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New year's message from John Edmunds, National President
The arrival of a new year is always a time to take stock of the recent past and to look, with hope, to the future. In writing this message, I cannot help but think of the slogan chosen for our upcoming National Triennial Convention: Today’s Work is Tomorrow’s Legacy.(more...)
Special PROS meeting clarifies future plans, current available help
A special meeting of the RCMP Committee studying the Police Reporting and Occurrence System held in late November has clarified both future plans and available assistance to our RCMP members. (more...)
Manitoba pilot project to test enhanced security for Community Parole staff
Correctional Service Canada will begin a Manitoba pilot project early in the New Year to provide enhanced security for staff when visiting parolees outside the office. (more...)
RCMP yields to USGE in agreeing to a national review of Detachment Clerk model work descriptions
The RCMP has yielded to USGE requests that a review be undertaken to develop model work descriptions that reflect the reality of the tasks carried out on a daily basis by Detachment Clerks. (more...)
ATTENTION LOCALS: Convention delegate registrations and resolutions must be received by February 1
Our Triennial National Convention may take place this June, but February 1 is the critical cut-off date for the USGE National Office to receive both delegate registration and resolution forms. (more...)
January USGE Solidarity Newsletter is now available for download
New addition sees USGE represented on all PSAC negotiation teams for this year's round of Treasury Board bargaining
It’s a clean sweep! The USGE now has a member on each of the key negotiation teams set to bargain new collective agreements for the great majority of our members. (more...)
Ontario Strike Preparation workshops underway
USGE Strike Preparation workshops are now underway in Ontario. Two sessions – January 15-16 and 17-18 – are being held in the National Capital Region. A third will be held in London on January 30-31. (more...)
Time to prepare Audited Local Financial Statements for 2007
Locals are reminded that they must submist an audited financial statement for the year 2007 to the National Office no later than March 1, 2008. (more...)
USGE partners with 'The Personal' to offer preferred rates for home and car insurance
In this day of rising costs, every dollar of a family’s budget counts. That’s why the USGE is pleased to announce that we have partnered with the Personal Insurance Company – ‘The Personal'– to provide our members with true value on home and auto insurance. (more...)
Reminder — National Office support for Local translation expenses
This is a reminder that the National Office provides a maximum annual stipend up to $750 to Locals serving members who require simultaneous interpretation services, written translation of documentation or sign language interpretation.
The National Office must receive all pertinent invoices and receipts for the 2007 calendar year no later than February 15.
RCMP workplace safety — Can you count on your counter barrier?
Formally know as ‘protective reception counters’, these barriers are designed to be installed in detachments, headquarters buildings and community offices that have a public reception area. (more...) 
CSC members receive United Nations Peacekeeping Medals for their ongoing correctional assistance in Haiti
Last summer, we reported that three USGE members employed by CSC had volunteered for the challenging, and potentially dangerous, mission of assisting Haiti in rebuilding its correctional system in the wake of many years of civil unrest. (more...)
National President's report to February USGE National Executive meeting available for downloading
CSIS contract, reform of CSC and RCMP at top of list as Edmunds meets with Minister of Public Safety
Will CSIS implement the collective agreement signed off last summer before it expires at the end of next month? And, what actions is the government taking in the wake of the Sampson Report and Brown Report into reform of, respectively, Correctional Service Canada and the RCMP?(more...)
IDLPs provide opening for USGE members to press employer for improved training opportunities, work conditions
It’s not very often that we get excited about news coming from the office of the head of the public service, the Clerk of the Privy Council. But the USGE is seizing on a recent directive to all departmental Deputy Heads concerning the so-called ‘Individual Development/Learning Plan’.(more...)
Strike Preparation workshops head for Atlantic, Quebec after well-received sesions in NCR and London
USGE workshops on strike preparation are heading for the Atlantic and Quebec regions following three successful sessions in Ontario.(more...)
Full-time USGE Regional Vice-Presidents for our RCMP members attend union orientation session
It was ‘back to school’ in late January for USGE Regional Vice-Presidents who are employees of the RCMP. (more...)
RCMP Local Health and Safety Reps/Committees should note change to handling of AVCs
RCMP management has a new way of handling ‘Assurances of Voluntary Compliance’, an interim measure of importance to USGE health and safety activists.(more...)
