTERS TWU wins Union merger vote with 70% The TWU will become the employer status which ulti- concerns of members were simi- irgaining agent for all union- mately brought the workers to- lar in both provinces. Shortly ed workers at Telus. gether in one union was initiated before the Alberta tour was un- By a vote of 9,629 to 4,047, by Telus in early 1999, shortly dertaken, the TWU opened of- nion members in B.C. and after the merger of the B.C. tele- fices in Edmonton and Calgary lberta have chosen the TWU phone company (BC TEL) and so that the Unionized workers ver the IBEW to represent the Alberta company Telus, un- in that province could have iem. There were just six der the name Telus. ready access to the TWU and to aoiled ballots. Prior to the merger, all BC obtain information about our In percentage terms, the TEL unionized workers, about Union and our plans following WU captured 70.4% of the 10,000, were members of the a merger vote. ate, the IBEW 29.6%. TWU, while a majority of the Now that the members have The mail-in ballot was con- 7,000 Alberta Telus workers made their choice, the hard work acted and supervised by the were members of IBEW Local begins. As President Hiebert anada Industrial Relations 348. A relatively small number has stated, the Union is well ,oard (CIRB). Voting took of the Alberta workers were aware of the magnitude of the lace between April 12 and May members of CSU52 and CEP. job that lies ahead. 4, and the vote count was con- (The CSU was involved as a "There are many issues and acted and results released by result of an earlier corporate differences between the Collec- CIRB on May 26. merger which had brought the tive Agreements in B.C.and The CIRB set aside the 961 Edmonton telephone company Alberta that need to be resolved allots cast by Telesales and into Telus, and CEP was in- — issues involving contracting ield Sales employees pending volved as bargaining agent for out, jurisdiction, benefit plans decision on a Telus applica- the Telus mobility workers). and pensions and others," on to have those employees The CSU and CEP leadership Any bets on which way he voted? Hiebert stated. "At the same Kcluded from the bargaining backed the TWU their efforts to TWU President Rod Hiebert mails in his ballot in CIRB vote to deter- time, we must work to bring the nit. create one bargaining unit for mine bargaining agent for Telus unionized workers Telus "Eastern Build" under our The application for common Alberta and B.C., and through- Collective Agreement. But I out the representation campaign. provinces, questions from mem- sues such as pensions, seniority have no doubt that together we MAILPOSTE TWU President Rod Hiebert, bers (and potential members) rights, and bargaining strategy. have the energy required to re- centred on meat-and-potato is- Canada Post Corporation • Societe canadienne des pastas on behalf of the entire Execu- The TWU officers noted that the solve the issues we face and Postage paid Port me Blk Nbre tive Council, has expressed the move forward." Union's gratitude to the mem- The Union plans to move 6736 NACU moves ahead VANCOUVER, B.C. bers in both provinces for their quickly to begin the task of in- vote of confidence, and he Twenty TWU representatives attended a conference sponsored by tegrating the new members from the National Alliance of Communications Unions (NACU) in Ottawa pledged the TWU will work tire- Alberta into the TWU structure. April 28-29. The TWU contingent comprised the four table officers, lessly to prove itself worthy of members of the bargaining committee, and eight delegates elected at Almost immediately, the the trust which has been shown. convention. TWU will be setting up meet- Over the past year, and par- The purpose and primary focus of the conference was to explore ings in Alberta to work out a ticularly since the fall of 1999, closer ties and increased co-operation and co-ordination of activity transition plan, to deal with the TWU campaigned to bring between the various communications unions in Canada, in the wake of questions such as interim repre- our message to the member- the rapid globalization of the industry. The second and related focus sentation and local structures was on the unprecedented changes that are taking place in the industry. ships, beginning in B.C. In the Speakers included the heads of the major Communications Unions "Members in Alberta will fall, the Union held a leadership in Canada. TWU President Rod Hiebert's speech is printed on p. 6. now be able to elect all local tour, a series of membership In addition, the conference heard from representatives from a num- executive officers and shop meetings throughout B.C. to ber of international labour organizations, including Morton Bahr, Presi- stewards as they set up locals to which TWU members were in- dent of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), from the conform to their needs," Hiebert vited. The tour had the joint pur- U.S.; Philip Bowyer, Deputy General Secretary of the Union Network said. "At the same time, we will International (UNI), the new international organization which has su- pose of celebrating the Union's perceded the PTTI and CI; and Francisco Hernandez Juarez, Secre- be working with members and 50th anniversary and of giving tary General of the Telephone Workers Union in Mexico. officers in Alberta to deal with the membership the opportunity Analysis of the latest developments in the communications indus- issues such as orientation ses- to discuss issues of concern try in Canada was provided by industry analysts Iain Angus, Presi- sions and courses members may prior to the representation vote. dent of the Iain Angus Telemanagement Group, whose topic was "How be interested in." Table Officers and Local convergence, competition and emerging technologies are reshaping our Over the next while, the industry"; and by Vincent Mosco, Professor of Communications, So- Business Agents attended the ciology and Political Economy at Carleton University, who spoke on Union will be issuing bulletins membership meetings. In addi- "Labour Convergence and what it means for union-management re- and other communications with tion to speeches and question lations, including jurisdictional and bargaining issues." the new members in Alberta on and answer sessions, the meet- There was general agreement among delegates that closer co-op- what is being proposed and on ings featured a 15-minute TWU eration between the Unions is imperative to deal with the rapidly evolv- any decisions taken or agree- video on the Union's history and ing industry, and a good deal of discussion centred on what form that ments achieved. co-operation should take and how it should be achieved. Collective Agreement, and en- Any member with a concern Some delegates proposed that the Unions expand the idea even fur- tertainment by folk-singer ther and explore a formal merger of Communications Unions in or issue that they need addressed Valdy. Canada, either as an immediate or a longer-term objective. can telephone the TWU office Early in the New Year, the NACU leaders are meeting again in Regina in mid-June, where the in Burnaby at 604-437-8601 or TWU took its leadership tour to issues discussed at the April conference will be explored further. in Edmonton at 780-448-8911 various Alberta centres. In both A complete report on the NACU conference appears on Page 5. or in Calgary at 403-237-6990. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear TWU: Variety club thanks Retirement I would like to thank you for my Congratulations honourary life membeship, retired Dear TWU: member pin, and $1,000 which I re- Canadian This year the Variety Club Show thanks on winning ceived upon my retirement May 1, of Hearts on BCTV raised a record Dear TWO: 2000. total of $5,413,682 for BC's special Just a short note to thank all my I greatly enjoyed my 25 years as a workers merger vote kids — a remarkable total that is truly friends and many associates for their TWU member. Many achievements Dear TWU: a testament to the inherent goodness congratulations and kind words on my were gained over these years, thanks Congratulations, you did a hell of of humankind, and in particular, the retirement. It has been a very inter- to member solidarity and TWU sup- a job! You not only won, you won big, people of British Columbia. falling esting 35 years and I would not have port. ensuring support in the upcoming ne- In my tenure as a member of the missed any of it for the world. Sincerely, gotiations. Variety Club of British Columbia, I My path was set many years ago Dorothy MacDougall, Please extend my congratulations have been constantly amazed at the when Don McRobb, an early mentor Campbell River behind to all the business agents, table offic- magnitude of generosity and commit- in Terrace, told me the following: ers, staff and local leaders for a job ment exhibited by the thousands of in- "Croft, there are three types of people Dear TWU: CCPA/CALM well done. dividuals and groups at the annual Va- in this world. The first are the ones Thank you for the $1000 cheque Canadians are working May 26 was my birthday and I riety Club Show of Hearts. This gen- who make things happen.