December 9th

OTTAWA - Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) have ratified a new agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).  The settlement had been reached in mid-October, following a series of rotating and general strikes that began on September 8th.

“Our members can be proud of their strike,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel.  “They were responsible for moving CRA from its original position of proposing wage increases that were inferior to those being offered to other federal public sector workers and for achieving breakthrough provisions for term workers.”

 One of those breakthroughs is a provision that will allow recurring term workers to retain accumulated sick leave credits if they are re-hired within a year, according to Union of Taxation Employees National President Betty Bannon. 

 “Under the new deal, CRA has also agreed to give indeterminate status to at least 25% of its 1,100 term workers who have over three years of service, indicates Bannon.  “This will mean that another 275 workers will now have job security.  CRA is also going to be looking at giving recurring term workers seasonal status which would improve their benefits considerably.”

 “Term workers who receive a maternity or parental leave allowance from the employer will now not have to repay that allowance if they are re-hired within 90 days,” says Customs Union Douanes Accise National President Ron Moran.  “That’s a dramatic improvement from the 5 day restriction in the old agreement.”

 Some of the provisions of the new agreement include:

• A four-year agreement effective to October 31, 2007.
• Annual economic increases of 2.5% retroactive to November 1, 2003, 2.25% retroactive to November 1, 2004, 2.4% effective November 1, 2005 and 2.5% effective November 1, 2006.
• Recognition in the collective agreement that Part II of the Canada Labour Code governs health and safety matters at the Agency.
• Removal of the caps on the amount of family-related leave that can be taken for a particular purpose.
• Five days of marriage leave for workers who participate in same-sex public commitment ceremonies.

PSAC represents 25,000 workers at the Agency.  The new collective agreement expires on October 31, 2007.

Click for more photos from the CRA picket line

October 14th : via email

Thanks, Richard, for this last strike report.

Today, being the last day of our strike action, Vancouver flexed their muscle.  This morning we had all the excluded managers with the exception of one locked out.  We also locked out the PIPSC members and the designated employees.  Once we got word that the team was again negotiating, we allowed the excluded managers in, followed by the designates.  These individuals were in the office by noon.  We kept the PIPSC members out for the day.

Things wrapped up at about 4:30 when we heard there was a tentative agreement reached and we dropped our pickets.  Many staff will be heading out to work.  The lines were strong all day and the support was there to ensure that we reached an agreement.

The day was not without incident, as an attempt was made to block the building manager from gaining access, but he barged his way in and assaulted one of our picketers.  We were advised that the union will be receiving a letter from the Bentall Management, but one was not delivered to myself or any other picket captain.  This building manager now has to face the individual he assaulted and has poisoned his own work environment. 

There were no reported scabs on this last day of picketing. I believe everybody felt a rush of adrenaline today and now everyone will be glad it is over.

Thanks to Glenn Eden for these pictures of the activities today and thanks to everyone who assisted and supported my efforts as strike coordinator. It will be my pleasure to finalize things when the ratification process takes place. Thanks to all the staff and coordinators at the BC PSAC office for their support. Special thanks to Patrick for his patience and timeliness on the strike pay. 

In solidarity, Richard Hyatt, Union of Taxation Employees, Vancouver Strike Coordinator and 1st Vice President

Parks has reached a tentative settlement, the documents have been finalized. Strike action is therefore suspended and Parks members are returning to work.

Talks continued well into the morning for PSAC members at CRA, and Treasury Board Tables 1,2,3, and 5. The teams took a rest, but talks have not broken off at any table and are scheduled to resume in short order.

This morning at one minute past midnight, our members in a legal strike position at CRA, TB 1,2, and 3, began taking strike action. Ships crews members took strike action: 9 ships were forced to come back to port. Picket lines have been set up at military bases, airports, penetentiaries, tax centers, and other locations across the country. We expect strike action to take place until tentative agreements are reached.

Here is the status of negotiations (as of 9AM EST):

• Parks Canada agreement reached
• PSAC TB 2, talks resuming, settlement likely within hours.
• Treasury Board TB 1,3: talks resuming, a number of complex issues remain outstanding.
• CRA: talks resuming this morning. 
• TB 5: talks resuming.

