The Canadian Union Of Labour Employees represents over eighty unionized staff employed in the regional offices of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). In addition, CULE represents all employees of the Nunavut Employees Union, a Component of the PSAC.

As per the CULE Constitution (see below), an election will take place for a Member at Large Executive Position for Unit 11.

SECTION 5 – EXECUTIVE

B. (i) To the extent possible, the Executive shall be comprised of members from Admin Staff/Administrative Personnel Group and Officers Group; as defined by the President on the basis of proportional representation. Should an election result in a lack of proportional representation in the opinion of the Executive, the Executive shall have the authority to create one or more “member-at-large” positions to be filled by an election among members of the bargaining unit concerned.

A nomination form is now available.  If you require further information, do not hesitate to contact me at 1-709-651-3727 or via email peckfop@psac.com or contact your CULE Director. Nominations for the position should be faxed or mailed to the Gander RO prior to the deadline of January 31, 2012.

In solidarity,

Pamela Peckford – Unit 11 VP

We encourage all CULE members to read the latest update (below) from MAKABAYAN – as usual it is password protected to ensure the security and privacy of our friends in the Philippines.

Sisters and Brothers,

As you will surely recall, CULE recommended the ratification of the tentative agreement we reached with PSAC back in April 2011 with the understanding and commitment from the Employer that meaningful discussions would take place before any changes are made to our Extended Health Benefits Plan. The Employer made it clear to your bargaining team that they would not enter into consultation with any pre-conceived ideas as to how it would end up.

A CULE Benefits Committee, consisting of Jim Brohman, Gail Chafe & Larry Welsh, was struck and discussions were held between the two parties. While the employer representatives listened to what we had to say, they obviously did not hear us. It was painfully clear during these discussions that the employer was looking to impose on us what was agreed to by the other staff unions. To that effect, we received a Memorandum dated December 19, 2011 from Bonnie O’Keefe, the outgoing Director of Administration Branch, informing us that the changes to our Extended Health Benefits Plan (dispensing fees, paramedical and psychological services) will be in effect as of January 1, 2012.

• Read the report of the CULE Benefits Committee
• Read the memo from the employer

As far as we are concerned, the so called consultation process was not much more than a PR vehicle designed to impose on us what they failed to achieve at the bargaining table. We have always maintained that the declared savings of $32,000 did not warrant imposing such concessions on CULE members. CULE entered into these discussions with an open mind, only to face employer representatives who were unwilling to budge from their original position.

If anything, this experience has taught us a valuable lesson. While we will continue to work with the employer to make the PSAC a truly model employer, let it be known that the key variable – trust – is currently missing from this relationship.

Sisters and brothers, please stay tuned for future actions where you can express your displeasure with having to lose a valuable part of your extended health benefits.

In solidarity,

Dave Jackson
CULE President

The United Nations’ (UN) International Human Solidarity Day is annually held on December 20 to celebrate unity in diversity. It also aims to remind people on the importance of solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty.

The International Human Solidarity Day was first proclaimed on December 22, 2005, at the UN General Assembly. It was proclaimed that International Solidarity Day would take place on December 20 each year. The event aimed to raise people’s awareness of the importance of advancing the international development agenda and promoting global understanding of the value of human solidarity. The assembly felt that the promotion of a culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing was important in combating poverty. Some of the activities that groups and organizations can engage in to promote International Human Solidarity Day are organize around issues such as:

• Banning land mines.
• Making health and medication accessible to those in need.
• Relief efforts to help those who suffered the effects of natural or human-made disasters.
• Achieving universal education.
• Fighting against poverty, corruption and terrorism

CULE as an organization is committed to Social Justice Work and has negotiated a Social Justice Fund Clause in their Collective Agreement. In the last few years CULE has supported working class campaigns and campaigns that fight against corruption and poverty. CULE has supported campaigns in the Philippines, Middle East, Africa, Guyana, Honduras, Cuba as well as campaigns within Canada. CULE has provided funding to campaigns that engage in education and projects to address poverty and corruption.
On December 20, 2011, CULE salutes its membership who engage in Human Solidarity in both their work and private lives.

À tous les membres de l’UCES:  Joyeuses Fêtes et Bonne Année!

