GRIEVANCE REPORT - Brian Onyschak

            As this is the first issue of the newspaper this year, I want to wish everyone a great year in 2009 and hope that you and your families stay healthy throughout the year!

            On to the Grievance Committee update.  Back in November, we held a Level I Shop Steward School  at your Union Hall with a dozen keen attendees.  There was a great mixture of both new employees and long-service employees.  Everyone at the school felt they had a positive experience and felt it was very informative.  I would like to thank all those who attended and encourage you to stay involved.

            One of the challenges faced by the Grievance Committee is to keep everyone involved and informed so they don’t lose interest.  To this end, I have developed a Shop Steward contact list (e-mail).   I will using this to send regular updates on the issues being dealt with by the Committee.  If you are a Shop Steward and would like to be added to the mailing list, please send me your e-mail address (either home or work) and I will add you to the list. 

            If you are interested in becoming a Shop Steward, please contact me at the Union Hall ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or by telephone (250-368-9131) and I will make sure that I get a sign-up card to you to join.  Everyone is welcome!

            For those Stewards who attended the Level I course in November, I will be putting on a Level II course later this spring.  When I have more information, I will be contacting you to see if you are interested in attending this school.  The Grievance Committee will also be discussing other ways of keeping you involved such as having you attend our Chief Shop Steward meetings on a rotational basis, giving active Stewards more training both in-house and at courses that are put on through our District Office or the Canadian Labour Congress.  My belief is that training is one of the most important factors in becoming an efficient Steward to represent our members on the property and my commitment to you is that I will ensure that you receive the necessary training. 

            The following members have recently attended the Level I Steward School.  If you have any issues in your work area, please feel free to utilize these Stewards and make them welcome!

James Scott                  Pipefitter           SLP

Glenn Boyczuk  Op/Instructor     Silver Refinery

Andy Johnson                Operator            Refinery

Graham Wilson  Truck Driver       Warehouse

Daniel Neil                     Machinist          Machine Shop

Norm Murdoch   Equip Op           Property Support

Daven Ling                    Machinist          Machine Shop

Gary Issel                     Pipefitter           Roaster Acid

Ron Cox                        Operator            Warfield

Rick Fontaine                Carpenter          Utilities

Chris Walker                 Operator            Spec. Equipment

Shayne O’Day   Op/Instructor     E&M Melting

            The next issue I would like to address is inappropriate e-mails that are being sent through the Company’s e-mail system.  The Company views this as very serious infraction and the discipline they decide on reflects those views. 

            We recently had an incident involving some of our members and the Company did not treat this issue lightly.  Your Grievance Committee did their due diligence and researched the labour law on this matter.  What we found was that arbitrators view this as a very serious matter as well and have upheld or issued some very serious discipline themselves.  While such cases would have to be judged on the merits, believe me when I tell you that the Company has very little tolerance with regard to this subject.

            I have heard it said that there should be no discipline for our members if they are involved in this type of activity.  Let’s remember that it is a whole different world out there today and that political correctness is a big issue today.  So, I ask all of you to please remove any e-mails that may be deemed inappropriate by other people as per the Company’s electronic policy and do not send or forward any of these types of material for your own sake. 

            Remember, you may not agree with the Company’s take on this issue, but it seems that employment law supports their argument to a certain extent.  I am just saying that it is not worth getting in trouble over something like this so please consider stopping this activity if you are involved in any way.

In solidarity, Brian

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