RE: It is time for; TELUS Employees to speak!I agree 100% with your well thought out and logical analysis of the current labour impasse. Left to their own it should be obvious that neither the TWU nor Telus bosses will come up with the final deal anytime soon.
So let the voting begin, especially in Alberta and back East with those new members who don't have those tons of bitterness on their backs like the BC Tellers.
SUBJECT: It is time for; TELUS Employees to speak!
Posted By: stuartgg
Post Time: 6/29/05 03:35
I am going to restate my original thoughts, in a slightly diferent way!
I am a "proud" TELUS Employee and a TWU Union Member (10.5 years); one of approximately 15,000 TELUS Employee’s affected by the protracted Labor Negotiating impasse between TELUS and our Union, the TWU (4.5 years!).
At a strike vote meeting at the Italian Center in Burnaby, in early 2004; I spoke with Bruce Bell during the vote, after being shouted off the floor (by a radical small group) during, ?question? period.
I asked him why the TWU would not allow us to see and vote on what TELUS had on the table at that time. Bruce told me very clearly that the TWU Leadership knew, if what TELUS was offering then (without the current payout revelations) was put to a vote, it "would be Ratified" by the Membership.
Bruce also made it very clear that the TWU would not allow a vote on anything other than a; "negotiated", revised Old BCTEL/TWU Labor Agreement!
The TWU Leadership is very clear to us Members; they want Binding Arbitration only, resulting in a revised new Labor Agreement, which is developed using the Old BCTEL/TWU Labor Agreement as the foundation.
The truth is that (in today's world) it would take a Special Order in Parliament to give the TWU and it's group of "Hard Line Enforcers", the type of "iron clad" job security they seek. And even that would give no absolute "job security"!
My experience has revealed that job security is primarily a result of; our relationship with and valuable contribution to our Employers Business needs.
The TWU have spent the last 5 years trying to obstruct TELUS, get our CEO removed and attempt to obstruct and discredit the Executive Leadership Team at TELUS.
They have done nothing but poison their relationship with TELUS and "intimidate" any TWU Member who "publicly" disagrees them!
The TWU is more of a "Business and Job's Loss" threat, then the former (disappeared) Labor Union, "CAIMAW" was to it's Members!
The reason I say this is because, the TWU is just as (if not more) inflexible, larger with more money, dominated with radical "Socialist anti-Business" political ideologies, have a more articulate membership "radical core", and I am advised through personal theats and advice from others, that they are very capable of the violence; they infer and threaten!
The TWU will not "negotiate"; their last offer (the 1st in 4.5 years), demonstrates this statement. The TWU want the CIRB to be accountable for the new replacement Labor Contract language, which needs to be substantial for TELUS to be in a "competive Labor Cost and Flexibility" position with our; changing Industry and Competitors.
This clearly means, we Members need a; “Labor Department ordered”; supervised, democratic secret ratification vote, in order to have a voice in the resolution.
If it's ratified it's over; if it's rejected, both parties know where "we" all stand.
It is time for us the TWU Members to speak!
"Please, let us vote"!