To the Members of Locals 480 and 9705, On January 18th - 20th, your Bargaining Committee met to complete bargaining training and build our priority sheets. You should be receiving your priority sheets in the mail this coming week, along with a list of the C.A.T. Committee members. If you do not receive your priority sheet package in the mail by February 4th, contact Jo-Lynne at the Union Hall @ (250) 368-9131. You will be able to return your priority sheets either by mailing them back in the self-addressed envelope included in your package, dropping them off directly at the Union Hall, or by giving them to the C.A.T. Committee member in your area. C.A.T. Committee member lists will be posted on bulletin boards around site. You can also contact the Union Hall to find out who the C.A.T. Committee members are in your area. The best way to get future bulletins or updates is by signing up for the text alert system. In solidarity, Locals 480 & 9705, USW 2022 Bargaining Committee. For Local 480 and 9705 access to text message system: text 480 to 32323 November 24, 2020
To: United Steelworkers Members of Locals 480 and 9705 at Teck Resources From: USW Teck Chain Locals 480 (Trail Operations), 7619 (Highland Valley), 7884 (Fording River), 9346 (Coal Mountain, Elkview), 9705 (Trail Operations) On November 20th, 2020 leadership from United Steelworker (USW) District 3 and Local Unions at Teck Resources met to discuss shared issues and priorities for labour relations with Teck Resources. COVID-19 To no one’s surprise the priority for our discussion was the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Under BC’s State of Emergency our members and the work we all do is deemed essential. We understand that; we also understand that essential work does not mean unsafe work. This spring we all worked with Teck to develop industry leading COVID-19 safety protocols that made physical distancing, face masks and sanitation a priority. While there is definitely work to do to ensure management fully implements the plans, maintaining those protocols is the best way to protect our members and allow operations to continue working until a vaccine is available. Like every day on the job we ask you to stay vigilant about health and safety, and now vigilant about this virus. Members should be mindful about the importance of the Right to Refuse unsafe work, the last line of defense for a worker’s health and safety. If you are not familiar with what this is please ask your safety rep. During this pandemic our Health and Safety Committees have stepped up and continue to deliver at each of our sites. We want to thank them for their work that we all rely on to keep us safe. As the number of cases rises in BC and more known exposures have impacted our worksites it has raised other issues. We will be reviewing privacy protocols with Teck to ensure any required contact tracing is done well but that the personal privacy of our members is also protected. We can achieve both but require your support and help to make that happens on that worksite. Bargaining You keep working and so do we. Despite the pandemic local Unions have continued their work. In particular a two-year bargaining cycle for the Teck chain was kicked off last month when Local 9346 (Elkview) kicked off bargaining. Local 7884 will open bargaining in the coming weeks. Local 7619 will be electing a bargaining committee in the new year and Locals 480 and 9705 will close out bargaining in 2022. Profits from BC have always fuelled Teck’s growth. Despite the pandemic they continue to be the backbone of the company. This round of bargaining is no different. As always health and safety and a fair wage and benefit package are priorities across all Locals. Autonomous hauling will likely be a significant issue at the bargaining table at all of our mining operations. While Teck has made broad commitments about not displacing any of our members due to autonomous hauling it will be important to secure the training opportunities and contracting-in required to protect our members’ jobs. It is also critical that autonomous hauling meet the health and safety standards our members expect before it is implemented on a wider scale. One constant each of us pledged was our shared solidarity at the bargaining table. While each of our locals has unique aspects in each of our bargaining, sharing best practices, management tactics and research strengthens our ability to represent our members. Government Relations Local leaders also discussed the outcome of the provincial election and their shared priorities for discussion with the BC NDP government. At the top of the agenda is Health and Safety, and ensuring enforcement is a priority for both mining regulators and WCB. The Union will also be pressing to ensure the necessary reforms are made to WCB to ensure injured workers are treated with dignity. Premier Horgan’s support of mining and industrial jobs was noted as an opportunity to demonstrate the value of our jobs to the province. We are aware of the scrutiny of our industries; we demand no less when it comes to health and safety, and the environment we live, work and play