AFS Saint John Subgroup Meeting
April 02, 2025
Held At: Taste of Egypt
Commenced: 5:35
IN ATTENDANCE:
Lori Rowe, Mike Kane, Mike Maxan, Sabra Howe, Aaron Everett, Brian Whelly, Tanya Ripley, Jennifer Sparks, Gayle Armstrong
ABSENT:
Mike Melvin, Dawn Brown, Jeffrey Waylow
ITEMS
The meeting was called to order at 5:35 pm by Chair, Lori Rowe. UPON MOTION, duly made by Sabra, seconded by Mike Kane, and unanimously carried, it was resolved the agenda of the meeting was verified and approved.
1. November 27, 2024, Minutes – Minutes were distributed by Lori Rowe via email on April 02, 2025, in preparation for this meeting. UPON MOTION, duly made by Sabra, seconded by Lori, and unanimously carried, it was resolved the meeting minutes were verified and approved.
2. Old/New Business
a) Dues Increase
Lori mentioned the dues increase during the November 2024 meeting.
b) Plant gate
It was done in November where we were handing out lanyards, “Hi I am 1234”. Fox was made aware of this.
c) Layoffs and impacts
• Lori advised two more terms with Audit (SME) were given notice in late March of layoff effective April 30th. One of them resigned Tuesday, April 1st.
• There have been cuts throughout the Agency: IT, HR, and Audit. More Layoffs are expected including permanent positions.
• Brian mentioned that Matt Sherwood, an IT term employee, was let go at end of term and they have a lot of terms. Lori advised she lost two term employees in December and both before the end of term.
• Gayle advised SRED lost two people, and she also went back to her AU3 position as her project was completed.
• No more terms in Audit for the Atlantic Region. There are still actors; however, these people have permanent positions within CRA.
• PIPSC is already gathering members for the WFA committee that are expected to be formed by the employer soon. Chris Roach will be a member, and he asked Lori to be as well for the Region.
d) Lunch & Learn April 30th at O’Leary’s
Sabra sent an email to the executive and Members at Large. Also, it is posted on the PIPSC site. Encourage members to attend. PIPSC regional office will be ending an email from Lori. Lori advised she will be explaining who is who, for example who is Chris Roach, Atlantic Region AFS Representative, President, Sean O’Reilly, National President, and Doug Mason, National AFS President. Then Lori will follow with explaining the Collective agreement.
e) AGM 2025
Lori advised we need to start planning it. She has sent a message to Chris Ryan, Branch President. She asked everyone for their thoughts of Riverside and most agreed to leave it there.
• Lori and Sabra’s position is up for renewal.
• Planned date - Sept 9th.
• Guest Speakers – Chris Roach and Mark Bellefleur, new Atlantic Regional Director located in Moncton. Mark is an Engineer.
• Lori mentioned she is struggling to get an up-to-date membership list from both the PIPSC and the Employer. PIPSC Regional Office provided her with a list that included people that Lori knows with 100% certainty are no longer employed with CRA. In addition, Lori advised that the employer does not share the layoffs, for example some from IT. Lori mentioned this to Fox and now Lori has been in contact with Tammy Smith. Hopefully soon we will have an updated membership list.
f) PIPSC WFA Presentation
Many attended the presentation, and it was not well done. The gal who presented was constantly stumbling over the slides, but the gentleman who followed was okay. Others who attended the Friday presentation shared the same sentiments. Sabra explained that if we want to win the confidence of our members, PIPSC must be close to perfect. Overall, it was a disappointment and now we will stumble our way through it ourselves. Gayle provided Lori with an older WFA flow chart that Lori will review in detail, but explained it appears to be the same process.
g) New ERO
PIPSC has a new ERO that will represent CRA
h) New Steward Program:
• When your renewal comes up, PIPSC is requesting that you share what you have done with PIPSC in the last year. Are you involved? Do you attend meetings? Are you part of Executive? Are you an active member?
i) New Steward & Returning Member
• Lori welcomed Brian Whelly and shared how happy she was to have someone from IT. IT needs representation!
• Vince O’Neill is coming back until September. Lori welcomes his return, especially considering the difficulties we will be facing in the coming months. His experience is irreplaceable.
j) OSH Committee
We needed a member and Lori asked Deeksha Singh, IT, to be on the committee. We are waiting for approval. Time expected is approx. 2 hours per month.
k) Upcoming Calendar
• April 23 & 24th- UMC President Only
• April 30th – Lunch & Learn
• May 23& 24th – Atlantic Regional Council (ARC) in Fredericton. Local attendees are Gayle Armstong, Mike Kane, and Mike Maxan. There will be an election for ARC Executive as six positions are up for election. Delegates get to vote, and observers can attend if local. Lori is a member at Large.
Duties:
▪ Plan training & Steward Council
▪ Create Motions for PIPSC AGM
• June 12-14th – AFS Presidents Meeting will be held a Lac De la Maix • June 18th – Saint John AFS Sub-Group planned meeting. Sabra to make reservations.
• Sept 18th – Basic Steward Training in Saint John
• Oct 24-25th- Steward Council at the Marriot
• Dec 12 & 13th – PIPSC AGM Toronto
l) Grievances update
• Lori has two outstanding and one more is expected. The two current grievances are early end of term where the employer does not want to pay severance. • Mike Kane’s grievances are dealing with ROOP and are held in abeyance. Waiting on Fox but three for exceptions
m) Roundtable
• Brian talked about the NITSP forcing employees to do Flex schedules so the Employer can avoid paying overtime. The employer told them it was a requirement. Lori advised Chris Roach to address this matter and is going to Mary (??) who is a National Representative. Lori advised Flex Time is not mandatory.
• Mike Kane advised no SME Org Chart. Lori will get a copy, but the employer is working on this using SharePoint, and it is expected to be broken done by unions.
• Sabra shared that she has had three employees come to her who do not want to file grievances or make any waves in fear of a layoff should their position be WFA. We need to assure employees this is the process to be used, and we can understand but how else to address this.
• Sabra asked Stewards, should they hear employees talk about people who are assigned full-time seats and not in the office to not make assumptions. It is the concern of their team leader. The employer has created this environment, and members are complaining and instances on the border of bullying, which could cause a whole lot of problems. If you hear this, speak to the members, and remind them they do not know the situation and do not make assumptions.
• Aaron asked about Lunch & learn money. Lori advised we already submitted application with approval.
Lori Rowe motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:46 pm.
Minutes prepared by Sabra Howe.