CUPE 2195 General Meeting
April 7, 2004
Executive Present:
Ted Charette, Jody Bond, Angela Jones, Don Baker and Paul Connery
General Membership Present:
Linda Smith, Paula Marsh, Sheila Kennedy, Sean OConnor and Steve Mealha
(Quorum was not established)
Financial Report:
Jody reported that the bank balance is status quo. There was some discussion about using some funds from the account to enhance our General Meeting attendance (i.e. ordering pizza, etc.) or for having a social event for union members once or twice a year. Ongoing events may require the creation of a Social Committee, but for now, Sean and Steve agreed to develop some ideas for possible events and get information on costs. This information will be brought forward to the next meeting.
Union Web Site:
Just a note to all members that our Locals web site is up and running. Meeting minutes, contact information, and listings of upcoming events are listed on the site. Angela Jones is maintaining the site on a fairly regular basis, so please contact her if you would like anything added, corrected, or have any questions. Please note, accessing the web page from work computers is not recommended. The address is www.2195.cupe.ca .
Funding Update:
The City of Ottawa budget cuts have had fairly minimal impact on the Bureau. Also, the Michelle Heights program will be continuing as it has received new funding this year.
Human Resources Update:
The Coordinator of the Community Programs will be laid off due to lack of work. This was apparently planned before the projected budget cuts. As well, the Coordinator position for Ottawa Central Services will be posted. Stacey Lauridsen is fulfilling the position for the time being. There was concern raised about one person being able to manage the heavy workload of both the Drop-In and CP programs.
Shelter Update:
The RFP for the new Transition / Shelter program (two facilities for young men and young women) has been accepted. One site has been secured for the young mens program in the Centretown area and it is hopeful that the young womens program will also have a new location set in the near future. The Bureau will be moving ahead with the young mens program first as the young mens shelter at the Salvation Army has recently been shut down.
Young Offender Update:
There are now some Phase 2 young women at William Hay. The Bureau hopes to get the Phase 2 young men in the next couple months. The change (having Phase 2 young women come to WEH) has happened very quickly and the staff have adapted incredibly well, considering the lack of preparation. Some of the issues that have come up from the transition have been how to address clients who are over 16 who do not want to participate in the school program and how to handle combining clients of different ages, phases, etc. Another change has been to the transport process for WEH clients. It has become a much more formalized process where the police send an extraction team to pick up the resident. Whenever the Phase 2 young men get incorporated into WEH, the Bureau may need to look at expanding the facility, as the current buildings may not be large enough to accommodate the amount of potential residents. There is room to build one or two more cottages on the land close to WEH. Also, OCDC will be starting building renovations in September, so the young men there may be moved to WEH at that time. It is also possible that they could be placed at other facilities in the province, depending on bed availability.
La Rl0061nce:
Although it is not official, there is a strong chance that this program may be ending soon due to funding issues.
Section 20 Program:
Management will be asking for more money to run the program properly. If this is not possible, the Ministry may be asked to resume responsibility of the program again, as the Bureau does not want to run a half-hearted service.
Statutory Holiday Pay:
All staff should be receiving payment for any worked Statutory holidays on the pay immediately following the holiday.
Human Resources Committee:
We need to find three bargaining unit members to be part of the HR Committee. This group will review job descriptions and discuss any related issues with management. Paula Marsh indicated that she was interested in being part of this committee. Any other interested members should notify Ted as soon as possible.
Transports:
Ted shared that he thought that management had agreed, during negotiations last year, to compensate Control Officers at the Youth Worker pay rate when doing transports, and to give them back pay for time already worked. The Control Officers have not received any back pay so far. Management does not believe that this was ever agreed upon. They have agreed to pay the increased wage from now on, but we cannot find any documentation to verify the back pay issue from Negotiations or Labour Management.
Labour / Management Update:
An issue has recently arisen regarding the creation of some new jobs, but not posting them throughout the units. Also, there have been a few suspected instances of some managers hand-picking people for jobs or extra training. Everyone is encouraged to be vigilant in holding management accountable for upholding the proper hiring process. It is important to report any discrepancies in proper hiring processes immediately so they can be investigated right away (before person is already hired). Another question came up about the difference in criteria for hiring Part-Time and Full-Time staff.
In-Charge At Sherwood:
As of April 15th, there needs to be an IC staff in place at Sherwood during times that management is not in the building. There will no longer be an On-Call staff. Some staff have asked if they will have a choice about if they want to perform IC duties or not. Ted reported that he thought management were able to force/designate staff to be the IC (and providing the person with a 10% pay increase for the time). It was also pointed out that there is a distinct difference between being in charge of the building while on shift (IC role) and being responsible for the entire program (management role). The Director would be consulted if there were any staffing or other major emergencies. The selection process for the IC staff has still not been thoroughly established yet.
Insurance Proposal:
A company approached Ted to discuss benefit coverage. This company is a totally unionized company and is connecting with many Locals to inquire about interest in switching to their services. They are offering a $2000 Life Insurance policy increase for anybody who signs up. CUPE does not know much about this company. The woman had asked Ted if she could attend one of the General Meetings to do a presentation for all the members. The decision from the group was to decline the offer, as people are pleased with our current insurance provider. Ted will call the woman back to inform her of our decision.
Next Meeting:
The next General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 5th from 12pm 1pm at the McNabb Community Centre.
