Sudbury/North Bay AFS Branch and Sub-group Annual General Meeting

I. Call to order

Louise called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. on November 5th, 2008 at Respect is Burning.

II. Roll call

Louise conducted a roll call. The following persons were present: Jim Bergeron, Pat Bergeron, Bridget Brawley, Rose Darrach, Angela Gillard, Jenny Glanz, Shilo Haapala, Kathleen Kernaghan, Ron Kluppel, Rene Lafond, Brenda Lalonde, Dennis Lapierre, Tim LaRonde, Shauna Leclair, Mark Lefebvre, Patti Leonard, Miria Lumley, Noreen Marier, Saveria Massimiliano, Joe McColeman, Colin McMillan, Pierre Messier, Dino Moretta, Annette Paquette, Marcel Paquette, Philippe Pelletier, George Pitchkur, Penny Ruddy, Joy Schroeder, Joe Walker, Rick St.Denis, Louise Smith, Al Ravjiani, Doug Mason, Norm Barnoff

III. Approval of minutes from last meeting

Louise offered to read the minutes from the last meeting. The minutes were approved as read by Bridget Brawley and seconded by Jenny Glanz.

IV. President’s report

It has been a tough year. There have been the CTAO changes as well as the negotiations (or lack of). Please respond and show your support for the negotiation team when asked to. This could be our asking you to wear red on a certain day, or dress down, etc. Management has to report back to Bill Baker on all activities that are perceived as support for the union. This gives a better mandate to CRA to negotiate.

V. Executive reports

1) Al Ravjiani (Ontario Regional Director) encouraged members to read the Regional Newsletters. There are standing committees in PIPSC and those who are part of these committees get a chance to build contacts with other professionals. PIPSC has a goal to ensure stewards receive the training required to provide the necessary assistance for its members. Every year there is a Steward of the year selected and he encourages members to submit names if you feel your steward is deserving of the award. If you fill out the Employee survey, make sure you are as open and critical as you need to be. Tell management what you think. Several elections are coming up and you will be receiving an envelope in the mail soon. Make sure you vote.

2) Doug Mason (PIPSC AFS Ontario Representative) spoke about Bargaining. The next round of negotiations will be November 18-20. I am enclosing a file that shows exactly how the negotiations have been progressing and how they will go from here.

3) Norm Barnoff (AFS Vice-President/CS Regional Representative) spoke about how the CSs’ are “stressed out”. The new organizational structure is not working and we cannot change it until the IT Director returns. There is Term to Perm policy dictated by ITB. There is a mandate to have a 10% term ratio within Ontario. We have asked management to consider the Terms for permanent positions and then we could bring in more Terms to replace them. There are lots of opportunities in Ottawa for CS’s but very little elsewhere. The Essential Services Committee is still meeting and reviewing submissions. The issue this time is that this document will become static for the future.

VI. Elections:

I received only one submission for Vice-President this year. Jeannette Noel has stepped down to allow others to gain valuable experience. Bridget Brawley’s name was submitted by Jenney Glanz and seconded by Saveria Massimiliano. Bridget accepted the position. Welcome Bridget!

VII. New business

1) We wanted to elect a Secretary this year but upon further research I found that to become a member of the Executive you must be a steward first. We will be lobbying to see if anyone is interested in the future.

2) Many questions came from the floor regarding negotiations. What we are asking for (monetary), grievances and how they work.

VIII. Adjournment

Louise Smith adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m.
Minutes submitted by: Louise Smith
Minutes approved by: Jenny Glanz