2023-04-09
National Public Safety Telecommunicator’s Week
April 9-15 2023 marks National Public Safety Telecommunicator’s Week. We are honoured to be a part of such an esteemed group of people. We hear stories every day from our coworkers and colleagues about all the amazing things our people do and almost always with fewer resources than necessary and under what feels like insurmountable circumstances.
While it’s great that there is a week set aside each year to recognize the critical impacts you make to police and public safety, the “recognition” we receive from the RCMP and TB is nothing but lip service. It does not save our members from burnout due to short staffing and repeated exposure to trauma. It does not give our members the resources required to provide adequate service to the public or the police officers we work with.
We are overworked, undervalued, and underpaid. We need action.
In our recent survey, 96% of you reported that the employer is not doing enough to retain workers and 84% said that your current workload is unsustainable. We are experiencing critical staffing shortages in all our operations, and we are still being paid at 2016 rates. There is just no way that’s going to help recruit and retain skilled workers. The employer clearly does not value our important, life-saving contributions.
While we continue to fight for a fair deal at the bargaining table, we need all of you to help us. We need the employer to see all 1,100 of us at the bargaining table and not just the 10 of us. “The Union” is all 1,100 of us and our collective power comes from our ability to stick together and show solidarity. We do this by showing up to work in solidarity. By showing off how proud we are of our professions and by reminding the employer that we stand together to get what we need to do our jobs.
To show your support and solidarity in the workplace, we have created posters that can be displayed at your workstation or wherever you are allowed to display personal items. Tape it to the front or your notebook, on your locker, etc. You can download them here https://104.cupe.ca/files/2023/04/CUPE104_Office_poster_March_2023.pdf to print off at home or talk to your local Steward or Regional Chairperson to obtain printed copies. Everyone displaying these posters shows our unity and anyone who walks into your workplace will see these posters and start asking questions.
We are working on more public releases, social media posts, and media attention. We also have buttons and t-shirts in the works. These items are the tools that you can wear to show your solidarity and commitment to getting a fair deal. When you see the posts, please share them. When asked to wear buttons or shirts, please wear them.
There is a lot more we are doing in preparation for our next bargaining session but, as we have said before, it’s not in anyone’s best interest for us to post publicly about our negotiating strategies. Please remember that everything posted online is seen by the employer and they use it to try and get the cheapest deal. You wouldn’t tell the salesperson what your highest price is so don’t tell the employer what your lowest price is either.
It’s very important that we all remain united and show solidarity. Our power comes from our ability to band together and support each other. We have shown this before when we formed our own union, when we stopped deeming (twice!), and most recently, when we won our 2.3% unfair labour practice complaint and proved that the employer punished and discriminated against us for unionizing.
Please continue to send any questions or concerns directly to your local Steward or Regional Chairperson. This is the best way to get accurate information directly from the source.
In Solidarity,
Your CUPE 104 Executive
Kathleen, Robbin, Myles, Robb, Cyrus, Marc-Étienne, Alex, Brandon, Randy and Ron.
Executive e-mail addresses: https://104.cupe.ca/contacts/
Main page: https://104.cupe.ca/
Membership Form: https://104.cupe.ca/membership/