Deemed a success, CSC full-time RVP agreement renewed
The ground-breaking agreement with Correctional Service Canada that saw USGE Regional Vice-Presidents attain full-time status in 2006 has been extended for another 12 months. (more...)
New Treasury Board Travel Directive in effect April 1
A new federal public service travel directive takes effect on April 1. The Travel Directive is one of a number of such agreements negotiated between the employer and federal government unions at the National Joint Council. (more...)
USGE and employer work together to see CSIS members have their new contract
While an exception to the general rule of labour relations, sometimes, unions and management do see eye to eye. (more...)
Quebec Strike Preparation course completes cross-country workshops
A final USGE Strike Preparation course, held in Montreal in early March for our Quebec members, completed a highly-successful national series of workshops mounted by the USGE. (more...)
'The Personal' launches contest for USGE members: an insurance quote could see you win a $4,500 home entertainment package
How would you, or someone in your family, like to win 40-inch Sony television, PlayStation 3 and HD camcorder – a prize package valued at nearly $4,500?(more...)
RCMP members in southern New Brunswick 'go green' to back contract negotiations teams
2008 is the make-or-break year for negotiations for a new collective agreement for almost all USGE members. Support for our bargaining team members is critical to a successful outcome. (more...)
RCMP begins 'Bench Audit' of Exhibit Custodian work descriptions
There are signs of progress in the review of work descriptions of RCMP Exhibit Custodians (ECs). A so-called 'bench audit' of a number of EC positions was conducted recently in the Pacific Region. This involved interviewing a number of EC members to compare actual job functions to those contained in the now-outdated work description. (more...)
RCMP officially announces national review of Detachment Clerk model work descriptions
The RCMP has officially announced that a review will be undertaken to develop model work descriptions that reflect the reality of the tasks carried out on a daily basis by Detachment Clerks. The USGE first reported this fact on our Web site in January.(more...)
February USGE Solidarity newsletter is now available for download
. (more...)Federal budget frees up cash for CSC reform
While most Canadians greeted last week’s federal budget with well-deserved indifference, USGE members at Correctional Service Canada had some reason to cheer.(more...)
New regulation on ergonomic hazards focuses on dangers of how you work
It's just natural to think of workplace health and safety hazards in terms of external threats to our well-being — from dangerous equipment to toxic substances to physical assault by inmates or clients. (more...)
March-April USGE Solidarity newsletter is now available for download
USGE a participant as RCMP grapples with Brown Task Force recommendations
RCMP managers spent three days last month trying to come to grips with the 49 recommendations contained in the Brown Task Force on reform of the Force's structure and operations.(more...)
April 28 — Annual Day of Mourning for Canadian Workers
Each April 28, the Canadian Labour movement pauses to acknowledge and honour those brothers and sisters who died on the job or due to workplace disease or injury.(more...)
Bargaining — get informed, get involved!
With bargaining underway for a new collective agreement for almost all USGE members, it's critical to a successful outcome that our members are both informed and involved in the process. (more...)
Williams Lake RCMP members show resourcefulness in stickhandling strike by guards and matrons
Kudos to our members at the RCMP Detachment at WIlliams Lake, British Columbia for deftly supporting a strike by contract guards and matrons without jeopardizing the jobs of the Local's probationary and term workers. (more...)
Capacity Montreal session caps nationwide USGE Strike Preparation workshops
A jam-packed Montreal session on March 6 and 7 capped a highly successful cross-country series of Strike Preparation workshops mounted by the USGE. (more...)
Convention committees hard at work in Ottawa
While the rest of us were (finally!) seeing a glimpse of spring the first week of April, members of three USGE Convention Resolutions Committees were closeted in hotel rooms in Ottawa laying the important groundwork for next June's Triennial National Convention. (more...)
Federal Court to hear pay equity arguments for our CSIS members
There's some good news for our Canadian Security Intelligence Service members regarding their lengthy battle to achieve pay equity. (more...)
SPECIAL: USGE 2008 Triennial National Convention Updates
'Black Thursday' for New Brunswick parole members
June 19 was a'Black Thursday' in New Brunswick as members of USGE Local 60074 marked a full year since the expiry of the current collective agreement.(more...)
