October 16, 2013
Hello WPFFA Members,
I just wanted to send out a small update to the membership.
Athena Scholarships
Since my last update I was invited to a luncheon at the Caboto Club for the Athena Scholarships. It was a very good presentation and the keynote speaker was Mary Spencer. Wow, was she good! It was a good social event to attend. We need to attend these functions to be seen by the public supporting our community and our youth.
President’s Luncheon
This past week I had the opportunity to attend a President’s luncheon. The Presidents of all the City of Windsor locals were in attendance along with City Management. It was an informative, casual meeting where you could bring up your concerns to Management and the other locals.
Emergency Equipment Technician &
Electronics Technician Vacancy
We filed and won 2 grievances at the CAO level with regards to the Emergency Equipment Technician Vacancy and the Electronics Technician Vacancy. The City failed to fill these positions within 90 days, as outlined in our Collective Agreement, and the grievances were filed against this practice. Since then the City has put out a posting for both of these positions to be filled immediately.
CAO Grievance Meeting - This last week we also had a policy and individual grievance presented at the CAO level with regards to grievances involving the interpretation of Aritcile16:01 (d) (1). We are currently awaiting a decision from the CAO.
Wake Up Windsor – There have been some concerns with regards to moving up the start time to 5:30pm. Both sides have some legitimate concerns, but I can assure you that we have talked to the Chief and we are trying to work out a solution/compromise for next year and possibly even for the last week of the program this year. We have a Labour Management Meeting this upcoming Tuesday were we will have further discussions.
2014 FF's Calendar - The Windsor Memorial will be fronting the money for the 2014 FF's Calendar. We need to sell as many as possible to make this a successful campaign. The calendars will be ready shortly. It would be nice if every member could take 5 or 10 calendars and sell them. This would definitely make it a successful campaign.
Social Media – We will be looking at improving our Social Media presence via Twitter, Facebook and our very own Website. If you have any suggestions feel free to contact us. We are always looking at improving our presence in the community and within our Association.
Association T-Shirts – We have ordered our WPFFA T-Shirts and they should be ready early next week. We will make arrangements to have all of our members outfitted within a week or so at the latest.
Committees – We need you to please submit your name into our Secretary Duane Janisse to belong to our Committees. We need your commitment and dedication to these committees to make them productive. This year, we will strive to get all of our committees more involved within the WPFFA!
Change of Times – Once again we are running into problems with members switching their shifts with members that can’t do their job! Keep in mind if you didn’t follow proper procedures your shift may be cancelled. So, if the day is important and you really need it off, make sure you follow the correct steps or better yet, switch with someone who can do your job!
Banquet – Don’t forget we have our Retirement Banquet on Friday November 1st at the Caboto Club. Tickets are on sale from Judy Borman or Maureen Nicholls. So please get your tickets and reserve your table ASAP.
Sincerely,
Angelo Gertsakis
WPFFA, Local 455
President
