MAY 2014 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1

CONTENTS
PAGE 1
Solidarity
PAGE 2
Bits and Pieces
Chief Stewards
Corner
In the Courts
PAGE 3
Political Pulse
Did you Know?
Thank You!
PAGE 4
How do I know if I
am being bullied at
work?
Executive Contacts
Upcoming Events



Solidarity
By: Deborah Hopper
Solidarity its a word often used in
the labour movement. It is brought
up when we join together in a
boycott, support striking workers,
or refuse to do someone elses
work. But the true essence of this
word goes far beyond protests
against unfair labour practices.

At its core, solidarity is about
community. It is about respecting
each other in the work we do,
putting out a helping hand when
others are struggling, and passing
on some care when another is sick,
hurting or sad.

At its core, solidarity is
about community.

It was heartbreaking to hear, just
two days after our National Day of
Mourning, of the tragic shooting of
four workers at Nanaimos Western
Forest Products mill. It is painful to
think that a member of our
community was so lost that taking
a gun into his former workplace
seemed like the right action. Yet
out of this tragedy has come some
incredible acts of solidarity
tributes at the sight of the
shooting, support for the victims
and their families, a lack of
condemnation for the shooter and
his family.
The impact of these events has
reached far. Even in Vancouver last
week, workers at the BCGEU
Regional Office put up a tribute to
the victims at their May Day event,
and CUPE Provincial working
groups took time out of their
meetings for moments of silence.

We are demonstrating the lessons
we already knew that we are
stronger, healthier, and more
resilient as a community when we
stand together than when we
become divided. As we move
forward, and life slowly settles
back into an everyday pattern, I
encourage everyone to remember
the importance of solidarity, of
reaching out a hand to others, and
of working to ensure that no one
feels lost, alone, or left behind.



1 CUPE 1858 Newsletter May 2014
CUPE 1858 Newsletter


Good Workers Work Through their Lunch, Breaks and End of Day
Bits and Pieces

CUPE Cares 2014
CUPE members, family
members and co -workers
were out again for the third
CUPE Cares-Clean up the
Mountain event on May 3rd.
Over the past three years,
CUPE members have taken
about 9 tons of garbage out of
the forest around the VIU
campus.
Young Workers
CUPE has lots of training
opportunities for workers
under the age of 30. If you are
a young worker and are
interested in union training or
in getting involved in union
activity at VIU or on the
provincial level, please contact
a member of the CUPE
executive.
Training Opportunity
Plans are in the works to bring
training to the VIU for "Union
Supervisors in the Workplace".
This training is for CUPE
supervisors, those that work
with them, and any other
interested CUPE member.
Old School Language
Article 24.01 of the Collective
Agreement SUPPLY OF
WORK CLOTHES states..
b) Female employees who are
required to wear uniforms
because of the nature of their
work will be supplied with
uniform pant suits at their
request.
Is this what they had in mind?
Chief Stewards Corner

Many people feel that when they work
through their lunch or other breaks, come in
early or work late that it is a sign that they
are a good worker and that they are
committed to their jobs. Here is another way
of looking at it:
It skews how much staffing is
required to get the job done, meaning that
the employer can count on the eager worker
to do a job and a half rather than hire
additional staff.
It misrepresents the amount of
time that is required to do the eager workers
job, so when the eager worker leaves that
position, the replacement will be under a
great deal of pressure to do the same
amount of work, add that to the pressure of
training in a new job and you have a recipe
for feelings of failure and unhappiness.
A growing body of evidence shows
that taking regular breaks from mental tasks
improves productivity and creativity and
that skipping breaks can lead to stress and
exhaustion. (New York Times article, June
2012). So the eager worker isnt being as
productive or fabulous as they could be if
they took their breaks and full lunch. They
are also putting themselves as higher risk
for workplace stress.
If the eager worker does not
take their breaks (two 15 minutes breaks in
a seven hour day) they are gifting the
employer 2.5 hours per week of free
time.over the course of one year that
number is approximately 122 hours of
volunteer time. Multiply that by your
hourly wage and ..yup..that is a lot of
money!



