ATU Local 583: Children’s Christmas Party 2023
It’s that time of year again, folks! Our Children’s Christmas Party is set to take place on Saturday December 2nd, 2023 starting at 10:00 AM.
The party is open to all Members in good standing with ATU Local 583 and their family (spouse/partner and children). Retirees are welcome to attend with their grandchildren as well but, a kind reminder that grandchildren do not qualify for the gifts.
Activities for everyone include:
Balloon Artist creations – Children are welcome to 1 (one) balloon creation each!
Colouring Station – We will have lots of different seasonal colouring sheets and crayons! Perfect for the fridge 😊
Interactive Performer – Gather around and be part of the show!
Characters in Costume – Children can interact with Elsa and Spider-Man! Photos are welcome.
This year we are asking Members to register to attend. We are at a new location and want to ensure that we have enough supplies for everyone in attendance. Click to register.
ATU 583 Golf Shirts and Hoodies
Per motions passed at the September and October Regular Membership Meetings, we have ordered blue polo shirts, black windbreakers (zip) and black hoodies (zip and pullover) in a variety of sizes (men’s and women’s).
Members are welcome to purchase these items at cost. There are a couple different ways this can be done:
1) You may call the Union office at 403 258 1258 Ext 0 and request the item and size and pay by credit card over the phone. You can then pick your item up at the Union office located at 5325 1A Street SW.
2) You may come to the Union office and choose your item/size and then pay with credit/debit/cash or cheque.
Prices are as follows:
Polo shirts: $25.00
Polo Shirts 2XL: $28.00
Polo Shirts 3 XL: $30.00
Windbreakers: $40.00
Windbreakers 2XL: $44.00
Windbreakers 3XL: $46.00
Hoodies Zip Up: $36.00
Hoodies Zip Up 2XL: $39.00
Hoodies Zip Up 3XL: $40.00
Hoodies Pullover: $33.00
Hoodies Pullover 2XL: $36.00
Hoodies Pullover 3XL: $37.00
These are the prices we paid to have the items made. No surcharges or up-charges have been added. What we pay – you pay!
Polo shirts and windbreakers have arrived and we are expecting hoodies by late November.
Supplies are limited! We are excited to see you wear your ATU 583 pride on your sleeve!
Pensions
Our recent survey showed 84% of our responding members feel that our Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP) is an important part of their retirement plan. Of course, LAPP will not be your only source of income upon retirement. Almost without exception, you will also be contributing to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Currently CPP is one of the most secure pension plans in the world and with the already increased future benefits, will only become a bigger part of most people’s retirement security.
For this reason, we think it is extremely important to follow what is happening around our CPP and the Alberta Governments discussions around an Alberta Pension Plan.
Alberta Treasury Board and Finance contracted LifeWorks to provide a report “exploring the possibility of setting up a potential Alberta Pension Plan (APP).” They state this is an independent third-party report.
This 93 page “independent third party report” cost the Alberta tax payers, you and me, 1.8 million dollars. The Government hired this company to provide this report. This is not “independent”.
Pensions can be mind numbing, but this is a lifetime investment that should tolerate as little risk as possible.
We are following the discussions closely and most experts not connected directly to Government are sceptical of what is being suggested. The report itself is full of disclaimers, warnings and assumptions that do not have historical data to rely on.
I am no pension expert and this is not pension advice, but I have watched Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCO) returns on public pensions vs CPP Investments and having all our eggs in one basket, with heavy political interference, would keep me awake at night.
As always, Buyer Beware.
Negotiations Position
We served the City with notice to negotiate on October 30th, 2023 for the 2024+ period.
As noted previously, wages will be a major focus as we work to make ground on the hyper inflation, we have all been going through.
Aside from wages, there are still many legitimate concerns around working conditions as well as other monetary items.
We discussed some of these items at length in the last round with the goal of not having to spend much time reviewing the details this round. In essence, we advised the City that there are improvements that need to happen to get to an agreement in a decent time frame, this round.
We will be meeting with the membership on November 1st, 2023 at the Glenmore Inn to receive a mandate on the proposals we take forward.
From the City side, we won’t know what their position is until we have a chance to meet with them to exchange proposals at the earliest opportunity in November.
We can tell you that in spite of their ability to hire staff across all three work areas, Maintenance, Office and Operations, in spite of being unable to keep contractors accountable for keeping rolling stock and facilities safe and clean and in spite of being able to provide the service levels expected by City Council and the constituents of Calgary, they have sent us six Notice of Disclosure letters advising us that they are either intent on changing an established practice or intending on changing one but have no idea what that change may look like at this time.
We think they should focus on getting back control of what they used to do well and fix it before shaking everything up again, just hoping it lands right side up.
The last Corporate Review is in year four of a two-year schedule.
WCB, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
It is becoming more and more evident over the last several years that when our Members get injured in the workplace the City is disputing claims acceptance with WCB.
Please be aware that WCB claims, short-term disability and long-term disability, run concurrently. You should always fill out a WCB report for any injury, whether there is lost time or not. If you have lost time over five working days, you should also fill out both an attending physician’s statement, so as not to have an interruption in your pay if your WCB claim is delayed.
An Attending Physician’s Statement is filled out by your doctor and sent to Homewood Health. You can obtain the paperwork at Dispatch, at mycity.calgary.ca or by calling the Union office at 403 258 1258 ext 0.
We continue to receive many calls where WCB claims are being denied and our Members have not filled out an APS and therefore are not getting paid.
Gaps in pay cause many issues for our Members. It’s no secret that times are hard and the cost of everything is affecting all of us. We want to ensure you do not experience a gap in being paid.
Please remember to have an APS form filled out along with your WCB report.
COPE 397 /jw
