Global Advisory Council
Global Advisory Council
Sept. 06 from the GAC Brochure
You are about to cast an important ballot. Here is what you need to know.
In the face of CanWest Media Works consolidation over the past five years, the days of station-by-station collective agreements are over.
Together, the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) National Union and the Global Advisory Council (GAC) have drawn together almost 1,200 members from Halifax to Victoria and given each and every one a forum and a voice.
You are no longer isolated in your individual location. Now, you are part of a large group of members across the country. We all work with the small screen but there is a bigger picture.
- We have improved severance packages for laid off employees
- We have improved part time and temporary working conditions
- We have established an independent national health and safety advisory committee
- We have drafted new by-laws that will govern us.
- We continue to work towards a single collective agreement.
After five years, 28 days of hearings, dozens of witnesses, thousands of pages of documents, two injunctions, one ruling and one reconsideration, CanWest MediaWorks has been declared a common employer. This is a big victory for you.
Because of your support, patience and participation, the Global Advisory Council is poised to deliver on our promises of:
- Leveling the negotiations playing field
- Improving wages
- Improving benefits
- Improving seniority
- Improving the ability to follow your job if it moves
Now, five more days of hearings are scheduled for December 11-15, 2006, to decide the appropriate scope of the bargaining unit.
In the spring, at the request of the Board, the Union and the Company met to determine the bargaining unit structure. We made a serious and sincere effort to outline the basic provisions of a well-founded collective agreement with good language. The Company listened to our proposals but did not make any of their own. The Company called an end to the meetings and stated their intention to go back to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.
The message to us then was the same message you’ve been hearing from your own station managers. “The outlook for conventional television is bleak. Ad revenues are down and the profitability of the business must be improved>”
During the past five years co-workers and friends have lost their jobs. It’s been a long, hard struggle. Master Control, the heart of any conventional television station, has been centralized, and our members laid-off. You all know the stories. In fact, you’ve lived them. Traffic functions have undergone a seismic shift. Last summer, sports and other local programming was eliminated. This summer, layoffs have already been announced in Halifax and the noon newsmagazine show there has been canceled. We believe that more news programming will soon be axed.
We only have to look at the past to see into the future and if we do not prepare now, the future will be bleak. Here is what we propose…
A) All locals increase dues to 2%
B) The additional 0.34% dues collected from the increase will be put into a separate defense fund.
C) Change in the collection of dues from gross salary to basic salary only. Dues will no longer be collected on overtime hours.
D) Additional monies collected will be refunded to the individual members in the event that a collective agreement is reached without a dispute.
E) Any member who is laid-off and loses recall rights and is no longer in the employ of CanWest Media Works before a collective agreement is achieved shall be reimbursed all additional monies they have contributed.
It may seem like a small amount. Thirty-four cents out of every 100 dollars you make. But it will send a big message and allow us the ability to maintain a strong stance during bargaining. Together we can build upon the gains we have already made.