2 CUPE 1858 Newsletter May 2014
IN THE COURTS
BC Government ordered to pay $2 million in
damages for interfering with free collective
bargaining

This year, the Supreme Court of Canada found that
the British Columbia government, under Christy
Clark, had substantially interfered with BC teachers
collective bargaining" by voiding hundreds of terms
of collective agreements which had previously been
negotiated, and by prohibiting collective bargaining
over the same issues in the future. The mechanism
for this action was Bill 28 and later Bill 22, and the
courts ruled both unconstitutional and the
government was ordered to pay $2 million dollars in
damages and court costs to the BC Teachers'
Federation.

If you are interested in the full ruling, you can view it
at http://canlii.ca/t/g2ttt



There is nothing like a Provincial CUPE
Convention to get me revved up. I
consider it an honour to represent our
local as a delegate, and try my best to
stay fully engaged for the four, very full
days. After sitting on the convention
floor for many hours, I am clear on one
point, it is of paramount importance that
people identify their core values and use
their vote to support the party that
aligns with their core values.
It is important that people give their
attention to all Municipal, Provincial and
Federal elections campaigns, and
remember that it is people that drive
change. Since the Reform Party and
The Progressive Conservatives joined
forces and formed The Conservatives,
the business sector has a great deal of
power and sway over our politics. I urge
people to consider decent health care,
quality, affordable education and
affordable child care as core values, and
vote accordingly.
Our Federal government is attacking the
ability of unions to bargain fair treatment
for Canadian workers:
Four times this past year, in sectors
where workers must bargain nationally,
workers that have been on strike have
been legislated back to work,
The Harper government has removed
the Fair Wages Act which really
challenges pay equity laws,
Bill C377 was enacted, which amends the
Income Tax Act to require that labour
organizations provide financial information
to the Minister for public disclosure. This
would mean disclosing such information as
how much money a union has available in
its strike fund (which would be a clear
indication to the government about how
long a union could afford to stay on strike).
All of these things are clear attacks on
unions and meant to cripple their ability to
fight for the fair treatment of their
members.
Public opinion is being manipulated by the
right wing, and rhetoric is replacing fact.
We shouldnt be ashamed of being public
sector employees. We deserve fair wages,
but are in the position of constantly having
to defend what we have at the bargaining
table and do our jobs with less funding,
which is getting harder and harder to do.

By: Rob Campbell
3 CUPE 1858 Newsletter May 2014
Did you Know?

Article 5 of the CUPE VIU
Collective Agreement (Employer
and Union Shall Acquaint New
Employees) states that


"The Employer agrees to
acquaint new employees with
the fact that a Collective
Agreement (a copy of which
will be provided) is in effect
and with the conditions of
employment set out in the
Articles dealing with Union
Security and Check-off of
Union Dues. A new employee
shall be advised of the name
and location of the
employee's steward."


If you are a new employee were
you provided with a copy of your
collective agreement?

Do you have a copy of the current
collective agreement?


If you want a paper copy of the
current CUPE collective
agreement, please contact your
HR advisor.

If you prefer to view the collective
agreement electronically, it is
available at the CUPE 1858
website:
http://www.cupe1858.org/our
-contract.html

Thank You!
The Union relies on the contributions of countless members who assist with a variety of
tasks that are very important to the union and its members. These members volunteer
their time by sitting on committees and assisting with events. The executive of CUPE 1858
would like to thank the following members:

Connie Kovalenka is retiring from her work with the CUPE Training and Development
Office, as well as her volunteer position as one of the CUPE representatives on the Joint
Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

Crystal Kreschuk-Carew is taking on more responsibilities with the CUPE Executive so is
stepping away from her work as the Nanaimo contact for the CUPE Sunshine Committee.

CUPE would also like to thank new committee members Tiffany McLaughlin
(Occupational Health and Safety), Jennifer Calder (Sunshine Committee - Nanaimo), and
Patrick Barbosa (VIDC North Island, Malahat to Deep Bay, Representative) for their
contributions to the union.