We are encouraged by the tentative agreement at Parks Canada and by the progress made at Table 2 and CRA, but there is still work to be done at both the negotiating table and the political level.

Approximately 125,000 PSAC members have started strike action as of 12:01 a.m. October 12th as negotiations continue with Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency.

PSAC has, pending a review of written documents, a tentative agreement with Parks Canada. Therefore, strike action by the union’s 4,800 members at the Parks Canada Agency has been suspended. The 1,000 members in the Treasury Board Education and Library Science group (Table 5) are not in a legal strike position.

Details at the national website.

Click here for some photos

October 8th

Penticton PSAC members formed their own hockey teams on October 06, 2004 to attract the same level of interest from the Prime Minister as he showed in a swift resolution to current the NHL strike.  We are definitely team players!

October 8th

Striking PSAC members who are accustomed to giving financial support to their community found another way to contribute while they are without their usual income, and took to the River Channel and Penticton Creek to clean up litter and debris.The result was several dozen garbage bags, as well as some recycleable beverage containers, money from which went to the foodbank fund.

Other striking members distributed coffee and snacks to employees who have to report to work at Penticton location of the Canada Revenue Agency.

From Richard Hyatt, UTE 20027, Downtown Vancouver

Today our members who were out on strategic strike were out bright and early to meet our coworkers as they went into work. There was a little bit of confusion, but once it was clarified that we were not there to picket, but in fact we were there to support them for their understanding and also to share with them some information on what has been happening and the affect we were having on the employer. Spirits were very high with our members coming out. Our coworkers were provided with updated information and offered some candy. The effect went over very well.

Members also called into the GSTC and CCTB lines to offer encouragement to the designated staff.

Thank you to everyone in Vancouver who stands with us in solidarity.

Click here for some photos. Thanks Richard!

OTTAWA - The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has confirmed that negotiations will take place with the Canada Revenue Agency.

According to PSAC National President Nycole Turmel, the parties have agreed to return to the table, starting Friday, October 8th.

According to Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) National President Betty Bannon, “we are resuming negotiations in hopes of reaching a settlement with the Agency.  If the employer has the will and is prepared to work diligently over the weekend, we believe this dispute can be resolved.”

Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise (CEUDA) National President Ron Moran also believes that an agreement can be reached.  “We hope the employer is coming to the table with the same resolve as our negotiating team to reach a fair and equitable agreement.”

Turmel also confirms that “effective October 7th, all strike action by our Canada Revenue Agency members will be postponed until October 12th.” 

There are 25,000 PSAC members at the CRA.  Their contract expired on October 31, 2003.

posted October 4th : via email.

Strike Report, Monday, October 4th

Fabulous day, weather-wise and attitude-wise!

In Penticton: we served coffee and home baked treats to the inside workers from 9AM til 11AM. We had copied the message from Betty Bannon regarding the Back to Work Legislation, provided the Email addresses for our local MP's and a suggestion for the email message :

"This potential legislation will impact not only the workers, their futures, but that of the communities we live in. Please consider the workers, who are the face of government, when you cast your vote, vote against this legislation. Negotiate not Legislate."

We also deployed about 40 members to perform a community service by picking up the garbage along the Channel Parkway, a very popular walking path for the local residents. Lots of positive contact with the public- they were very appreciative of the efforts made by our strategic workers in giving back to the community. Additionally, we held a brainstorming session with the group- What can we ask those inside to do in support of those out on the strategic. We received a great group of suggestions and will discuss them with the Strike Captains tomorrow. Cher Ballantine took pictures and will be emailing them to Sarah Redd and to the National UTE office.

In Kelowna: the strategic strikers along with the "commuters" (those who reside in Kelowna but work in Penticton & are pulled out under the strategic rules) held a hot dog picnic, tailgate party in a city park near the Capri mall office. Those who were out and others provided chips, salsa, veggies & dip, and lots of wonderful sweets to all those trapped inside workers. The BBQ was held from 11:30 until 1:00 and was a great success.

The strike captains had a 2:30 meeting to discuss plans for possible withdrawal of services later in the week, and how we will attack the problem of potential "scabs".  

