Notice of Meeting
Professional & Technical Staff Union (PTSU)
2025 Annual General Meeting
DATE: Wednesday, November 13, 2024
TIME: 12 noon
PLATFORM: ZOOM
Pre-registration by Members in Good Standing will be required
Pre-registration will be open on November 1st, 2024
Open Executive Board Offices – November 2024
§ VP Saint John
§ Secretary
§ Treasurer
§ Chief Grievance Officer (Fredericton)
§ Chief Grievance Officer (Saint John)
Understanding Your Union’s role
After two (2) recent Orient New PTSU Member Sessions in Saint John and Fredericton, let’s talk about what a union’s role actually is. Through unions, workers negotiate with employers from a position of strength in numbers over wages, benefits, workplace health and safety, job training, and other work-related issues. Employers have the power, authority, right, privilege, and responsibility to manage an organization’s operations: It is the employer and not a union who disciplines, fires, offers accommodation, etc. Unions don’t co-manage the workplace with employers.
It is the responsibility of the Employer to manage in a way that is not arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith. Should that take place, then your Union is here to work to protect your well-being within the framework and language of the Collective Agreement. It is those words, “within the framework and language of the Collective Agreement”, that are very important to understand: Your Union Is mandated under law to proceed in certain ways. As an example, if a harassment issue were to arise within the workplace where, maybe, a member is being continually verbally assaulted by other(s) in the workplace, it is the Collective Agreement that stipulates it is the Employer’s duty and responsibility to maintain a safe, harassment, and bullying-free workplace.
Your Union is legally required to operate from a position of the utmost confidentiality. It may come to pass, but we need to support several members on one issue, perhaps in different veins. Your Union is legally contravened from breaching confidentiality requirements to speak to one member on another member’s situation, be it discipline, grievance, or job re-evaluation matters to name just a few. There are definitely times we would like very much to bring members into the loop on matters to help them understand what is transpiring in the workplace, but that is not possible, ethically or legally.
Union Training: Is It for YOU?
The Fall 2024 training schedule offered by the New Brunswick Region of The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is now almost complete, and it was very successful for several PTSU Members in Good Standing, who undertook Talking Union Basics (TUBs) and Grievance Handling courses. The Winter 2025 schedule is anticipated to be released in December or early January 2025, and we believe PSAC will schedule another TUBs training course somewhere in New Brunswick. If you are interested, after carefully reading the information (below), please let us know at PTSU60551@gmail.com We need to hear of your interest not later than December 1st, 2024 so that, once the Winter 2025 PSAC Training Schedule is released, we can reach out to you as having expressed interest with more details, i.e. – date, location, etc.
A very quick overview of TUBs from PSAC, the prerequisite training for all other PSAC training.
Talking Union Basics (TUB) is the first introduction to the PSAC for most members and continues to be the foundation for more advanced union education.
IMPORTANT GENERAL INFORMATION TO CONSIDER RE: TAKING UNION TRAINING
· Atlantic PSAC Training is NOT solely for PTSU Members: It is for all PSAC Members who are in Component(s) or Local(s) within all of New Brunswick.
· This is ‘union’ training; it has nothing to do with the Employer and therefore there is no ‘lieu time’ or compensation from the Employer for participation. Expenses – depending on the location of the training within New Brunswick – are compensated by PSAC on successful training completion.
· PSAC training is rarely – if ever – given throughout the week; it is offered on weekends only. If you are interested in taking union training, it is a ‘given’ that training will be on a weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Nor is it possible to participate in one (1) of the two (2) scheduled training days: If you wish to participate, you will only successfully complete if you attend both days.
· If – at the time of the PTSU-issued ‘call for interest’ email for the Winter 2025 training course(s) – you do express interest with PTSU (and there will be subsequent email[s] on this, which will follow in the weeks ahead), you will be pre-registered with PSAC Regional. PSAC Regional administers registration confirmation, not PTSU.
Once you are confirmed by PSAC Regional, however, PTSU expects you to fill the PTSU seat(s) allocated to you on the course, unless extenuating circumstances exist. If that occurs, you need to advise PTSU (at PTSU60551@gmail.com) as soon as you learn of such matters.
The Executive Board
Professional & Technical Staff Union [PTSU]
PSAC Local 60551
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