Bylaw amendment proposal discussion

[mkan]

Bylaw amendment proposal
Dec 9 - Bylaw amendment Rev. 3
Dec 15 - Topic merged from General forum and posting permissions fixed
Dec 15 - Bylaw amendment Rev. 4 updated here and on website
Dec 17 - Bylaw amendment Rev. 5

Bylaw amendment PDF link Rev. 5

[dacri]

Discussion
I call BS

Latest Union email:

Further means of communication will be inline with our current bylaws sections 23.1.2 which specifies the use of our public forum. The MEC and the working group will make themselves available to discuss the amendments in the forum. In addition to communicating with us through this means, you should also write an email to mec@sunwingpilots.com with your comments and we will be sure to respond to you.


Back in March I sent an email to our MEC, Compliance and Benefit Committee. NADA

NO response/answer from our “leader of the ship” (Barret Armann) or anyone else from our Union....So I’m posting it again here to see if we get an answer on the forum.

email addressed to the Union:

I understand we are incurring meal expenses (keg dinners with bottle service) on the membership’s account.


What’s your thoughts going forward... ie : Keg dinner’s with bottles of wine and alcohol?

Is this a reasonable expense?



Darren



Any audit indicates that any Member, alone or with others, had received or spent the Local's funds improperly or otherwise had engaged in financial misconduct, the Financial Secretary will submit written details to the Membership, and the National Executive Board.


18.2.3 The following expenses may be approved, when deemed reasonable by the Financial Secretary:
A. Driving own vehicle - reimbursed at the UNIFOR National rate. B. Rental Car.
C. Travel.
D. Overnight accommodation.
E. Meals.
F. Office Supplies.
G. Meeting Rooms.
H. Any other expenses required to conduct the business of the Local.


My guess is this was “deemed reasonable by the Financial Secretary”....probably enjoying a bottle with them.

What’s your thoughts going forward with the new bylaws??? Same shit?

[jbinks]

I guess you haven't bothered to take the time to actually read the new bylaws before ranting about them. If you had taken five minutes to read through them you would have seen that they now require the MEC to publish an annual expense code of conduct that will describe the limits they have set for themselves on all the expense categories and will be accepted or rejected by the membership each year through a vote.

This was a change requested by the Trustee Committee to ensure maximum transparency around expenses and boost accountability. So now going forward if the MEC decides to do 'bottle service at the Keg' it will only be because it's permitted by the Expense Code of Conduct that has been approved by the membership through a vote.

[jjagoe]

I’ll throw in a pet peeve. Pmtg day allowed to be placed on schedules for work previously done.

They shouldn’t be placed on days they’d never hold off. It was proven this was happening a lot.

J

[MBusuttil]

Hi Darren,

We have incurred expenses at the Keg. Because they have food there. We actually have a limit on meal expenses already and we adhere to that, the limit comes from UNIFOR national, so it IS reasonable to eat there. It has been the opinion of our MEC and still is; that alcohol would be included INSIDE that limit. It's contentious certainly and should be debated here. In addition though, we decided in our NEW expense code of conduct that a two drink limit per day is reasonable and that this comes out of the meals limit and not in addition to it.

We have had the debate ourselves, we have it often in-fact, and we basically come to the same conclusion every time: We have very little to give to our volunteers in terms of retention. Pretty much the only thing we can give them is a nice meal and a beer with it if they want. That is also my opinion and so you are right, I do deem it reasonable.

If our finances were threatened, I would insist our team eat bologna sandwiches and drink out of public fountains. The finances are not threatened and that info is publicly available on the website under the published AGM's of the past. Also, a new AGM shortly will affirm the same information even with a substantial decrease in dues revenue.

Reasonable limits that we maintain now, should be hardened in the bylaws (and voted by you) and that is why we will have a NEW expense code of conduct in conjunction with these bylaws amendments. These limits can be changed annually and voted on by the membership and this should be based on data and results.

I guess this is discussion time, so if there is a MAJORITY of our members who disagree with this limit and think it unreasonable, then please voice your opinion in addition to Darren and we will change it.

Personally, and in my opinion, our group is stronger with more people volunteering their time. I think that is worth something. I can't pay them but I like to say thanks with a meal and a drink of their choice.