April 7, 2004
Executive Present:
Ted Charette, Jody Bond, Angela Jones, Don Baker and Paul Connery
General Membership Present:
Linda Smith, Paula Marsh, Sheila Kennedy, Sean OConnor and Steve Mealha
(Quorum was not established)
Financial Report:
Jody reported that the bank balance is status quo. There was some discussion about using some funds from the account to enhance our General Meeting attendance (i.e. ordering pizza, etc.) or for having a social event for union members once or twice a year. Ongoing events may require the creation of a Social Committee, but for now, Sean and Steve agreed to develop some ideas for possible events and get information on costs. This information will be brought forward to the next meeting.
Union Web Site:
Just a note to all members that our Locals web site is up and running. Meeting minutes, contact information, and listings of upcoming events are listed on the site. Angela Jones is maintaining the site on a fairly regular basis, so please contact her if you would like anything added, corrected, or have any questions. Please note, accessing the web page from work computers is not recommended. The address is www.2195.cupe.ca .
Funding Update:
The City of Ottawa budget cuts have had fairly minimal impact on the Bureau. Also, the Michelle Heights program will be continuing as it has received new funding this year.
Human Resources Update:
The Coordinator of the Community Programs will be laid off due to lack of work. This was apparently planned before the projected budget cuts. As well, the Coordinator position for Ottawa Central Services will be posted. Stacey Lauridsen is fulfilling the position for the time being. There was concern raised about one person being able to manage the heavy workload of both the Drop-In and CP programs.
Shelter Update:
The RFP for the new Transition / Shelter program (two facilities for young men and young women) has been accepted. One site has been secured for the young mens program in the Centretown area and it is hopeful that the young womens program will also have a new location set in the near future. The Bureau will be moving ahead with the young mens program first as the young mens shelter at the Salvation Army has recently been shut down.
Young Offender Update:
There are now some Phase 2 young women at William Hay. The Bureau hopes to get the Phase 2 young men in the next couple months. The change (having Phase 2 young women come to WEH) has happened very quickly and the staff have adapted incredibly well, considering the lack of preparation. Some of the issues that have come up from the transition have been how to address clients who are over 16 who do not want to participate in the school program and how to handle combining clients of different ages, phases, etc. Another change has been to the transport process for WEH clients. It has become a much more formalized process where the police send an extraction team to pick up the resident. Whenever the Phase 2 young men get incorporated into WEH, the Bureau may need to look at expanding the facility, as the current buildings may not be large enough to accommodate the amount of potential residents. There is room to build one or two more cottages on the land close to WEH. Also, OCDC will be starting building renovations in September, so the young men there may be moved to WEH at that time. It is also possible that they could be placed at other facilities in the province, depending on bed availability.
La Rl0061nce:
Although it is not official, there is a strong chance that this program may be ending soon due to funding issues.
Section 20 Program:
Management will be asking for more money to run the program properly. If this is not possible, the Ministry may be asked to resume responsibility of the program again, as the Bureau does not want to run a half-hearted service.
Statutory Holiday Pay:
All staff should be receiving payment for any worked Statutory holidays on the pay immediately following the holiday.
Human Resources Committee:
We need to find three bargaining unit members to be part of the HR Committee. This group will review job descriptions and discuss any related issues with management. Paula Marsh indicated that she was interested in being part of this committee. Any other interested members should notify Ted as soon as possible.
Transports:
Ted shared that he thought that management had agreed, during negotiations last year, to compensate Control Officers at the Youth Worker pay rate when doing transports, and to give them back pay for time already worked. The Control Officers have not received any back pay so far. Management does not believe that this was ever agreed upon. They have agreed to pay the increased wage from now on, but we cannot find any documentation to verify the back pay issue from Negotiations or Labour Management.
Labour / Management Update:
An issue has recently arisen regarding the creation of some new jobs, but not posting them throughout the units. Also, there have been a few suspected instances of some managers hand-picking people for jobs or extra training. Everyone is encouraged to be vigilant in holding management accountable for upholding the proper hiring process. It is important to report any discrepancies in proper hiring processes immediately so they can be investigated right away (before person is already hired). Another question came up about the difference in criteria for hiring Part-Time and Full-Time staff.
In-Charge At Sherwood:
As of April 15th, there needs to be an IC staff in place at Sherwood during times that management is not in the building. There will no longer be an On-Call staff. Some staff have asked if they will have a choice about if they want to perform IC duties or not. Ted reported that he thought management were able to force/designate staff to be the IC (and providing the person with a 10% pay increase for the time). It was also pointed out that there is a distinct difference between being in charge of the building while on shift (IC role) and being responsible for the entire program (management role). The Director would be consulted if there were any staffing or other major emergencies. The selection process for the IC staff has still not been thoroughly established yet.
Insurance Proposal:
A company approached Ted to discuss benefit coverage. This company is a totally unionized company and is connecting with many Locals to inquire about interest in switching to their services. They are offering a $2000 Life Insurance policy increase for anybody who signs up. CUPE does not know much about this company. The woman had asked Ted if she could attend one of the General Meetings to do a presentation for all the members. The decision from the group was to decline the offer, as people are pleased with our current insurance provider. Ted will call the woman back to inform her of our decision.
Next Meeting:
The next General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 5th from 12pm 1pm at the McNabb Community Centre.