Directions Newsletter Vol. IV No. 2

In this issue:

RSI Awareness Day

NUPGE lauds UFCW Canada efforts

Blockbuster ratification

Keeping cashiers warm

Wages up 12% at Syn-tex

Conferences to be held jointly

Going to bat for dismissed “farm” workers

Focus On: Training and Education

Scholarship winners announced

OFL honour roll seeks nominees

ILO site offers labour resources

Sunday, February 29, marks International Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) Awareness Day, the annual event keeping the issue of the often-crippling injuries a top priority. RSIs are caused by workers being forced to perform repetitive actions – speed and intensity of work are often factors, but injury through constant repetition, such as the kinds of movements typically made by UFCW Canada members in packinghouses and supermarkets, is the debilitating factor. RSI Awareness Day provides an opportunity, through raising awareness, to renew our commitment to promoting prevention, rehabilitation, compensation, and education. • Prevention: We need to continue convincing employers to use basic ergonomic principles to redesign tools and workstations, and to re-evaluate the basic organization of work in order to eliminate RSI altogether. • Rehabilitation: Workers must have the right and opportunity to heal and recover, to be able to go back to their jobs – ensuring, of course, that safeguards have been put in place to prevent further damage to their health. • Compensation: Too many members try to “work through” the pain, or to “tough it out”. That’s simply the way a lot of people were brought up. This often makes RSIs worse and more damaging in the longer term. In cases like this, a return to work is not always an option, and workers must be compensated by the employer for the damage done. • Education: Finally, it is incumbent on UFCW Canada to educate not only our members but employers as well about RSIs and other health-and-safety issues. Employers need to get the message that they must equate good ergonomic practices with economic well-being. Protecting workers is in everyone’s best interest. In solidarity, Michael J. Fraser National Director

NUPGE lauds UFCW Canada efforts

UFCW Canada National Director Micheal Frasier (right) witnesses the contract signing

The leader of Canada’s second-largest trade union – the National Union of Public and General Employees, or NUPGE – has signed a rare formal protocol recognizing UFCW Canada as the union to represent farm workers in Canada, including the approximately 18,000 migrant workers who come to the country under the federal Seasonal Agriculture Workers (SAW) program. “We recognize that agricultural workers are one of the most disadvantaged groups of workers in Canada,” says NUPGE president James Clancy, seen on left in photo with UFCW Canada national director Michael Fraser. “This is a tremendous validation of what UFCW Canada has been doing,” Fraser says. “Brother Clancy’s recognition of our union’s work helps pave the way to winning the rights of these disadvantaged workers sooner rather than later.” In addition to recognizing UFCW Canada’s jurisdiction in the sector, the 337,000-member NUPGE pledges to support and promote organizing and awareness efforts among its membership and the public. “We recognize UFCW Canada as the union that has led the struggle over the last decade to achieve justice and fairness for migrant workers, and all workers in the agribusiness industry across the country,” Clancy says. More: Bryan Neath, UFCW Canada

Blockbuster ratification

Members of UFCW Canada Local 175 in Woodbridge, Ont. reached a new agreement with their employer, Blockbuster Video, in January. Improvements include a 20¢-per-hour wage hike retroactive to last November, and an across-the-board wage increase of an additional 20¢ in each year of the agreement, plus a 10¢-per-hour merit increase in each year. Merit increases of 15¢ and 20¢ are also possible for members whose ratings exceed expectations. In addition, starting rates have increased, and call-in and bereavement language have been improved. More: Cheryl Mumford, UFCW Canada Local 175

Keeping cashiers warm

While supermarket giant Safeway keeps UFCW members out in the cold in the fifth month of a strike by 70,000 California workers, cashiers employed in Canada Safeway stores in British Columbia are feeling the chill – physically. In-store temperatures have been measured as low as 15ºC (British Columbia regulations mandate a minimum temperature of 20ºC), and, when cashiers sought to wear sweaters or other warm clothing, Safeway insisted they buy Safeway-logo items or they couldn’t be worn. “The law is very clear,” says UFCW Canada Local 1518 president Brooke Sundin. “The employer has a responsibility to deal with this issue, because the kind of cold temperatures in some of these stores, in addition to being just plain uncomfortable, adds to the risk of injury for our members.” At the union’s insistence, Safeway has since relented on the sweater issue, allowing dark, non-logo items to be worn. “But, overall, the problem still hasn’t been addressed,” Sundin says. “We are advising members to follow the WCB guidelines to the letter, and to assure them that they are protected if the company tries to retaliate.” More: Andy Neufeld, UFCW Canada Local 1518