in. We also know that the social contract to use our natural resources requires it. But we also know first hand the impact and value of these family supporting jobs and need to share it with government and community leaders. In the Community We are all struggling with the challenges of living in a pandemic. Not one of our communities in the Interior or Kootenays has been spared its impact, and almost all of our families touched in some way or another. We also know it increases the challenges facing many of our co-workers and neighbours. Social isolation is impacting mental health and addictions. Economic challenges exacerbate affordability issues for too may working families. It’s important at this time to keep doing the good work we’ve always done in our communities. Whether it through United Way or the Steelworker Humanity Fund we continue to support area food banks. Our holiday giving might be happening in different ways but toy and food drives continue and because you are working as Local Union we can keep giving. Keep an eye out for ways you can participate. Our Union has always known that if we stick together we are a very resilient force. Whether on the job or as neighbours, now we’re just showing it in a physically distant way. Chris Walker, President USW Local 480 Ron McKenzie, President USW Local 9705 Recently we had a 480 member test positive for COVID-19. This has caused a lot of unrest amongst many employees, and many are looking for a response. This is what we know right now: • The individual was on site Friday, September 4 to Sunday, September 6, 2020, not to Monday, September 7 as was previously communicated. • Additional contact tracing is being conducted. If you have not been contacted, you do not need to self-isolate; however, please self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 at all times. If you experience symptoms, please immediately inform your supervisor and take steps to self-isolate and contact your public health authority We have several protocols on site to prevent the spread/transmission of COVID. It is extremely important that we follow these protocols so we can all maintain our health. Teck Trail follows their Trail COVID-19 Playbook. The link is: https://trail.teck.com/Pages/COVID-19-Updates.aspx Some of the topics covered range from “Site Response Team” and “COVID-19 – Spread and Symptoms“ to “Adjusted Shift Schedules “ and “COVID 19 Trail Response Protocols.” There is also a section that deals with the situation that we are currently presented with. In that section it states: Response Procedure – Employee/Contractor confirmed with COVID-19 Response procedure in the event an employee or contractor contacts their supervisor to advise they have tested positive for COVID-19: 1. Instruct the employee not to come to work and to Isolate immediately (this instruction will likely have come from Public Health). 2. Instruct the employee to call Claims & Disability at 250-364-4325 or 250-364-4149 to report. 3. Trail’s Occupational Health Nurse or an Emergency Medical Responder, will contact employee to fill out COVID-19 Contact Tracing Form over the phone (if not previously completed). BC CDC will likely contact employee for detailed Contact Tracing. Trail will transfer previous Contact History to BC CDC. 4. Co-workers of employee (defined as those on same shift in the same operating or work area) who did not come into Close Contact* (see definition in Section 6 of Covid Play Book) with affected employee are at low risk for infection and are able to continue working but are advised to Self-Monitor. Co-workers who have had Close Contact* will be contacted by Public Health and should Self-Isolate and contact their local medical provider, 8-1-1, or Medisys/Akira to further guidance. 5. Refer to Public Health Agency of Canada information. 6. Offer reminder for access to the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) and applicable Trail sick leave program. 7. Employee shall be advised they can only come back to work once confirmed negative. 8. Further guidance can be requested through the H&S team to contact Teck’s Occupational Medical Specialist Dr. Tom Lawley. To be deemed a close contact the playbook states: *Close contact: Close contacts are those that are likely to be at a higher risk of being infected. Close contact is defined as any person who has: • Provided care for a probable or confirmed case, including healthcare workers, family members or other caregivers, or who had other similar close physical contact (e.g. intimate partner) without consistent and appropriate use of personal protective equipment, OR • Who lived with or otherwise had close prolonged contact (within 2 meters) with a probable or confirmed case while the person was ill, OR • Had direct contact with infectious bodily fluids of a probable or confirmed case (e.g. was coughed or sneezed on) while not wearing recommended PPE. • Living in the same household or household-like setting (e.g. shared section of in a hostel) with a probable or confirmed case. • Face-to-face contact in any setting within two meters of a probable or confirmed case for 15 minutes or more while not wearing recommended PPE. • Having been in a closed environment (e.g. a classroom, hospital waiting room, or vehicle) within 2 meters of a probable or confirmed case for 15 minutes or more Please call 811 or visit www.healthlinebc.ca if you have any questions or concerns regarding Covid-19. Additional resources include “Covid Hotline” 1-888-268-4319, where you can find answers to all non-medical questions. As well as, “Fast Results” 1-833-707-2792, where you can find your Covid test results sooner. If you have any concerns please feel free to call the Hall @ (250) 368-9131. Please stay safe everyone. In solidarity, Local 480, USW 14 Sept. 2020 To the Unionized Membership of Local 9705,
