Weekly Update: February 7 - February 13

Bargaining Committee Elections: Our elected Telus Bargaining Committee is composed of Neil Marshall for Appendix A Craft, Robin Navin for Appendix A Clerical and Operators, and David Rankin for Appendix B. What a great crew of experienced and passionate activists. With the support of our Lead Bargainer, Staff Rep Jayson Little, and very bargaining-experienced Local Rep Steve McWhirter, I’m completely confident in this Bargaining Committee’s ability to get you the best Agreement possible in this round. I’ll be chairing the Bargaining Committee, and I’ll be bringing the Committee together soon for our initial training and strategy session.

Our elected Ericsson Bargaining Committee is composed of Kyle Strangward for Western Canada, Brian Ouellette for Quebec, and Daniel Brueckner for Ontario and the Maritimes. These three dedicated members have the clear support of their coworkers, and will be led by Staff Rep Jayson Little and our own Local Rep Alexander Livingston, seeking a first Collective Agreement that will provide job stability and better working conditions. Congratulations to each of you.

CTWA Launch: The Canadian Telecommunications Workers Alliance has launched. It is composed of the three largest Unions in telecom, the USW, Unifor, and CUPE, and it will engage in government lobbying and public outreach on behalf of the entire industry’s labour force. After a launch last week in Ottawa that featured the National Directors and Presidents of each constituent Union, the CTWA then met with a combined 30 MPs, including Ministers, Shadow Ministers, and other MPs with portfolios that touch on telecom. The CTWA intends to be a permanent fixture on Parliament Hill, a vital source of information for policy makers regarding the telecom industry.

New Telus CEO: Telus has announced that Victor Dodig, former CEO of CIBC, will become Telus CEO in June. I welcome the possibility that the hiring of a new CEO might open the opportunity for a more normal, rational relationship between Union and Company. Telus has suffered greatly by pretending that the Union employees that hold its operations together are expendable. Now complaints are through the roof, the stock is in the gutter, and the CEO is on his way out. Local 1944 will be reaching out to the new leadership in June, seeking a mutually beneficial path forward on the basis of a new, shared respect for the value that Local 1944 members bring to this company.

Please watch this video to hear more about these good news updates:

In Solidarity,

Michael Phillips
President
USW Local 1944