USGE has always quite been proud of the excellent relationship we have forged with Don Head, CSC Commissioner. We have had a great number of productive meetings with Mr. Head; in fact, we were quite pleased at his willingness to work with us to resolve any and all issues facing CSC and our members.
Regrettably USGE has come to the realization that this willingness is not shared by some members of CSC’s senior management team. To our great surprise and disgust, it is becoming quite obvious they are going out of their way to avoid any and all opportunities to work with us and other unions in a transparent and open manner. Staff working in Finance were recently invited to a regional briefing where a nationally-developed proposed staffing model was unveiled. One of our RVPs had requested the opportunity to participate in the meeting and was effectively barred from attending.
What is of great concern to the USGE is that the model was created without any consultation with USGE or its counterparts, nor was it presented to the USGE beforehand. A senior manager explained in an email enquiry and complaint that they “..were not in a position to share nor consult on it prior to briefing staff…“
This is clearly an attempt to backdoor a model that has not been made available for consultation with the union. Furthermore, USGE is not being allowed to work with the employer to find or propose solutions based on the new model, or even on current models. We are, quite simply, being shut out.
As well, requests for information and updates to regional Human Resources staff on the progress of proposed models have gone unanswered. One would think that, at the very least, a simple courtesy email could have been sent out to acknowledge receipt of our requests. Unfortunately this is becoming a common occurrence with how CSC senior management is treating the USGE, and by extension, our members. This is also indicative of a clear unwillingness by the senior managers to work with us, despite their claims to the contrary.
This flagrant disregard of promises made to maintain transparency and openness with USGE is disturbing, to say the least. CSC senior managers are doing their best to exclude USGE when, in reality, they should be working with us to ensure their staff and our members are treated fairly.
CSC senior managers are misleading USGE and then feebly attempting to backtrack their statements, to no avail. They are making a grave mistake if they believe that USGE will simply let this go as a ‘misunderstanding’. USGE has been accustomed to having very collegial discussions with Mr. Head and some of his senior managers. Now, it appears that, because of the actions of a few, USGE will need to put our gloves on to ensure that our members are protected and informed. And protect our members’ best interests, we will.