Mike Busuttil

[MBusuttil]

Hi Jason;

Since it was myself that approved PMTG, your point is taken. In the past what I did was simply look and see if someone was looking for a day on "Christmas" and then not award it! I did not make it my business to check every persons schedule and ask where they put that day throughout the year.

So you're right in saying that there should be some language on this matter. Why don't we work that out here? How about something like:

18.3.2 "The President and Financial Secretary have the sole authority to assign and either approve or reject PMTG day requests but will not award the days on statutory public holidays. Ie. Christmas/Remembrance/Canada Day Etc" The underline and bold would be new language? Thoughts?

As for placing days on schedules for work previously done: We have however added language to clear up a problem that occurs often in our UNION. I will give an Example:

Pilot Fred Smith is having trouble at home... getting divorced. He's angry a lot. He goes to work on a nice bright Tuesday the 17th and loses his mind on another employee. He's got a new short fuse and now it's effecting his work. This is very unfortunate. He gets called into the office on the 19th for discipline and he's told HR will be there. The UNION needs to be there too for Fred who besides this one incident, has been an exemplary employee. No one is available with a PMTG but hey one of the MEC is on a GDO that day. So that MEC member tells his family, "sorry we're going to have to cancel that trip guys, I have to go into the office for Fred Smith". And he goes, and he witnesses the story and ensures proper discipline is maintained and follows up with Fred to make sure he gets additional support. The next month the MEC member or Compliance or whoever went in to represent asks for a PMTG to make up for the GDO day they sacrificed and I award it.

This situation happens a lot. And if you want people to keep taking their time away from their family to defend people, it should be reasonable to give them a PMTG in a future unassigned month for this "work in the past". Fred Smith can be any one of us one day, and let me assure you, you want a witness on these meetings. It is WORTH something.

Mike Busuttil

[kreschny]

Thanks Mike. Sounds reasonable to me. I appreciate the communication.

[SBurns]

Nice job Mike! Thanks for all the hours you've put in for us.

[dacri]

Please publish all the maximum amounts a member can expense in one day..including bottle service for the “leader of the ship” Barret Armann.

[dbutcher]

Hey Darren,

We have ate dinner at the Keg once in the two years i have been on the MEC, we took some of the committee chairs out for dinner there as a thank you for their hours of hard work they do on your behalf, for free. I dont see that as a problem. Do you?

Nobody has ever had “bottle service”.

You were sent a complete set of our union finances from the Auditor, from the past two years. There were no findings.

[jjagoe]

Thanks for the objective reply Mike. I think it’s fair to say it falls in a grey area. When I was sent schedules last year I was amazed at how often people were taking advantage of adding days to vacations or long weekends. It doesn’t effect me but it was still bs in my opinion.

On one hand being in the union is a volunteer position. On the other hand it’s a shit load of work.

When I read your example my first thought was “would it be cheaper/better to hire a unifor lawyer/professional to sit in with our members?” The company would probably be a lot less inclined to request meetings? You guys/girls wouldn’t have to run out from family on gdo’s?

Is there a way of having pmtg put into AIMs during the bid process? Awarded based on seniority?

Call me crazy but now that our unifor bank account has been replenished after the “pillage and plundering” it took in the past, I wouldn’t be opposed to paying people directly for their time. I’ll even offer up Acri to oversee it..just no keg dinners

J

[hwahab]

I can think of $300 000 reasons why Darren is asking these questions. CAN YOU.?

[dbutcher]

Hey Wahab,

Mike puts on a spectacular financial info session during the AGM, including expenditures. Darren has yet to attend. Anyone can question the union, but at least take the time to attend the meetings if your interested in being an honest critic.

All of our expenses are audited by both the treasury trustee committee and outside auditors.

Jason if we went the lawyer route it wouldn't take long to burn through our resources. The company has more money even in times like these. We do use lawyers but only when really needed. Thank you for taking the time to investigate the PMTG days, guys/girls who do a lot of work for you get to decide when to use them based on their need. We currently have unfilled positions in some of our committee's if your interested in helping out the group?

[hwahab]

Hey Butcher

A member in good standing has asked a question. Not an attack or criticism of any member. If he has a concern then answer it. If we learn nothing from the past then we will repeat it.

[dbutcher]

Hey Wahab,

I did answer, it was a reasonable expense.