Our 'virtual' USGE Triennial National Convention — It's the next best thing to being there!
The USGE 14th Triennial National Convention kicks off early afternoon next Tuesday, June 24, in Edmonton, Alberta. Our Locals have each elected delegates to this, the most important event on our union calendar. (more...)
CSC mental health symposium echoes USGE call for training and support for staff dealing with inmates and parolees
The mental health of Canada's inmate population hasa very clear and direct impact on the physical safety and psychological stress of both institution-based and community-based USGE members working for Correctional Service of Canada.(more...)
Good news as Chiefs of Administration Services' pay equity complaint is finally settled
It's been a long road, but Chiefs of Administration at Correctional Service Canada Institutions across the country have finally seen their pay equity complaint settled.(more...)
Postponed USGE-RCMP visitations held in Yellowknife and Terrace
Stops in Yellowknife and Terrace, B.C., unavoidably postponed during last year's USGE-RCMP 'visitations', were held the first week in June. (more...)
New Kamloops RCMP Local Executive
USGE Local 20069, representing our RCMP members in the Kamloops District of interior British Columbia, elected a new executive at their June 6 Annual General Meeting. (more...)
USGE welcomes appointment of Don Head as new Commissioner of Corrections
The USGE has welcomed as "an extremely positive development" the appointment of Don Head as new CSC Commissioner of Corrections effective June 27. The announcement was made by the Prime Minister's office on June 6.(more...)
Corner Brook RCMP members lend support to negotiations team
Our RCMP members on the other side of Newfoundland Island were also active in supporting our bargaining teams on last May 21's Mobilization Day. The photo below shows our members of Local 90051 in Corner Brook. (more...)
USGE to CSC: One last change to negotiate an ESA, or it's off to the PSLRB
It has been, to put it mildly, a highly-frustrating few months. And it’s something we worked hard to avoid. But the USGE has all but given up trying to negotiate an Essential Services Agreement with Correctional Services Canada. (more...)
Ottawa's Justice-PPSC Local a beehive of summer activity
Someone should tell Local 70006 that summer’s here, and it’s o.k. to slow down a little bit! (more...)
New Firearms DG working with USGE to deal with longstanding frustrations
A first face-to-face meeting with the recently-appointed Director General of RCMP Canada Firearms Unit has seen some welcome movement on issues that have long frustrated our members at the former self-standing Canada Firearms Centre. (more...)
Help spot employer abuse of Temporary Help Services staff in USGE workplaces
Our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, is warning that there continues to be an unacceptable use – and abuse – of temp agency staff in our workplaces. This is especially the case in the National Capital Region, a situation noted in the most recent report of the Public Service Commission. (more...)
Justice-PPSC Local in National Capital Region launches own Website
Members working for the Department of Justice and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in the National Capital Region have a powerful new tool for staying up-to-date with workplace issues and concerns — their own website. (more...)
CSC example to other employers in working with USGE over listeria contamination concerns
Full marks go to Correctional Service Canada for its proactive, consultative approach to managing the possibility that some of the listeria-contaminated meat products now being recalled may have been consumed inside CSC Institutions.(more...)
CSC dead last, other USGE employers mediocre, in survey of employee satisfaction
Correctional Service Canada ranks right at the bottom of a recently-published ranking of employee ‘engagement’. (more...)
PSAC negotiation team members send 'open letter' to USGE members
Highly frustrated with the employer’s position at the bargaining table, members of the PSAC negotiations teams have sent the following ‘open letter’ to USGE members. (more...)
'All I want for Christmas is' ... a health/drug card!
Members unions of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, including the USGE, are lobbying Parliament for an early Christmas present: a health/drug card for all those covered under the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP). (more...)
Detachment Assistant Review: 'Business as usual' during RCMP National Organizational Review
There are so many 'committees', 'reviews' and 'studies' going on inside the RCMP, it's hard to know what impact one has on the others.(more...)
USGE condemns move to have Collins Bay members work in insecure living units with no guards
When it comes to dumb ideas, this one is a doozey. (more...)
Way now clear for formation of PPSC Locals
USGE members employed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada will soon be able to decide whether or not they wish to form their own separate Locals. (more...)
