News

2022-07-14

To ALL CUPE Local 104 members,

BARGAINING UPDATE:

The bargaining session of July 12-13-14 has just ended and we can report that we signed-off a couple more articles. Things are progressing.

Our next bargaining sessions with the employer are scheduled on September 13-14-15 and October 12-13-14. We were hoping for more frequent sessions but these are the only dates the employer agreed to.

Your bargaining committee will continue to be hard at work throughout the summer and continue to meet in CAUCUS before and in between sessions with the employer.

We are continuing to bargain in good faith, and we respect the confidentiality of the bargaining process. This allows us to have open negotiations with the employer. Please remember that once we have reached a tentative agreement, it is you – the membership – who ultimately decide whether to accept the agreement.

It is especially important that all of us show solidarity with each other throughout the bargaining process. The stronger we are as a Local, the stronger our position is at the bargaining table. Please keep supporting each other, your stewards and your executive. We will get there together!

Please continue to reach out directly to your Stewards or Regional Chairpersons if you have questions or concerns.

UPDATE TO OUR MEMBERSHIP LIST INFORMATION:

As we progress in our bargaining, we are asking ALL OF YOU to please update all your information by filling out the MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION FORM at https://104.cupe.ca/membership/ 

We especially need your personal email and work location (exact name and address of your office location). This form gets sent directly to the CUPE 104 Recording Secretary who maintains the Membership Master List. Your information is protected and only used by the Executive to contact you.

Having your updated information will help us communicate timely information to you during bargaining and when we get to voting on our first collective agreement. We need to be able to reach you during this critical time and the ONLY way is if you give us your information.

Please pass this request on to all your colleagues in case they didn’t see this message.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 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/

2022-06-09

Hello everyone,

We have been very busy the past three days (June 7th to 9th) continuing with the unfair labour practice complaint hearing in front of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (fpslreb-crtespf.gc.ca) concerning our 2016 2.3% raise that the employer refused to give us.

On June 7^th and 8^th, the Employer’s witnesses testified and they were then cross-examined by the Union.

On June 9^th, the Union and Employer lawyers made their final arguments.

We are confident that our case was presented in the best possible way and we were finally able to have our story heard.

Now the FPSLREB will review the case and render its decision. These decisions tend to take several months.

Once a decision is rendered, it will be public for everyone to see.

Meanwhile, we continue to work hard at the bargaining table. Our next bargaining session is scheduled for July 12, 13 and 14^th 2022.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE 104 executive
Kathleen, Robbin, Myles, Robb, Cyrus, Marc-Étienne, Alex, Brandon, Randy and Ron.

2022-05-21

Hello everyone,

The hearing has finally started!

We spent the past five days (May 16^th to 20^th) at the hearing in front of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (fpslreb-crtespf.gc.ca) concerning our 2016 2.3% raise.

So far, we have covered some procedural issues, heard testimony and evidence from the union’s witnesses and one of the employer’s witnesses.

The next part of the hearing is scheduled from June 7th to the 9th 2022. We will continue with the employer’s witnesses.

Because the hearing is ongoing, we cannot discuss any details.

Meanwhile, we continue working hard at the bargaining table!

In Solidarity,
Your CUPE 104 executive
Kathleen, Robbin, Myles, Robb, Cyrus, Marc-Étienne, Alex, Brandon, Randy and Ron.

CUPE COMMUNIQUÉ  –  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 17, 2022     

OTTAWA – “As first responders, our RCMP telecom operators are the public’s first point of contact in an emergency. They make sure RCMP officers and other emergency services can intervene rapidly when Canadians need help. At least, this is the theory,” said Kathleen Hippern, president of CUPE Local 104.

“The daily reality is much more frightening. Chronic short staffing in Operational Communications Centers across the country is putting public safety at risk. The RCMP has not retained nor hired enough staff required for these critical operations,” added Hippern.

When time is of the essence in a critical situation, Canadians are often waiting long minutes before someone is available to answer their call for help.

The impacts of short staffing are also devastating for our members: workloads are heavier, stress is high, medical leaves and mental health issues are on the rise, vacations are denied, and retention is difficult.

“Our members are public safety professionals who serve Canadians around the clock, every day of the year. They need to be in sufficient number to do their work properly for the benefit of Canadians. Our members and the public deserve better,” said Hippern.

CUPE Local 104 represents 1,200 RCMP communication specialists across Canada, including 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers, police telecommunicators, and communications monitoring analysts. They joined CUPE in 2018.

For more information
Philippe Gagnon
Media relations, CUPE
613-894-0146
pgagnon@cupe.ca

To ALL CUPE Local 104 Members,

BARGAINING UPDATE:

Our bargaining team has been very busy negotiating with the employer. Since January, we had 5 sessions with the employer and 2 additional sessions with our team.

• January 5-6-7
• January 25-26-27
• February 8-9-10
• February 22-23-24
• March 8-9-10
• March 21-22-23
• Apr 5-6-7

During those sessions, we were able to come to agreements on a few more articles. We have also exchanged proposals on all articles except the final salary table. Rest assured that we have been keeping up to date with our salary research and proposals. It is important that we continue working on the substance of the terms and conditions of employment before we exchange our salary proposals.

Our team has been working very hard at combining the terms and conditions of employment for our two categories of employees. We knew this was going to be a monumental task, but we need to correct the disparity and conflict generated by the employer when they created the PO group in 2014.

As for where we’re at right now… We believe there are some more articles that we are getting close to an agreement on. We are hopeful that extensive preparations will help us maintain the momentum as we strive to sign off more articles at each session. We are also keenly aware that as we work through every article in our first collective agreement, it is going to get tougher to come to an agreement that maintains our current terms and conditions of employment and ensures that we all enjoy the same benefits as each other. Our jobs are unique. We are all public safety communicators working in critical roles within the Public Service and the RCMP.

We have more bargaining sessions scheduled every second week through June 2022 and we will be requesting more dates with the employer through summer and fall. We know you want this signed as soon as possible, and believe us, so do we! However, we need this to be a fair collective agreement for all of us and, as much as possible, to correct the disparities the employer created between Civilian Members and Public Servants.

We are continuing to bargain in good faith, and we respect the confidentiality of the bargaining process. This allows us to have open negotiations with the employer. Please remember that once we have reached a tentative agreement, it is you – the membership – who ultimately decide whether to accept the agreement.

It is especially important that all of us show solidarity with each other throughout the bargaining process. The stronger we are as a Local, the stronger our position is at the bargaining table. Please keep supporting each other, your stewards and your executive. We will get there together!

Please continue to reach out directly to your Stewards or Regional Chairpersons if you have questions or concerns.

UPDATE TO OUR MEMBERSHIP LIST INFORMATION:

As we progress in our bargaining, we are asking ALL OF YOU to please update all your information, if you haven’t already done so lately. Simply go to the CUPE 104 website and fill out the MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION FORM or https://104.cupe.ca/membership/, especially your personal email and work location (exact name and address of your office location). This form gets sent directly to the CUPE 104 Recording Secretary who maintains the Membership Master List. Your information is protected and only used by the Executive to contact you for union business.

Having your updated information will help us communicate timely information to you during bargaining and when we get to voting on your first collective agreement. We need to be able to reach you during this critical time and the only way is if you give us your information.

Please pass this request on to all your colleagues in case they didn’t see this message.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE 104 executive
Kathleen, Robbin, Myles, Robb, Cyrus, Marc-Étienne, Alex, Brandon, Randy and Ron.