2nd Annual Stampede Breakfast
Our 2nd Annual Stampede Breakfast was a huge success! From our count we had over 400 attendees this year, including active Members, Retirees and their family members. We had fantastic feedback – including folks who were glad to have halal and gluten free options.
Our door prizes were won by:
Brenton Clifton
Sophie Gray
Derek Lucier
Svend Madsen
Mahmood Mohan
Shawn Orsulak
Jordan Ouelette
Gurwinder Parhar
Charles Van Dyck
Ricky Tse
The prizes were $25 Amazon Gift Cards and $25 Starbucks Gift Cards. Congrats to all of the winners!
We also had a generous prize donation of an apple watch from Calgary’s Future which was won by Rebecca Lotzien. Thank you to Calgary’s Future for the donation!
Thank you to everyone who made it out, it was good to see so many of you and to have the chance to cook you breakfast!
Family Picnic 2024
In our estimation this was the best Family Picnic yet! We had a lot of constructive feedback last year that we happily took on board. This included having our airbrush artist for longer, lunch tickets and an activity for the older kids in attendance.
As a result, we had a lot of positive feedback and happy Members mean happy Officers!
Our Bicycle winners are:
Adam Bramer – Boy 1
Issac Megenbir – Boy 3
Ravi Sher Singh – Girl 3
Amandeep Bhari – Girl 5
Yadvinder Rishi – Girl 6
Khaista Qamberi – 10
Gurminder Dhillon – 11
Adam Bramer – Boy 12
Will Skippen – Girl 14
Teen Bingo winners are:
Landon De Wolfe (Catherine De Wolfe)
Franklin Rambayon (Edwin Trinidad)
Jackie Rambayon (Edwin Trinidad)
Adrian Borsos (Jessica Borsos)
Agamya Anar (Jaspreet Kaur)
Double Blue also donated tickets for Stage West as prizes for Members at the Picnic – a big thank-you to them!
Also, a hearty thank-you to our Social Committee for helping us put on this event and to everyone who volunteered.
These are more than just annual events – they are an opportunity for our Members to build community. There are few chances throughout the year to gather hundreds of us together to chat and spend time together. Our family picnic has always been an occasion to gather and realize we are all more than co-workers.
If you made it out to this event, thank you! It’s always a pleasure to see and spend time with our Members.
Issues with Member Personal Insurance
We have had several Members over the last few months reporting that when they attempt to procure personal insurance, their workplace related accidents were affecting that process. Of course, this is not how this works and we have talked with Management on how it can be rectified.
We are happy to report there is a simple solution.
Members are asked to reach out to their Employee Support Supervisor who can facilitate getting the required letter from Claims to remove this from their personal insurance profile.
As always, if you experience any issues with this process, you are welcomed to call the Union office for assistance.
Annual Retirement Banquet
As we have reported previously, our Retirement Banquet is October 5th, 2024 at Grey Eagle Resort and Casino. Doors open at 5:15 p.m.
We will have tickets for sale:
Members of ATU 583 – $30 per ticket
Non-Members – $75 per ticket
There will be a wait list for Non-Members. If you would like to purchase a ticket or add a name to the waitlist, please call us at 403-258-1258 Ext 0. The deadline for ticket sales is September 16. We will not have ANY ticket sales at the door.
As with recent years, we will also not be taking any retirement dues at the banquet. If you would like to pay your dues, we have a list of ways you are able to do so:
Cash – In person at the office
Cheque – By letter mail or in person at the office
Debit – In person at the office
Credit Card – Over the phone or in person at the office
E-Transfer – Via your phone or computer
As of July 31st, 2024 all invitations have been sent out to Retiree addresses that we have on file. If you are a retiree and have not received your invite, please call us at the office at 403 258 1258 ext. 0.
Retired Members are asked to RSVP by September 16th, 2024.
We look forward to seeing you there and celebrating our Retirees in style!
Building Purchase Update
We want to provide an update on the purchase of the downstairs portion of our building.
The Bricklayers accepted our offer and we should take possession by the end of August. At that point we will own the entire building.
We are also working on finding and putting in an offer for a new building.
As many of you will know, the current ATU 583 building has been home to the union for decades. It has served us well in that time. However, working on a mandate from the Members we are looking at a building with two things this current one does not have: enough parking and accessibility.
Our current space is on the second floor of a building that doesn’t have an elevator. This makes it difficult for our members who do not have full mobility to come to the office. As our Members have recognized, it is high time for this to be updated.
The membership has authorized us to purchase a building only blocks from where we are currently, and it looks like this is going to happen. This new home will serve the members well for decades to come. We look forward to updating you all as this proceeds and celebrating the opening of a new Union Hall in the near future.
Fare Evasion
We know that fare evasion is a big topic of concern for our Members who are Operators. We understand the frustration when members of the public don’t comply with the required fare.
Inform not enforce is the rule for this scenario. ATU Local 583 agrees this is a deeply important mandate because your safety is worth much more than the $3.70 fare.
However, if you have a recurring problem passenger there are a couple things that you can do:
1. Keep good notes. Please note the date, time, route and key the problem passenger is attending and not paying.
2. Reach out to Control the next time this happens and ask them to send an undercover PS officer on the route for that time.
3. If you need assistance in any way please email: vicepresident@atu583.com and copy jacinda.w@atu583.com with the information from #1. The more information we have the more smoothly trying to have something done will be.
All that being said, we do genuinely empathize with how fare evasion can impact our Members trying to do their jobs. The mental toll of someone abusing the system is real and we feel your frustration.
If you have a topic you think should be discussed in our next newsletter email Jacinda.w@atu583.com
COPE 397 /jw