At all levels your Union is working directly with management at each company and with the Provincial and Federal governments.Our Local is a diverse one and is facing an extremely wide range of challenges. Many of our members have been laid off, suffered significant reductions in hours, been forced to stay home due to government and company restrictions. We are facing very real dangers, stress and fears from having to interact directly with the public and in complicated and changing work sites. Shifts have been changed, home lives have been disrupted and lives have been thrown into disarray. In some cases the worst has happened and our members or their families have become ill. I truly feel for all of you and the stories coming to me every day are heartbreaking.In our Local, every single company has been dealing with me directly, keeping me informed and dealing with issues as they come. We have an understanding that everyone is doing the best that they can in order to keep us and our communities safe, while balancing the needs of people to be able to have the means of carrying on in their lives. We are working together honestly and in good faith to address issues as quickly as possible and to correct problems as they arise.However, these are unprecedented conditions that none of us have ever encountered before.There is no road map for this situation and the road ahead is changing day by day and minute by minute. Not every decision has been fast enough, or perfect, and many have had to be made without being able to see the full impacts down the road, some have been mistakes. But we are all working together, Union and all the Company ’ s, to fix problems as well as we can and address issues that come out of this as they occur. I assure you, everyone is putting in every effort to try and make this right.I need all of you to help me in doing this, by following the instructions of health care professionals, communicating honestly and openly with your area managers, following company policies as they come out, and working together to come up with solutions at the floor level rather than relying on those above to do it for you. We can address specific, non life threatening issues that arise at a later date and retroactively if necessary and I will do everything in my power to assure that no one is being taken advantage of in this situation. What is most important now is finding real, workable solutions to what you are encountering in order to keep people as safe as possible. To do this we all need to take responsibility for ourselves and do our part. We all need to actively take part in finding those solutions in good faith and work together to do what is best for everyone. I will continue to try and keep you all informed as much as possible. Please look out for each other, we are all on the same side in this, the enemy is the disease and the health care crisis that it brings with it. We will all need to support each other in the days and weeks to come, if we do this we will come out stronger and better as a whole. Thank you all, stay safe, help each other and stay strong! Ron McKenzie President, USW Local 9705 To the members of Local 480 and 9705,
Effective 7:00 pm on May 29th, 2018, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) will be in a legal strike position against Canadian Pacific Railway. There will be KVR employees near the main entrance with an informational picket line on the morning of May 30th . This picket line is for information purposes only and they will not prevent you from going to work. We support our Brothers and Sisters in their bid to obtain a fair Collective Agreement. Please be respectful and patient to the Members on the picket line. The expectation is that all employees must report to work as scheduled. Employees can call their respective Union Hall or President if you have any questions or concerns. Local 480 President, Brian Onyschak can be reached on his cell at (250) 231-3655. Local 9705 President, Mike Mozak can be reached on his cell at (250) 231-7271. Issued by: Local’s 480 & 9705, USW 29 May, 2018 UPDATE:
To the members of Local 480 and 9705, There will be no picket line on the property from the KVR railroad employees for the time being. The Company has made a final offer and asked the government to force a vote. The bargaining committees of all those involved are asking their memberships to soundly reject this offer. In Solidarity, Locals 480 and 9705 |