From the CEP desk’’
Fellow workers
During the past few months many of you have shown some interest in joining the CEP so an organizing committee has been formed to work at making sure people in your workplace have an opportunity to voice their concerns . That opportunity comes in the form of a petition card . By signing a petition card you are asking that the Government hold a vote to determine if your workplace will be a workplace:
A workplace where the workers are represented by a Union.
Over the last few weeks your employer has been sending messages to you regarding the union. While most of this information is okay ,some of it is a deliberate attempt to persuade you that a union is not needed at Syncrude. We want to make sure that you are equipped with as much information as you need to make the right decision about your workplace.
The following information is a direct response to some of your questions .
Q&A
A union organizing drive can last a long time. In fact it could last as long as workers feel it is necessary. Alberta Law says that in order for workers to earn the right to vote for a union, they must present to the Labour Relations Board ,a petition containing the names of 40% of the workforce to be unionized. The petition must be in the form of a card requesting a secret ballot vote, dated, signed and witnessed .The Law also states that the Labour Relations Board will not recognize a petition card older than 90 days. If the union is working on the organizing drive and workers keep showing interest, the drive will continue until 40% has been achieved . At that point the organizing committee would review the cards and attempt to have outdated cards resigned.
2: How many workers have to vote in favour of the Union before the board will certify a Union as a Bargaining Agent ?
Mr. Carter’s answer was partially right . In his message to you on May 12th , he indicated that if only 400 vote and 201 said yes then all 2600 workers would be represented by the Union. This is correct although what he failed to identify is that that neither the Board nor the Union take the matter of a vote lightly. Historically the votes have been blessed with excellent participation. In fact the board may have several voting locations including the Plantsite to ensure that everyone has the ability to vote. We are proud to say that normal participation rates in these votes are in the 90% range. Afterall voting is a democratic right and that is what unions are all about.
3: What are the effects of signing a card?
When you sign a card you are not joining a union but merely signing a petition to the Government of Alberta asking them to conduct and oversee a secret ballot vote. The results of that vote will determine whether you have chosen to be represented by the Union. If the union was successful in its bid to represent the workers at Syncrude through this Secret Ballot vote, workers will then be asked to sign a card to officially join the union..
4: What about union Dues ?
Typically union dues are set at 1.5% of your base salary. It would not be included on your overtime or other premiums like shift differentials and others. It is also important to note that Union dues are Tax Deductible.
The National Union receives about 60% of those dues while the remaining 40% stays with the local .
There are no fees to join the Union . Union dues, with your agreement, will be deducted from your pay on a bi-weekly basis by the company and in turn the company will submit those dues to the local Union.
5: Will we loose what we have now if we choose a union? What happens to our Wages, Benefits ,Thrift plans etc.. ?
The Alberta Labour Relations Code ( Prohibited Practices) states that an employer is barred from altering the rates of pay, any term or condition of employment or any rights or privileges of any employee during the time between the date of the application and its refusal or 30 days after the date of certification. Further more, if a notice to begin bargaining has been served within those 30 days, the freeze period is extended to 60 days.
The union would use your existing wages and benefits as the base for its proposal to bargain a first collective agreement.
Your neighbors at Suncor have been enjoying a great collective agreement, as well as saving plans and benefits equal to or better than Syncrude. The presence of the Union has not been a threat to their working condition, on the contrary, it has been part of improvements over the years.
6: Syncrude is hiring more people in the mine to replace contractors. Why is this happening now during the Union drive?
It is likely that management believes that new hires at Syncrude would not vote for a Union. For many reasons they may be right. Because the union usually brings in seniority, new hires come in at the bottom. Seniority for Syncrude employees, if you were to elect to have a union, would be based on your hire date. Employees hired in 1990 would have 10 years of seniority for example. We have seen this tactic in many organizing drives. The other message that the Company is sending out by doing this hiring is one about caring. They are trying to tell you that they have heard your concerns about the issue of contracting out and that they are doing something about it. Our feeling is that it likely would not have happened if this organizing drive was not taking place. That is an interesting thought " the union influencing the decisions being made by Syncrude management without even being there." Imagine what could be done if we were.
Please feel free to call on us to answer any of your questions :
cep707@telusplanet.net or lefort@home.com
phone:
743-3933 743-5157
or just drop in to visit with us at # 201 10020 Franklin Ave. Above the Saan Store