How do I know if I am being bullied at work? By Katrin Roth von Szepesbela
CUPE 1858 Executive Contact Us

President Deborah Hopper (local 6610)
Deborah.Hopper@viu.ca

1st Vice-President Bernie Heise (local 2584)
Bernie.Heise@viu.ca

2nd Vice-President Rob Campbell (local 2419)
Rob.Campbell@viu.ca

Chief Steward Reed Botwright (local 2762)
Reed.Botwright@viu.ca

Membership Secretary Sue Culver (local 2149)
Sue.Culver@viu.ca

Treasurer Shannon McKenzie (local 6227)
Shannon.McKenzie@viu.ca

Recording Secretary Crystal Kreschuk-Carew (local 6210)
Crystal.Kreschuk-Carew@viu.ca

Upcoming Events
Membership Meeting
Wednesday, May 21st | 12:00 noon 1:00 pm | B200 Rm 238
Heart and Stroke Big Bike Event
Thursday, June 12th | 3:00 5:00 pm
Still lots of time to sign up and join this fun event
CUPE Meeting and Summer Social
Thursday, June 18th | Time TBA

Check out http://www.cupe1858.org/ for more details
4 CUPE 1858 Newsletter May 2014
Bullying and Harassment are serious terms.
Whether bullying or harassment occurred is
a mixed question of fact and law. This
question can only be definitively answered
after a formal adjudication of a case, where a
neutral third party finds the facts and
applies the law to the facts.

LABOUR RELATIONS CONTEXT
One of the most-cited statements relating to
harassment in the context of arbitrations is
the following:

I do not think that every act of workplace
foolishness was intended to be captured by
the word harassment. This is a serious
word, to be used seriously and applied
vigorously when the occasion warrants its
use. It should not be trivialized, cheapened
or devalued by using it as a loose label to
cover petty acts or foolish words, where the
harm, by any objective standard, is fleeting.
Nor should it be used where there is no
intent to be harmful in any way, unless there
has been a heedless disregard for the rights
of another person and it can be fairly said
you should have known better.
BCGEU v. Government of British Columbia,
[1995] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 131 (QL) (Laing)

WORKSAFEBC CONTEXT
The WorkSafeBC definition includes any
inappropriate conduct or comment by a
person towards a worker that the person
knew or reasonably ought to have known
would cause that worker to be humiliated or
intimidated. This definition is not exclusive
or exhaustive, as every case turns on its
facts.
The WorkSafeBC definition expressly
excludes any reasonable action taken by an
employer or supervisor relating to the
management and direction of workers or the
place of employment, e.g., managing a
workers performance, taking reasonable
disciplinary actions, assigning work.
Examples of what does not constitute
bullying and harassment include
interpersonal conflict, expressing differences
of opinion, offering constructive feedback,
guidance, or advice about workrelated
behaviour.
The WorkSafeBC is definition is both
subjective and objective. Subjectively, a
person may feel feeling ashamed, angry, sad,
or fearful because they think they seem to be
targeted by someones conduct or comments
geared towards humiliating or intimidating
them. This does not necessarily mean that
bullying or harassment has occurred,
although the adverse impact is a relevant
factor. Objectively, the legal test must be met.
This means that, in relation to conduct or
comments by a supervisor, the action taken
by the employer or supervisor relating to the
management and direction of workers or the
place of employment, must have been
unreasonable. In other words, the action did
not serve a legitimate management purpose
or was executed in an unreasonable, abusive
manner.
Additionally, and in relation to conduct by a
person other than a supervisor, every
element of the definition must have been
met, i.e.,
there must be specific conduct or comments
directed at a person,
the conduct or comments were
inappropriate,
the conduct or comments humiliated or
intimidated a person, and
a reasonable person knew or should have
known the targeted person would be so
adversely impacted.



REPORTING OF BULLYING AND
HARASSMENT
If you are asking yourself this question, you
may want to consider noting your
observations of the conduct or comments
you consider inappropriate and, where safe
to do so, approaching the person behaving in
an unwanted manner or making unwelcome
remarks with a request to stop the behaviour
or comments, because this question is often
indicative of a strained relationship with a
co-worker, supervisor, or other person. If a
direct approach does not resolve the
situation, you should report the conduct or
comments to your supervisor. If the person
behaving inappropriately is your supervisor,
you may report their conduct or comments
the Human Rights and Harassment Office.
Forms are available here.

COMPLAINTS TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS
AND RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE OFFICE
The Human Rights and Respectful Workplace
Office is the escalation path for serious
wrongful behaviour. It is available for
consultations and to assist with the informal
or formal resolution of concerns relating to
bullying and harassment. Complaint and
response forms are available here.

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING
If the conduct or comments of a co-worker,
supervisor, or other person cause you
concern, it is probably a good idea to seek
assistance. The overarching goal is to create,
foster and sustain positive working
relationships. Whether or not conduct or
comments fit a definition may not be as
important as solving the problem in a way
that permits everybody to enjoy their
working and learning environment.