September 29th, in Osoyoos, from Don Turner:

Today approximately 60 CRA employees came down to conduct an information picket at the Port of Osoyoos. They started arriving at 6:30 am, where they were met by CEUDA Customs Inspectors who came out to show their support. All of the officers working the day and afternoon shifts were out on the picket line 2 to 5 hours befor they had to be escorted across the line to report for work. As well officers that were on their D/R's came out to be on the line with the UTE members. During the six hours that the information picket was happening all traffic was slowed or stopped. Media represenatives were out from the local TV, Radio and Newspapers. The CRA employees recieved more media attention by being at the port than they had recieved in all of their prior picket actions. Click here for photos.

posted September 30th

We have had strategic strike actions at CRA all week this week.

This means that we had almost no picket lines, but the members who work in 4 areas; cash, mailroom, call centers and the client service counter, were pulled off the job. The result has been very chaotic for the employer, with many members being paid to wander around the building looking for things to do, managers being put to work in the mailrooms, trying to sort and deliver mail, and no money being processed. Phone lines are on recorded messages and generally, not much work has been accomplished all week. Those that were off work all did other jobs to help with the strike effort. Some of these jobs included writing to MP's, visiting MP's, greeting the Minister for Public Works and Government Services, Scott Brison when he came to talk at the Wall Center in Vancouver, making up fresh picket signs, picketing at the border in Osoyoos, and the HRDC and Veterans Affairs offices in Penticton and attending a rally for Treasury Board members who will soon be in a legal strike position.

What follows is a quote from Corina Scherer, Penticton Area Strike Coordinator:

I checked the national T1 pool phone number today (around 2PM)- I got the "nightline recording" giving our hours as 6am - 5pm Pacific - the office is now closed. This is great news and all on the picket lines were happy to have heard about this earlier this morning. The border was on the local news and interviewed both Pamela (about the "meat and potatoes") and me about my sign indicating that we need a contract including the "terms" because according to my contract I may not have a job. Seems like Mission Accomplished today!

This is from Pamela Abbott, Regional Vice President for UTE;

Included in the additional 20 members that we pulled from the phone lines yesterday, we were also able to include an additional 9 for today. This was successful for us on the SITSO site, as all call lines have effectively been shut down.

We had 61 of our members up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the bus in Penticton at 5:30 and we headed to the Osoyoos border crossing. We had an addition 12 Customs Officers at the picket line waiting for us. The plan was for an information picket only with slight (ha ha) delays. Media coverage has been fantastic. I did CBC radio, Sun FM radio, Osoyoos News, Penticton Herald, the western and CHBC news. CHBC news showed three interviews with me, and the feedback from members who saw it was that it was great. I have satellite so I can't comment. Overall traffic was very cooperative and the truckers were fantastic. We had only one incident with an Immigration Officer who tried to run through the line on his motorcycle. The employer has put a complaint in on him, and I have reported him to the PSAC Regional Office.

In the meantime we had an additional 14 picketers left in Penticton who couldn't travel to Osoyoos, and they met at 7:30 a.m., split themselves up and picketed Veterans Affairs and HRDC. Both sites very successful. HRDC employees were unable to go to work until 11:30 a.m. as their manager was in Kelowna.

For Veterans Affairs, some employees had already been in the office but there still was a handful that did not cross. The employees had to wait until their manager got off the conference call, 1 1/2 hours later before he could escort them.

September 30th : via email

The rumors are rampant here in Ottawa with the help of Treasury Board President, Reg Alcock. As you may know, it was reported in the media that Reg Alcock has stated that "back to work" legislation may be used. So, why are we still out?

Our first effort is to get the government, and I say government, not CRA, back to the table. I say this because it is clear that the Treasury Board is calling the shots on many of our demands with the CRA. However, we want to negotiate a settlement not have a settlement imposed on us through legislation. Our actions need to make it extremely difficult for the government to use legislation to end our labour dispute.

Secondly, we have lobbied hard and will continue to do so while we are on strike with MP’s of all parties to accept a negotiated settlement approach to resolve this labour dispute. The NDP and Bloc have already come out and said that they would not support back to work legislation. AND there have been some Conservative and Liberal MP’s who also share that view. We must not loose sight of the fact that this is a minority government and every vote may count.