Federal election: Use your voice, use your vote
The calling of a widely-expected October federal election provides USGE members with a change to bring our issues and concerns to the attention of politicians of all political stripes. It's an opportunity we shouldn't let slip by, either as citizens or as union members. (more...)
Message from the Honourable Stockwell Day on leaving his post as Minister of Public Safety due to the October 30 federal cabinet shuffle
(Due to the October 30 federal cabinet shuffle, the Honourable Stockwell Day sent the following message to all his former employees of the Department of Public Safety.)(more...)
New regulations require employer to 'prevent and protect' against workplace violence
Amazing as it seems, it’s only very recently that federal health and safety laws have addressed the issue of violence prevention in the workplace.(more...)
Most Public Agents regulations of the Firearms Act finally take effect October 31
There’s more than Halloween to anticipate on October 31 this year. A decade after the enacting of the Firearms Act, most of the all-important Public Agents regulations finally are coming into effect at the end of this month.(more...)
New PPSC organizational structure now in place
Public Prosecution Service of Canada has implemented its new organizational structure as of October 1. The structure will now allow this new department to focus on its four priorities for the upcoming year: security; recruitment and retention; organizational structure; and, performance measurements.(more...)
Justice members: your (position) number's (almost) up!
USGE members working for the Department of Justice will be assigned a new position number this coming winter as the employer upgrades its Human Resource Management System (HRMS) software. A precise date is as yet unknown.(more...)
Lies and broken promises from CSC Classification: the CR-03 Admin Assistants and Admin Service Assistants work description review and reclassification
Brace yourselves! Here’s yet another horror story from Correctional Service Canada’s classification section. More than six months ago, CSC announced that our members who work as the CR-03 Admin Assistants and Admin Service Assistants would be reclassified upwards to the CR-04 level. (more...)
Lies and broken promises from CSC Classification: the GL/GS work description review and reclassification
There are lies. And then there are broken promises made by the management of Correctional Service Canada. Curious as to why this sad case exists? You need look no further than CSC’s farcical and incompetent handling of classification issues. We’ll be using just two of the current examples to make our case for a complete purge of the employer’s classification. (more...)
Ready to rumble — PA bargaining team unites behind USGE issues
In a gesture of appreciation and solidarity, National President John Edmunds presented the PA Bargaining Team with USGE jackets. (more...)
National Executive in Ottawa for orientation and skills-building
As is the custom after every one of our Triennial National Conventions, the recently-elected USGE National Executive meets in Ottawa for a two-day orientation and skills-building session.(more...)
PSAC recognizes years of dedicated service by past and present USGE National Office staff
FFormer Operations Manager Ginette Lagacé has been recognized by the Public Service Alliance of Canada for reaching important milestones in her years of service to USGE members.(more...)
'Organizing the Locals' workshop in Halifax kicks off 2008-2009 round of USGE training
The USGE is kicking off our 2008-09 round of in-house training this week in Halifax. The three-day session, being held November 18-20, marks the start of the fourth round of these popular educational and networking opportunities.(more...)
PSAC 2009 calendars
FThe ever-popular annual calendar produced by the Public Service Alliance should be available in the next few weeks. (more...)
USGE uses PROS Advisory Committee to gain support for reform of RCMP staffing and classification
The USGE successfully leveraged its role on the PROS Advisory Committee to build support for action on chronic human resources issues faced by our RCMP members across the country. (more...)
USGE and PSAC endorse national boycott of Petro-Canada
Our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, has endorsed a call by the Canadian Labour Congress to boycott Petro-Canada over the company’s lock-out of 260 unionized employees at its Montreal refinery since November 2007. (more...)
National President's report to September USGE National Executive meeting, including an October Addendum, available for downloading
Labour Relations Officer position available at USGE Natonal Office
The USGE has beun the search for a new Labour Relations Officer to work in our union's National Office in Ottawa. (more...)
PSAC wants to 'Make Parliament Work'
Our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, is backing efforts by the group 'Make Parliament Work!' to support the concept of a new Liberal-NDP coalition government that will support the economy and federal services. (more...)
Atlantic participants kick-off USGE's 2008-09 training round in fine fashion
As previously noted, the second annual round of USGE traning for Local Officers was kicked off, with great success, in the Atlantic Region on November 18-20. (more...)