Longueuil, Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - Over 300 outside workers from the municipalities (or future wards) of Boucherville, Brossard, Lemoyne, Greenfield Park, Longueuil, Saint-Bruno and Saint-Lambert held their first historic general meeting on Tuesday evening, April 24, in Ville Lemoyne.
A Priority: Union Integration
Faced with the undeniable reality of the amalgamation of our cities, we must act collectively and get organized before we are organized with no say in the matter.
It is along these lines that we have formed the South Shore outside workers union, Local 307 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE-QFL). Its first priority is to work toward the harmonious integration of all our unions, said Mr. Mario Gauthier, President of the Longueuil outside workers and provisional director of the group.
One Shadow
The only shadow on the event, which was marked by several interventions throughout the meeting, is the refusal of the CSD Executive of some 100 outside workers in Saint Hubert to join the CUPE group. It is a thorn in our side, and it threatens to slow down the integration process.
These people want to instigate a vote of allegiance, whereas they are only 100 out of a total of 600 outside workers in the new municipality. On the one hand, we have met with several outside workers in Saint-Hubert who disagree with this CSD tactic. We, on the other hand, prefer to concentrate all our energies on the integration issue, on discussing work conditions, seniority, etc. affirmed CUPE representative Mr. Serge Pilote.
The groups provisional committee took advantage of the meeting to draw up a list of the work that has already been accomplished to date (finances, constitution and by-laws, seniority, group insurance, job evaluation, etc.), and to underline the progress of the discussions undertaken with the transition committee, which will pass the reigns on to the new municipal administration on January 1, 2002.
CUPE, the Main Froce in the Municipal Sector
You can count on the support of CUPE every step of the way. We have the expertise and the services to support you at each step of the south shore municipal amalgamation, no matter how complex, said Mr. Claude Ht0075, Assistant Director of CUPE-Quebec.
We must not forget that CUPE represents about 70% (25,000 members in the municipal sector) of all the municipal employees in Quebec. With close to 100,000 members in 11 sectors of activity, CUPE is, without a doubt, the largest affiliate of the QFL.
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SOURCE: CANADIAN UNION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES (QFL)
Information:
Serge Pilote, tel: 514-919-8385
Louis Cauchy, tel: 514-235-3996
Web Sites: scfp307.qc.ca
scfp.qc.ca
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