Putting YOU in Union
Knowledge is power.
We are not born knowing how Unions work or what YOUR role in them should be. This website is intended to provide you an opportunity to have your question(s) answered - in depth. It is a journey that, hopefully, we will travel together to our mutual satisfaction.
My name is Roger Rioux.
I am 71 years old as I write this. My entire adult life has been spent in both lay and professional advocacy, trying to help people who need assistance with fighting the frustration of bureaucracy or the injustices that can befall any of us. It is now extremely important to me that I share the knowledge and skill sets that I have with the future of trade unionism -YOU!
I specifically focussed on trade union advocacy and was, for 6 years, a Business Agent with Teamsters Union Local 31 in Vancouver. I have also been an Executive Board member and a Recording Secretary. At the present time, I am active as one of four “Grievance Committee” members with Unifor 111. I have been both lead counsel and second chair at arbitrations, BC Labour Board hearings, Federal Labour Board hearings, Human Rights Tribunals, and Workers Compensation hearings and appeals.
As a “lay advocate” I have had some very satisfying success helping a colleague secure a CPP “permanent disability” and an even more satisfying win with a successful Section 12 complaint to the BC Labour Relations Board (it was actually a Section 7 complaint to the Industrial Relations Council - what was to become the BC Labour Relations Board). Section 12 of the BC Labour Code is where a union member can get relief if they believe the Union representing them has acted in a manner that is “arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith.”.
I will elaborate on all of this and much much more throughout the rest of the site. I am particularly interested in any and all questions you might want answered. Nothing is too small, insignificant or irrelevant. Knowledge really IS power and we hope to empower any one of you who is looking for answers about “All Things Trade Union”.
This website is a joint effort between myself and my daughter. We are both conventional drivers with CMBC, myself with well over 20 years experience and her now a year+ into it. We have joined forces to try and provide to the membership, most particularly newer members, an understanding of the fundamental role of the Union in our working lives. I have a wealth of knowledge based on years of Union activism and talking with my daughter has provided me with a very clear message from the newer generation of operators.
Understanding Trade Unions in General
What is the purpose of a Union? How are Unions supposed to operate? How does trade Unionism really work?
There are different ways of approaching these questions. A very common explanation is that Unions “negotiate and then police collective bargaining agreements”. In essence, it is their “primary” function but it would be far too simplistic to say that is all that they do. Your Union represents everybody in your workforce that it has a “certification” for. They will bargain a collective agreement that will cover wages, health and welfare benefits, pension plan contributions, in addition to ALL working conditions including amount of vacation time in a given year, sick days, bereavement leaves, and multiple other topics. The primary tool used to “police” the negotiated terms in the collective agreement (contract) is the GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE.
Let’s Get Specific - Unifor 111
If you’re a Transit Operator with CMBC then this information is specifically relevant to you. There is an overwhelming amount of information that you will have to work your way through before you get a clear picture of how the Union works and what your role in it should be.
At a bare minimum, every Union member should have a copy of (or easy access to) the following 3 documents:
[1] Collective Agreement
[2] Unifor Constitution
[3] Unifor Local 111 Bylaws
Below are links where you can reference all 3 of the documents mentioned above. In addition, if you are an employee of CMBC and a Transit Operator - shuttle or conventional - you should contact the Union office administrative staff to get “log in” credentials for the Unifor 111 website.
Got a Question?
Submit your question(s) and we’ll get into it on the blog.