On December 18th, USJE Regional Vice President (RVP) Sandelli, was joined by President Neufeld at the Calgary Parole Office for the local 30250 Annual General Meeting (AGM). The meeting included participation of members online, including those that gathered together in the Red Deer, Medicine Hat & Lethbridge Parole Offices.
At the outset of the meeting, a special ceremony took place to award Alan Beasley with a PSAC Long Service Award. The award was granted to Alan for his 25 years of committed service participating in USJE locals. The award was granted via a submission by local 30250 through President Neufeld, gaining the approval of the PSAC National Board of Directors. This was followed by signature and delivery of the certificate and pin by President Neufeld.
As part of the ceremony, President Neufeld shared stories of Alan’s committed solidarity with USJE at the local level in both Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as the National level by way of his participation in committees and numerous conferences and conventions. Local 30250 augmented the ceremony by providing numerous gifts to show their appreciation for Alan.
During the formal meeting that followed, members of the local participated in democratic discussions and processes regarding the use of the local’s funds in addition to electing delegates and alternates to both the 2026 PSAC Prairie Convention and USJE Triennial Convention.
Local President, Alex Creamer, who is also a member of the PA Bargaining Team, then provided and update on the bargaining process. Members were provided with information with respect to the bargaining process, including what has transpired to date and the various permutations of processes that will play out over the coming months.
Further, the group was apprised of the latest bargaining update and reminded how they could stay connected by way of the dedicated PSAC website, accessing and updating their PSAC account to gather email updates or at any time reaching out to Alex for discussion. Alex was thanked for his leadership with the local as well as his solid commitment to the bargaining team.
RVP Sandelli then shared with the group an overview and impact of changes that have been percolating and taking root since the most recent federal election. This included an examination of the Refocusing Government Spending (RGS) initiative along with the more recent Comprehensive Expenditure Review (CER) and federal budget.
It was identified that the messaging has been deplorable on the part of the Treasury Board and the employer, as the dollar figures and the plans for staff cuts have not been clearly communicated. Notably, confusion has been added with the announcement of the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI), for which thegovernment did not consult the Union and, in fact, has not been passed by federal legislation, and has not received Royal Assent.
It is important to highlight that the ERI sits outside the Collective Agreement and does not appear to be of benefit relative to the established Workforce Adjustment Appendix of the current agreement. In fact, the words of the Clerk of the Privy Council (as they related to framing the cuts as an “opportunity”) were identified as disgraceful given that members would be losing their jobs and leaving their colleagues and friends behind to do more with less, certainly not within the realm of believable “opportunity”.
President Neufeld took some time to talk about Workforce Adjustment (WFA) and how the provisions in the Appendix help protect federal public service employees when jobs are being eliminated or changed due to restructuring or budget cuts.
USJE members were encouraged to access the WFA flowchart and other related information on the dedicated PSAC WFA website and further to listen to the USJE Podcast on WFA to better understand the process.
President Neufeld also offered details regarding USJE’s Budget Cuts Campaign and how the union intends to fight back against budget cuts that will put public safety in jeopardy. The membership in attendance was encouraged to support the campaign, understanding that this fight will not be a short term one and will require the engagement of as many of USJE’s members as possible.
Whether it be providing front line expertise to underline the risks to public safety, attending future mobilization events to bring attention to the cuts or visiting their Member of Parliament to discuss the cuts, there are many ways that USJE members can get involved in this fight back campaign.
The meeting concluded with a Question and Answer period in addition to a draw for a number of prizes.
Thank you to all the Local 30250 members for their participation and further to their local leadership for putting together a tremendous meeting.