ATU 583 Pancake Breakfast – Success!
Our first Stampede Pancake Breakfast was held on Tuesday July 11th, 2023 in the Union Back Hall. We had a great turnout and have had plenty of great feedback! Who doesn’t love a complimentary breakfast? Pancakes (with syrup of course), bacon, beef sausages, fruit, juice and coffee were served and we are happy to report that everything was delicious!
Door prizes were won by: Andrea Black, Jaswant Bains, John Daly & Jose Escobar!
We had many great volunteers from the Executive Board: Dave Fajnor, Nathan Lewis, Ab Huskic & Harvey Woo. Thank you for your help!
We also had a couple E-Board Spouses who lent a hand: Maggie Huskic and Laura Lew! Thank you so much!
We had a great time seeing all of the Members who were able to stop by! It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying a meal together while they chatted away. We hope to make this an annual event so keep an eye out next July! Thank you for joining us and making the event a success.
ATU Local 583 Family Picnic
Our Family Picnic 2023 was one of our best attended yet. We estimate there were approximately 600 Members of Local 583 and their family members!
The bike draws were won by (the children of):
Infant Wagon: Hardeep Saini
Boys 1-3 Bicycle: Rashpal Malhi
Girls 1-3 Bicycle: Brenten Clifton
Boys 4-7 Bicycle: Kam Dhillon
Girls 4-7 Bicycle: Muhammad Ahmed
Boys 8-10 Bicycle: Syed Shah
Girls 8-10 Bicycle: Sarbjit Sharma
Boys 11-14 Bicycle: Sarbjit Sharma
Girls 11-14 Bicycle: Jagdish Kumar
The barbecued food was a huge hit as were the activities for kids.
Winners of our oldest and youngest in attendance were:
Oldest – Ron Johnson (a 70 year Member of Local 583!)
Youngest – The very much newborn baby of Preston Roy
We had a great day spending time with Members and their families! Thank you to everyone who came out made this event a success!
ATU Local 583 Retirement Banquet
Invitations for our 2023 Fall Retirement Banquet have been sent out! If you are a retiree and have not received your invite, please feel free to give us a call so we can check if we have your correct address on file – 403 -258-1258 Ext 0.
The banquet takes place on September 23, 2023, at the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino starting at 5:30 PM for regular entry.
Members who are not yet retired will be able to join the banquet by purchasing a ticket for themselves (and a guest if desired). The wait-list for tickets is now available. Call 403 258 1258 to purchase your tickets.
A small note that we will not be taking payment of any kind at the door so tickets purchased will need to be paid for and picked up prior to the event. Additionally, this means we will not be taking retirement dues at the door. We thank you for your understanding and your cooperation in making this event run as seamlessly as possible!
This is another event we are very much looking forward to and we are greatly anticipating a wonderful evening celebrating our retirees.
Union Dues and the Rumor Mill
Periodically we need to address a workplace rumor. This month it is regarding a supposed increase in your Union dues.
To be clear, your dues are outlined in the ATU Local 583 Bylaws. Both Members and the ATU Local 583 Bylaw Committee are able to bring forward recommendations for new/altered bylaws. These are then voted on by our Membership and if approved, go on to the ATU International for final approval. Currently, dues are 1.25% of your wages, deducted on a biweekly basis.
The current Executive of ATU Local 583 has no intentions of raising that rate. Any information suggesting otherwise is categorically false.
CDLC Labour Day Food Drive
Our Coalition Partners over at the Calgary and District Labour Council are having a Labour Day Food Drive.
This year they will also be collecting period products and gently used (clean) winter clothing (socks, gloves, coats).
This will benefit several local charities including the Interfaith Food Bank, the Veterans Association Food Bank of Calgary, the Women’s Centre of Calgary and the Mustard Seed.
You are welcome to drop off donations directly with the CDLC from 10 AM to 6 PM August 28th to September 1st at: 321, 3132-26th St. NE
Alternatively, we will be accepting donations at our Local office at 5325 1A Street SW between now and September 1st, 8 am to 4 pm weekdays, to assist the CDLC in making this drive a huge success! (Not including statutory holidays).
Please note that food should be non-perishable and not expired. Thank you!
Credit Card by Phone for Dues!
We have recently been able to set up our in-office debit/credit machine so it allows us to take credit card payments over the phone for retirement, LTD or LOA dues.
This is a great opportunity for those who want to pay their dues with their credit card, but are unable to get to the office to do so.
To initiate a payment for your dues over the phone with a credit card please call us at 403-258-1258 Ext 0 and be ready to give the card information to the admin. All your information is confidential and you will receive a receipt by mail.
Controllers and Dispatchers – Members of ATU 583
We are pleased to advise you that the Dispatchers and Controllers are now officially a part of our Bargaining Unit. There were a lot of workplace issues in those work areas that did not seem fair and equitable and the employees had no collective voice to address them. As Unionized Members we are now able to address these concerns through collective bargaining and through much of the existing language in the Collective Agreement. We have three of our new Members from the Control area working on that now and will be doing the same with Dispatch.
We will be following this same process for the Field Supervisors in the very near future and thank them for their patience while the City completes the work needed for that voluntary recognition.
We would be naive to think that after decades of doing things one way there won’t be some bumps in the road during this transition, but we look forward to working through those and developing a fraternal relationship that makes us that much stronger as a united voice in the workplace.
Summer 2023
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a wonderful rest of the Summer.
We hope you enjoy the warmer months while we have them! Be safe and we will see you for our next newsletter in September.
COPE 397 /jw