Wages up 12% at Syn-tex

There’s a more-than 12% wage increase in store for about 65 members of UFCW Canada Local 832, as their three-year collective agreement with Syn-tex Convertors, a bag manufacturer in Winnipeg, comes into effect. In addition to the wage increase of 4.4-4.0-3.85% (the first of which is retroactive to last August), members receive a new vision care program and a new stat holiday. More: Grant Warren, UFCW Canada Local 832

Conferences to be held jointly

Several regular UFCW Canada national sectoral conferences and meetings will be held jointly for the first time this year, from July 26-28 in Moncton, N.B. “There is considerable overlap for many members involved in more than one of these conferences,” says UFCW Canada national director Michael Fraser. “It makes sense to hold them jointly when possible in order to consolidate time and costs.” The three days of meetings, to be held at the Delta Beauséjour, will include sectoral conferences for members in the red-meat, poultry, flour-milling, hospitality, and soft-drink industries as well as the annual meeting of the UFCW Canada National Defence Fund (NDF). Details of the conference agendas will be sent to the local unions involved. More: Bryan Neath, UFCW Canada

Stan Raper (left) and Roger Goethyn (right) at a news conference

Going to bat for dismissed “farm” workers

UFCW Canada has taken up the cause of Roger Goethyn and family. The four workers were employed in Ontario’s agriculture industry when they were terminated recently. “This is exactly the kind of thing that is permitted under Ontario’s laws that discriminate against agriculture workers,” says UFCW Canada national director Michael Fraser. “Without the protections that other workers take for granted, agriculture industry workers are easy targets for unscrupulous employers.” Goetheyn (seen above right with UFCW Canada’s Stan Raper at a news conference at the Chatham-Kent labour council on January 28) is an experienced and licensed pesticide-handler who worked at Chatham’s Platinum Produce – an industrial tomato hothouse facility. Earlier in January, Goethyn was dismissed from his job when he refused management’s order to spray Thiodan – an insecticide that can cause convulsions and other serious health problems – while about 100 workers were in the facility. Among the co-workers he was protecting by his refusal were his wife, Tracey, and sons Matthew and Michael (Tracey and Matthew are seen below). The entire family was fired. Roger Goethyn with wife Tracey and son Matthew

Roger Goethyn with wife Tracey and son Matthew

Under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, workers can refuse to perform work that is dangerous to them or their fellow workers. Agriculture workers, however, are excluded from the Act’s protections. This discrimination against agriculture workers is at the core of a suit launched by UFCW Canada against the province of Ontario in June 2003. “Ontario is breaching the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by not protecting all workers under the Health and Safety Act,” Raper says. “If agriculture workers were protected under the Act, the right of the Platinum workers to refuse to do dangerous work would have been protected.” In addition to publicizing this case, UFCW Canada’s Justice for Agriculture Workers campaign is providing legal assistance for the Goethyn family as they pursue the case.