To all CULE members:  Have a safe and festive holiday season

The votes are in, the ballots counted and the results of the VP elections are

• Unit I – Joan-Anne Gravesande
• Unit II – Pamela Peckford

They join

• Treasurer – Gail Chafe
• Secretary – Stephanie Penwarden
• Director BC – James Little
• Director NCR – Hassan Husseini
• Director Prairies – Carm Chan
• Director North – Debbie McLaughlin
• Director Atlantic – Mark Rogers
• Director Ontario – Sandra Goodick
• Equity Director – Janelle Ho-Shing
• President – Dave Jackson

As your new CULE Executive – congratulations all!

All CULE Executive Positions are acclaimed except for the following positions (Click on the name for bios/statements from the candidates which will be posted as received).

Vice-President, CULE Unit II

• Pamela Peckford, nominated by Colleen MacKay, seconded by May Saunders
• Heather Longstaff nominated by Shawna Dalley, seconded by Gail Chafe

Vice-President, CULE Unit I

• Joan-Ann Gravesande nominated by Lisa Garnier, seconded by Debbie McLaughlin
• Jawara Gairey nominated by Judith Monteith-Farrell, seconded by Tracy Thor

Balloting Procedures

Download and return a ballot for the election(s) you will be voting in, and return to

PSAC Moncton RO
att: CULE Vote
30 Englehart Street, Unit G
Dieppe, NB E1A 8H3

prior to the deadline – close of business December 5th 2011 – please take this into account when sending ballots via mail.

As always use the double envelope method and please ensure your name is clearly marked on the outer envelope. Note that ballots will not be accepted by email, fax, or proxy. A physical ballot must be used and must arrive in Moncton prior to December 5th.

• Ballot for VP, Unit II (all members of CULE Unit II are eligible to vote)
• Ballot for VP, Unit I (all members of CULE Unit I are eligible to vote)

Congratulations to these new (and returning) executive members:

• Treasurer – Gail Chafe
• Secretary – Stephanie Penwarden
• Director BC – James Little
• Director NCR – Hassan Husseini
• Director Prairies – Carm Chan
• Director North – Debbie McLaughlin
• Director Atlantic – Mark Rogers
• Director Ontario – Sandra Goodick
• Equity Director – Janelle Ho-Shing
• President – Dave Jackson

Lastly, special thanks to the Moncton RO for coordinating the elections!

Many of you are aware that the Employer unilaterally decided to exclude Regional Representatives in the field who do negotiations from an upcoming training opportunity. A Negotiations Meeting will still take place November 1-4, 2011 but no Regional Representatives who handle negotiations in the field will be present. Only Regional/National Negotiators, research officers and admin staff will be offered the training.

The CULE Executive discussed this issue on a recent teleconference and struck a sub-committee to put together a response to Sue Jones, Coordinator of Negotiations. Download the committee’s letter here.

As per Section 9 of the CULE Constitution a Nomination Committee has been appointed to conduct the election of officers.

The Committee is accepting nominations for:  President, VP’s (Units I & II), Secretary, Treasurer and Directors (including the Equity Director).  All nominations should be duly seconded.

The deadline in which to submit nominations to the Committee is:  November 14, 2011, close of business. If an election for any position is required it will take place between November 16th and December 5th.

Download the CULE Executive election nomination form and return it to Diane Gallant c/o PSAC Moncton Regional Office by mail or fax.

Here, for the information of CULE members, is an update from MAKABAYAN on the situation at the Hanjin Shipyard

For Immediate Release

Subic, Zambales- “Shipbuilding is a high risk job; laxity on safety measures turns a shipyard into a gravely dangerous zone” this is the statement of Alfie Alipio, President of Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Hanjin Shipyard (SAMAHAN) in response to the accident that occurred yesterday at the Subic Shipyard or PHILSECO a shipbreaker company after a portion of a scaffold collapsed claiming the lives of five Pinoy workers while injuring six others.

“This horrible accident puts into the limelight the struggle for workplace safety of the Filipino workers in HANJIN’s Subic shipyard,” said Precy Dagooc, secretary general of labor center Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan (MAKABAYAN). Adding that, “if this accidents could happen in a company (PHILSECO) that strictly implements health and safety rules how much more in HANJIN a South Korean shipbuilding giant whose laxity on health and safety implementation caused for the death of 4 workers out of 28 serious accidents in the last five months.

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