Local 1288P October 2024 E-Board Meeting

UFCW Canada Eastern Provinces Council Local 1288P Executive Board members gathered at Hotel Halifax on Friday, Oct. 25 where conversation of health and safety concerns, employee privacy and upcoming bargaining were the largest topics. 

Members Daniel Smith, Jean-Maurice Savoie, Patrick Beaulieu, Jean-Paul Comeau, Allen LaPointe, Tim Fowler, Caroline Cosman, Adam Everett discussed the state of all local units as several prepare to begin renegotiating new collective agreements by the end of 2024 and into early-2025.  

News out of the National Soft Drink Convention became a large talking point after Coca-Cola announced the soft-launching of dash-cams with case-by-case audio and front-facing camera capabilities in delivery trucks in Ottawa.  

The expectation, should the company pilot be successful, is that dash cams could trickle down into New Brunswick, causing some bargaining units to raise concern over workplace privacy.

UFCW Eastern Provinces Council will continue to monitor the situation to ensure, if implemented, the use of dash cams will not be exploited beyond their stated purpose of use as laid out in health and safety operations by any employer.  

As the need for new Stewardship across the board was identified, UFCW Eastern Provinces Council will be hosting Steward training in Saint John on Nov. 18-19. Anyone interested in becoming a shop Steward and would like to partake in training can contact their Union Representative.  

Members also spoke on the pros and cons of the Temporary Foreign Worker program, and how its use in Union workplaces can affect membership.  

The program has been vital in keeping some smaller units afloat, however, concerns of language barrier issues regarding workplace health safety raised some concerns.  

Membership is reminded that language training courses are available on the UFCW web-campus.  

UFCW Eastern provinces Council will continue to monitor the Temporary Foreign Worker program to ensure it is not exploited by employers in any unfair labour practices.  

Finally, the Local 1288P office renovations in Moncton are nearing completion, transforming the space into a 52 by 24-foot meeting and multi-purpose space with the vision to use the building for fundraisers, socials and growing the overall labour movement community in the area.

The next Local 1288P Executive Board meeting will take place electronically in January 2025.