NATIONAL COUNCIL President's page Report of the GSU National President to Convention 2008 In accordance with Government Services Union By-laws, I hereby submit my report. I am reporting on the items required by our By-laws and include brief remarks. In addition, I will comment on some of the recommendations which National Council will have for Convention. During the Address of the National President I will speak in more detail on some of our successes since the last Convention and will outline what I believe to be our major challenges over the next three years. Membership In May 2008, GSU membership was 5947 including 687 Rand deductees. We have 4188 members in Treasury Board's Programme and Administration Group, 486 in Operational, 695 in Technical, and 9 in Education and Library Science; all are employed at Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Royal Canadian Mint unit is 562 members, Metcalfe Realty has 6 members and 3 are unallocated. Our total membership size is virtually unchanged since GSU's founding in 1999, but our composition has shifted over the years. In 1999 the largest single bargaining unit was the CR group, while today the AS unit is our largest unit and represents almost half of our membership. GSU membership is now 56% women and 44% men; 72% are anglophone and 28% francophone. Finances Financially, we are in a very sound position and I expect us to end the three-year budget cycle with a small surplus. We have funded reserves that cover a variety of liabilities and contingencies. As a result, National Council is proposing a 2009 - 2011 Budget which recommends no change to our current dues structure. GSU National Office As always, I want to thank all of GSU's staff for their professionalism, advice and support. I am proud of the quality of services GSU?s National Office provides to members and officers. There have been significant changes in the Office over the last three years; Brothers Saurette and Robinson and Sister Daniel left the organization to explore other possibilities and Sister Wilson is now on a developmental secondment with the PSAC. Brother Craig Spencer joined us early in 2008 as Union Representative and Sister Daniel Laprade is currently with us on secondment from the PSAC. As of the writing of this report, a competition is underway for a second bilingual Union Representative position. GSU National Council Council has met in person five times and by teleconference twenty-one times since our last Convention. Minutes of formal Council meetings are posted on our website. Standing GSU internal committees, most of which now include local representation, meet and work on a periodic basis. There have been significant changes in Council over the last three years as well. Brothers Sperling, Austin, Laalo, Zwicker and Lavery, and Sister Lethbridge all left Council for career or personal reasons. They have been ably replaced by Sister Martine Mongeon and Brothers Dave Thompson and Bob Cameron. Three NCR RVP positions remain unfilled at the request of the NCR Locals. In accordance with GSU Regulation 10, Brothers Randy Ford, Alex Sauve and Dan Charron rotated through the position of designated replacement for the National President. Brother Charron currently has that responsibility until the end of Convention. I want to add a few words about Council. It may not be apparent, but Council has played a role in virtually all of the areas I report on. I want to thank all the members of Council for their support and solidarity over the last three years. We have had many difficult issues to deal with, but debate at Council has always been open, candid and respectful and once Council took a decision we united to support a common position. This solidarity gives us great credibility with our employers and other bargaining agents when we speak on behalf of the membership. Locals GSU currently has 34 Locals with one (Local 72000 Metcalfe) inactive. Just as in our National Office and National Council, change has been a constant challenge for Locals. Since Quebec City in 2005, fully two-thirds of our Locals have new Executives and only eleven Presidents scheduled to be at Convention 2008 held that position three years ago. Consequently, Local development work has assumed a high priority over the last two years, as GSU has directly provided training or planning assistance to nine Locals with the help of RVPs, NVPs, the Local Development Committee, the National Office and PSAC Regional Offices. We held two successful Presidents' Councils in Montebello and Moncton. Since last Convention I've met with 26 of our Locals at their Annual General Meetings and through regional seminars and Local President's / Regional Vice-presidents' meetings met with representatives of all GSU Locals. Consultation GSU meets as required with employers regarding employment security, terms and conditions of employment, health and safety, employment equity, pay, and other issues. I'm relieved to report that the largest challenge facing us at our last Convention, Real Property's plan to contract out 2500 - 4000 jobs, was successfully stopped. While RPB did go on to sell a number of federal office buildings, we managed to ensure that there were no lay-offs as a result and I believe our efforts, along with the PSAC's work, make the future sell off of further buildings unlikely. Additionally, in 2007 GSU signed a groundbreaking Union Recognition document with the Deputy Minister of PWGSC which acknowledges the significant contribution union members make to their workplaces though involvement in their Union. Collective Bargaining Difficult negotiations are currently underway for Treasury Board and Convention will have an opportunity to deal with several resolutions related to this round of collective bargaining. We were successful in negotiating a new collective agreement with the Royal Canadian Mint early in 2008. PSAC Representation GSU is currently represented on eight National Board of Directors' committees, and GSU national and local officers are active in Regional Councils, Area Councils and provincial Federations of Labour. Notably, I want to recognize Brother Dan Charron, who came very close to being elected the PSAC Regional Executive Vice-president for the NCR and who was subsequently elected the alternate REVP. National President's Recommendations GSU By-law 7.1.d calls for the National President's report to Convention to "include any recommendations which the National Council deems necessary to meet the continuing aims and objectives of this Union." I will not comment on all National Council recommendations, but will comment on two which I see as especially significant. First, National Council will recommend that GSU acquire and implement Unionware, a grievance handling and tracking system, for GSU representation at all levels of the Union. Council has been briefed on similar systems several times over the last three years, and Local Presidents at Moncton in 2007 indicated we should investigate further. The PSAC has recently acquired Unionware and I believe GSU's adoption of that system now will greatly enhance our representation programme. Second, Council will recommend that, over the next three years, GSU National Council shall examine and recommend changes to GSU structure for our 2011 Convention. At our last Convention, a majority of delegates (although not a two-thirds majority) supported structural change. Events over the last two years have convinced Council that the need for change remains urgent. A Personal Note I want to thank Council, Local officers, members and staff of Government Services Union for your support over the last three years. I would not be exaggerating to say that the work of this position would be impossible without your help, encouragement and assistance. I am deeply grateful to you all. Finally, I want to acknowledge my partner, Ellen Nearing, for her eternal patience with the demands of the position. While working for the Union brings many rewards, ultimately it is our families, and often their sacrifice, that makes it possible for us to continue our work. Very respectfully submitted, Mark Brunell National President Government Services Union, PSAC 22 July 2008
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