FOCUS ON: TRAINING AND EDUCATION
New training and education initiatives UFCW Canada national director Michael Fraser has announced several initiatives in the union’s national training and education department, coordinated by Bryan Neath. Under the training and education development are a wide range of national programs, including youth, labour education, health-and-safety training, and government-funded programs. Labour educator Cam Sherk will be responsible for union education and training programs as well as health and safety, and sits on the Ontario Federation of Labour and Canadian Labour Congress health and safety committees. Also teaching and assisting local unions in their training courses is Dorothy Gossi, and is working on new program development as well. Government-funded programs such as literacy skills, clear-language education, and workplace adjustment – including the UFCW Canada Local 333 SARS adjustment committee program – are being coordinated by Susan Jones. Finally, national youth programs are now being coordinated by Christopher O’Halloran, who had been working on organizing programs, including Wal-Mart, in various locations.	Youth to youth on the labour movement With a growing demand from schools across the country for UFCW Canada’s popular Talking Union program, a group of young activists gathered in Mississauga, Ont. for a three-day training session to become Talking Union facilitators. Recognizing the absence of labour presence in much of the school system, the Talking Union program provides guest speakers who can bring the labour movement to the classroom in high schools, colleges, and universities. Often, it not only provides an introduction to unions for students, but also provides them with their first opportunity to learn about their rights as workers. In attendance for the January session were: (seated) Samantha Grexton, UFCW Canada Local 401, Alberta; (standing, l-r) Darren Kurmey, Local 1400, Saskatchewan; David Mowat, Local 247, British Columbia; Trudy Fortin, Local 1000A, Ontario; Marie Meyers, Local 832, Manitoba; Pablo Godoy, Local 1000A, Ontario; Jeffrey Pingue, Local 248P, Saskatchewan; Ria Rampersaud, Locals 175 & 633, Ontario; Rick Young, Local 206, Ontario; Sharon Wall, Locals 175 & 633, Ontario; Craig Walsh, Local 864, Prince Edward Island; Kerry Kennedy, Local 12R24, Ontario; and Pascal Gendron, Local 501, Québec. To find out more about utilizing the Talking Union program in your local, contact Chris O’Halloran in the UFCW Canada national office.
Scholarship winners Two of the 18 winners of the UFCW Canada National Council 2003 Beggs- Dowling-Mathieu Scholarships have been presented with cheques for $500 each by their respective local union presidents. At left, Mandy Lee Chytyk of Saskatchewan UFCW Canada Local 1400 is congratulated by president Paul Meinema; at right, Anna Marie Dlugosz gets her cheque from Manitoba UFCW Canada Local 832 president Robert Ziegler.

Scholarship winners announced

UFCW Canada National Council president Brian Williamson has announced the names of the winners of the 2003 Beggs-Dowling-Mathieu Scholarships. The 18 winners, selected on a regional basis, are: • Frédérique Benoît, Local 500R, St-Roch-de-Richelieu, Qué. • Jessica Bernhardt, Local 175, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. • Alex-Josée Boucher, Local 500R, St-Charles-Borromée, Qué. • Alexandre Bourque, Local 1288P, Moncton, N.B. • Sterling Chan, Local 1518, Abbotsford, B.C. • Mandy Lee Chytyk, Local 1400, Melfort, Sask. • Melanie Deziel, Local 500R, Charlemagne, Qué. • Anna Marie Dlugosz, Local 832, West St. Paul, Man. • Jaclyn Cristina Ewaskow, Local 1518, Richmond, B.C. • Jean-Marc Fortin, Local 500R, Montréal • Tyler Gatcke, Local 1977, Waterloo, Ont. • Melissa Pattle, Local 1977, Orillia, Ont. • Tanya Leanne Pelrine, Local 864, Halifax • Kevin Randall, Local 500R, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Qué. • Krista Row, Local 373A, Calgary • Alexander Schirru, Local 1977, Welland, Ont. • Sarah Michelle Silk, Local 1977, Orangeville, Ont. • Jennifer Zilinski, RWDSU Local 582, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Watch for more details in the year-end Our Union membership magazine. The Beggs-Dowling-Mathieu Scholarships are worth $500 each and are awarded annually by the National Council. More: Micheline Vallée-Turp, UFCW Canada National Council

OFL honour roll seeks nominees

The Ontario Federation of Labour is once again soliciting the names of worthy candidates for inclusion in its Labour Honour Roll. Past inductees from UFCW Canada are Fred Dowling (inducted in 1985, the second year of the program), Iona Samis (1986), Bill Hanley (1990), Harry Simon (1992), Ian Reilly (1993), Julius Hoebink (1995), Al Hershkovitz (1998), and Clifford Evans (2002). The annual honour roll recognizes “retired or deceased trade unionists who have made a significant contribution to the life and growth of the labour movement in Ontario”, and is part of the federation’s scholarship program. Two scholarships of $2,000 each are awarded to members or the children of members of affiliated local unions. More: Bob Linton, UFCW Canada

ILO site offers labour resources

The communications department of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva has a strong website offering a variety of international labour resources, including articles and research, video and audio clips, and high resolution photographs on a wide range of subjects for use by partner organizations. Much of the material is drawn from the ILO’s magazine, World of Work, and other fact sheets produced by the United Nations agency. Visitors can also sign up to receive the ILO News Service by email, including news, features, and other information on the latest global campaigns and events. Information from the ILO is provided in English, French, and Spanish. Go to www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/index.htm for more. Have a favourite site you would like to share? Please e-mail [email protected].