In Person Children’s Christmas Party – Cancellation

First and foremost, we WILL still be giving away gifts for Member’s children. As we have said before, Covid has really taken away our ability to meet and mingle and celebrate together but it will not take away our ability to celebrate with our Members (and their kids)!

With that being said, we have sadly made the decision to cancel the in-person holiday party we normally hold at the Red and White Club.

Our “curb side pick up” for gifts worked incredibly well last year so we will once again be employing that strategy. Members will be asked to call ahead and let us know they are on their way and we will get the gift(s) ready to bring out to your waiting vehicle.

If you have not yet signed your child up, we will have a form online for you to do so at www.atu583.com. It is NOT necessary to sign your children up each year. If they have previously been put on the list they will remain on it.

Dates to pick up your gifts will run from Monday November 29th to Friday December 24th. Another thing we started offering last year was weekend pick up. The schedule for picking up gifts is below:

-Weekdays Monday November 29th through to Thursday December 23rd – 9 am to 3:30 pm.
-Friday December 24th – 8 am to Noon. and weekends on December 4th, 5th, 11th and 19th – 9 am to 3:30 pm.

Detailed information is posted in our usual locations in the workplace and on our social media so keep an eye out and as always if you have questions – do not hesitate to call us at the office.

2021 Year in Review

January

Covid 19 restrictions were in full force. We were meeting with the City of Calgary either by phone, email or zoom almost daily to discuss overloads, overtime and the like.

Our Negotiations Committee also met to discuss the results of the surveys filled in by our Members with what they considered to be important points of bargaining.

We also delivered 50-year plaques to our new 50-year Members. This allowed for this important milestone to still be honoured while we maintained social distancing protocols.

February
We officially launched our “Are You In?” campaign. As Members will now be well aware, this campaign was integral in educating and mobilizing our Members to elect a public services friendly City Council.

We were able to work with the City to extend Rehire Rights for our laid off Members from May of 2021 to December 31, 2021. This step has been extremely important as we are confident we will have the remaining (approximately) 70 Members back to work for that deadline.

March
We continued the momentum of the “Are You In?” campaign with a Call to Action to sign the pledge to help us in our election goals.

April
We received the fantastic news that one of our Member’s children won an ATU International scholarship. These scholarships are worth a hefty $8,000 USD and we were all incredibly pleased for S. King. We hope she is putting that scholarship to good use and enjoying her post secondary life!

Local 583 President Mike Mahar, participated in a press conference with the ATU International to discuss priority access to vaccinations and enhanced safety for Transit workers. Although we are not considered essential workers it was and still is our strong belief that our Members were and continue to be integral to keeping this city moving, even during a worldwide pandemic.

The Executive Board also voted to extend the benefits packages we had arranged for laid off Members to the end of December 2021, coinciding with the Rehire Rights extension we fought for and received from the City of Calgary.

May
The inaugural Mental Health Action Day was May 20, 2021. We have spent a lot of time this term focusing on Member’s mental health and acknowledging the struggles many of us face with it. It bears saying again that your mental health is important and you are not alone in any of the difficulties you may be handling. Please reach out to a loved one, a trusted person in your life, a doctor or an Officer if you feel that it is time to take that step.

June
Our Rally for Respect at Work was a success. On June 29, 2021 Officers, Executive Board Members, Stewards and the Civic Coalition gathered at City Hall to make our voices heard. Our goal of showing elected officials what we can accomplish when we work together was certainly met. The event was attended by current and prospective Council members as well as representatives from The Alberta Federation of Labour and the Canadian labour Congress.

July

Officers of the Local met with many City Council and Mayoral candidates. This was one of the steps in the process of finalizing who to endorse.

August

Though we had to cancel our Picnic we did still give away 8 bicycles and a covered wagon for our Members children. Our first ever online Bike Draw was a success and everyone was extremely happy with their wins!

More Civic endorsement meetings took place with our labour affiliates. The meetings helped shape what would become our final platform for the Are You In? campaign resulting in a list of vetted candidates for our Members to vote for.

September

This was the month we had to sadly postpone our Retiree’s Banquet. Member safety will always come first but it was not something we relished having to do.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation had its first statutory holiday on September 30. This absolutely essential day is a time to reflect on Canada’s dark past concerning our indigenous Brothers and Sisters and a time to work towards resolution.

We launched a landing page on our website to help Members find their Transit Friendly candidate and to give some information on their endorsements and platforms. Our Political Action Committee was busier than ever engaging with Members.

As the City of Calgary ramped up their Mandatory Vaccination Policy, we filed a complaint with the Labour Board regarding a change of policy during negotiations (which had already begun).

October

And so came Election Day. As you are likely well aware, our campaign was a massive success and 8 Transit Friendly candidates (and a Mayor) were elected. We cannot thank our Political Action Committee and our Members enough. You all helped shape the City Council we now have and are well placed for the future. Every candidate we endorsed either won or came second.

November/December

Last month we discussed a Maintenance jurisdictional Labour Board challenge that was going to hearing this month. That hearing has been completed and we are awaiting the outcome.

Operators’ new badge numbers for 2022 have been delayed so unfortunately the list was not available in the Sign-Up room. The actual badges are delayed and will be given out the week of January 3rd.

Coffee Money, as always, is on the cheque for pay period 24, this year that means December 1.

We want to wish each of you a very Happy Holiday season! Please be safe during any and all winter time activities and we will see you in the new year for our next issue.

COPE 397 /jw