Hi All,  

It’s taken a while to sift through and analyze the hundreds of RealityCheck survey responses that we received, both regarding how well you feel your Union is meeting your needs as a member, and how you feel your employer is meeting your needs as their employee. 

I can tell you personally that I’m blown away at how helpful your feedback about the Union is, and myself and senior Local leadership are going to be referring to it often when strategizing how to improve the Local. Partially it confirms that you’ve noticed a lot of improvements in the last year, but it also confirms that you have very definite ideas about what improvements you’re looking for in the future. I’m going to summarize some of what you’ve told us below, and I’m going to skip over your many positive comments since, unlike PulseCheck, the point here is not to show off.  

Here are some improvements you’re looking for regarding your Union:

What you said:  
You want clear regular updates on Union activities, bargaining, and ongoing grievances. Essentially, you want frequent, ‘bite-size’, usable info about what the Union is doing for you, and information that you can use to be better empowered.   

What we’re going to do about it: 
We’ve already started putting out more frequent socials posts on Local activities, but we’re going to be putting a new focus on frequently letting you know a) how the Local is fighting for you, and b) how you can better ensure you get fairly treated at work. This will include grievance wins, rights you may not know you have, new approaches the Local is taking in fighting fear-based management etc.  

What you said:
You want more direct interactions with Union leaders, including site visits, tailgate meetings, coffee meet-ups.  

What we’re going to do about it: 
We’ve started actioning this already, with our multiple in-person Return to Office events nation-wide, with all senior Local leadership and almost all members of the Executive Board in attendance, and this kind of thing will be continuing. We’re about to launch more social events than ever, and it’s a priority to have Executive Board members there wherever possible. As well, every quarterly Unit meeting will now have at least one Executive Board member present (at least remotely).  

What you said: 
You want new members introduced to the Union as soon as possible, so that they can be a part of things right away, get educated, and be solid Union members from the get-go. 

What we’re going to do about it: 
This month we’re launching a program to ensure that each new member is reached out to by the Union office for an orientation chat as soon as possible after hire, including any members hired in the last two years that may not have received an in-person Union orientation. We’re also about to launch our brand-new Membership 101 course, which is an accessible 1-hour course on how the Union works, how to protect yourself, and how to be a solid Union member. 

What you said: 
You want your Union to prepare early for Telus bargaining, focus on stronger language to prevent loopholes that the company can exploit, focus on job security, and deal with unrealistic metrics/workload. You want training well in advance on how to support your Union in bargaining.  

What we’re going to do about it: 
I’m done with concessions. Honestly that’s single-handedly why I felt I needed to be in this role as President. D.O.N.E.  

Over the last year, we’ve reformed many aspects of how the Local has operated regarding communications, grievance and arbitrations, bringing members together more than ever, and taking a much more hands-on approach to what you’re experiencing at work. But now it’s time to start talking about Telus Bargaining 2027 so stay tuned in the next couple months for more about the Local’s action plan to build power leading up to Telus bargaining. 

What you said:  
You want your Union to publicly expose Telus’ outsourcing practices and how they treat employees, including the impact on the Canadian economy and communities.  

What we’re going to do about it: 
We’re currently working on a couple projects to do exactly this in a more compelling and publicly accessible way than ever, although details can’t be revealed yet. I’m also dedicated to building the Local’s media contacts and letting this network know immediately when something crosses our desks that the public may be interested in. We’re getting into the media more in the last year than ever, you can just google “Telus Union” and see this, but we’re going to keep focusing on building our media presence leading into Bargaining 2027.

You told us much more, and we’re working on much more, but we’re already well beyond a ‘bite-sized’ update. I wanted to list these several items though to show that We Hear You, and we’re busy building the Union you need to get respect and fair treatment at work. 

We’ll release another President’s Message in a few days focusing on your feedback regarding your employer. In the meantime, check us out on our socials @USW1944 on Facebook and Instagram for more updates and info from the Union. 

In Solidarity,
Michael Phillips
President
USW Local 1944