A MESSAGE FROM YOUR VPS CONTINUED

As I reflect on the past year, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Kurt Haakensen for stepping up during my parental leave to ensure the admin group was not without executive member representation and also to my stewards, who did a good part of the heavy lifting during that time.

Some highlights for our group this year include:

Our IT department, whose swift response during the largest cybersecurity incident in our history, kept us operational and mitigated what could have been a much worse situation.

Kelly, for expertly handling the in-scope payroll change with minimal disruption, ensuring that this process went smoothly.

Looking ahead to 2025, there are a couple of key areas of concern I think deserve mentioning: first, the need for additional support in almost every admin department to help manage growing demands and make sure we continue to offer the same high level of quality as always while maintaining an appropriate work-life balance; second, the importance of staying vigilant to ensure in-scope work remains in-scope, and maintaining open communication with shop stewards or myself to address loss of work duties early on.

Finally, 2025 will be a busy year as we take the insights and comments from the pre-bargaining survey and begin incorporating them into our bargaining proposals for 2026, ensuring that we build on these ideas in the best possible way.

Tasha Lang, Administration VP

2024 SASK AREA COUNCIL

The Saskatchewan Area Council (SAC) has existed since 1974, with over 30 locals attending at times. However, that number has decreased in recent years.

I had the opportunity to attend the 2024 meeting as a delegate for Unifor 594 with nine other Unifor locals in Saskatoon at the end of October. Our brothers and sisters represented the locals attending with the crown corporations, potash, and the oil and gas sector.

Each local attending gave a unit update, and there were most definitely some common themes that we would all recognize. Contracting in, contracting out, unjust terminations, and outstanding grievances were highlighted by all the locals.

At our refinery, contract work is captured by the log book but in other workplaces the employer notifies the union the moment a contractor arrives on site despite arbitration stating that notification the week prior is required. Companies continue to push the boundaries and, at times, do not even consider the CBA regarding contract work. We must be vigilant to ensure our work is protected.

Grievances among other locals numbered as few as one or four to over 30, but we took the prize at 172! Those in attendance could not fathom that number, questioning how it was possible to get anything accomplished. I'm sure the work is never-ending, so kudos to Kurt, Richard, and anyone else involved in the ongoing battle with our backlog.

Adam Loehndorf of UFCW 1400 was one of our guest speakers. He gave us a very grim update on their 418-day (at the time) lockout of their membership in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon. The Heritage Inn has employed a union-busting lawyer, which has resulted in being overrun by injunctions and having unfair labour practice hearings, including bad faith bargaining, which has been delayed for 9 months. The membership of 60 workers has been cut in half since the lockout began, now 30 strong, brave brothers and sisters brace for their 2nd winter on the picket line. Don't hesitate to show them your support if you are in the area.

There were numerous other guest speakers that weekend, but Str8 Up was the highlight for me. They are an organization that assists individuals who are incarcerated in provincial or federal correctional facilities and want to get out of gang life. The member who spoke told us his very personal journey of being born into a family with gang affiliation and how it impacted his childhood development, eventually leading to a gang life of his own and incarceration. Hearing him tell a room of strangers every detail of his loss and struggles highlighted, for me, an enormous gap in the support system I had compared to him growing up. Str8 Up has allowed him to begin a healing process through their education programs, workplace development, substance management support, and cultural programs. A truly inspirational organization that, with dedication, everyone deserves a chance.

Overall, this meeting was very informative and highlighted the necessity of continuing networking among our locals. Sharing common issues in the workplace and how they are resolved across the province is invaluable. We are stronger together, which is why a council like this is important.

In Solidarity,

Chris Szala

LAST LAUGH

CSS CORNER

Happy New Year's to all my fellow 594 members. 2024 may be behind us, but there is still a lot of work on the grievance front from past years. With an eye toward the future, reviewing the past and necessary for the membership to get a snapshot of the work that the various grievance committees were involved in in 2024 is beneficial.

2024 saw 71 total grievances filed by the Union, which is a slight decrease from the 74 filed in 2023. This may seem like a positive trend; however, the sheer number of grievances that need to be filed to hold the Company accountable is of concern to the membership. As we all see on a daily basis and is a belief shared by many in management, lack of staffing is becoming one of the main concerns at the Refinery. This is quite evident in the grievance process as a great majority of those filed are directly or indirectly due to our current staffing levels. This ranges from the amount of work being improperly contracted out, not posting/filling jobs, not allowing job bids, the amount of temporary postings, the contractor log book being filled with entries citing "lack of manpower", etc.. The current staffing levels are a challenge for the membership as a whole, and the union and the executive are working diligently in meetings with front-line managers and the RLT to voice our concerns. The grievance process is an important tool that we use to keep the company accountable and I encourage all members to reach out to their steward if they feel that the CBA is not being followed.

As of this writing, there are currently 176 active grievances that are in varying stages of the process. There are also 3 grievances in the arbitration process and 2 that are awaiting Judicial Review's decision. I have optimism moving forward as we have been consistently engaging with the company to get meetings scheduled and work toward outcomes and settlements. Just recently, Richard Exner and I were part of the first 2 days of mediation with the company regarding 3 grievances in the grievance backlog project. These mediations were quite productive with great conversations and we came to settlement agreements on 2 and a potential tentative agreement on the 3rd with some contingencies. This is an encouraging sign going forward, and we will be meeting with the company at the end of January to mediate 3 more grievances.

Ensuring we keep the company accountable through the grievance process is possible through all the hard work that everyone in the 594 family is a part of. I would like to thank everyone personally for the daily contributions they make to the successful operation of the refinery. A special thanks to all the stewards and executive members who put in countless hours, often on their days off. Without your support and contributions I would not be able to successfully fill my role as chief shop steward. I am looking forward to working with everyone in 2025 and wish everyone a prosperous and enjoyable 2025!

In Solidarity,

Kurt Haakensen