Thirdly, IF legislation is tabled, we need to show our resolve to this government that amendments tabled from labour friendly MP's must be addressed before a vote in the House is taken.

Our actions to date have disrupted the ability of the CRA to service the public and have kept revenue from the government. The interest alone on the lost or delayed billions of dollars in revenue this month exceeds the money saved on wages. As well, the CRA will probably have to pay for overtime to catch up on the work that has been stockpiled. Make no mistake; we have made an impact on the day to day operations of the CRA.

LET'S FORCE THE GOVERNMENT TO NEGOTIATE NOT LEGISLATE!

In Solidarity, Betty Bannon, National President, UTE

Click for more photos from the Vancouver TSO

posted September 21st

Here are some photos from Downtown Vancouver, where spirits were high and pickets were up at all major sites. In Surrey, at the King George Highway Complex, MP Peter Julian got a tour and he spoke with the picketers. A member brought pakoras which were much appreciated, thank you!

Thanks as well to the PIPSC members who treated the picketers in Penticton to pizza for lunch. In Prince George, PSAC Rep. Gail Owen held a Q&A session, and there was music on the line. A group of members also visited MP Jay Hill. In Kelowna the beer delivery person and the liquor store employees were very cooperative, thank you.

Stay tuned for more photos and reports as they become available.

September 20th

Workers’ morale high, union says, as week two of strike activity comes to an end

Picket lines are up again around Canada Revenue Agency taxation offices in B.C. for today, as the more than 4,000 CRA employees in the province take action to press the Martin government for a fair contract settlement.

CRA facilities in Surrey, Downtown Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Penticton, and Prince George are affected by today’s picketing. All CRA staff will be off the job—except those designated as essential workers.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents 23,000 striking CRA staff from coast-to-coast, has been mounting creative rotating job actions since last-minute negotiations with government broke down earlier this month, says the union’s B.C. spokesperson Patty Ducharme.

“As the second week of strike action comes to a close, the morale of CRA staff remains high, and they are still very committed to winning a decent settlement,” says Ducharme.

The PSAC B.C. leader says the key issues in the dispute between her union and the Liberal government of Paul Martin are a fair wage increase, security provisions to protect jobs and services for the public, and improvements for temporary workers.

In addition to the CRA dispute, nationally about 4,000 PSAC members who work for Parks Canada are mounting creative actions on day 47 of their strike.  And on Monday, some 14,000 trades and technical workers employed by Ottawa are now in a legal position to launch job action.

When Parliament reconvenes in early October, Ducharme warns that about 130,000 government employees could be off the job.

Click for more photos from the CRA picket line in Victoria

posted September 16th : via email

Victoria CRA strike report from Nick Humphreys:

September 15, 2004

For the second time in a week UTE and CEUDA members put up picket lines at 2 locations in downtown Victoria, 703 Broughton and 1415 Vancouver Streets.

Today’s strike actions were even more effective than the successful strike of last week.  Picket lines were strong, in fact so strong that PIPS members were kept out of the worksite.  Managers came out and threatened injunctions unless PIPS was let through the lines.  After some negotiations it was decided to let 3 PIPS members to be escorted across every 15 minutes.  Excluded members and designated employees were also delayed at all entrances to the workplace.

A large tent was set up on the grass median outside 1415 Vancouver street, this replaced the rented cube van from last week.  The tent, used as an office, was draped with the PSAC banner outside the tax office.  The local also rented a couple of tables at the local coffee shop and along with the tent, was used as an temporary office.  The name of the café which has been very supportive of both UTE and CEUDA members is “Golden Sunshine Restaurant” a hearty thanks to the CAFÉ owners and staff.

PIPS members came across again with support in the way of coffee and doughnuts and of course not crossing the picket line unless escorted.  The picket lines also prevented the Mayor of Victoria from entering the building; I guess we can count Mayor Lowe as a supporter.  The Victoria police showed up on the picket line as well as the Victoria fire department.  Both were there to ensure that proper safety procedures were being followed.

The public was supportive with honking horns and refusing to cross the lines.  Four television interviews were given by local presidents Wayne Little and Barb Bell.

Thanks to Pamela Abbot, RVP for UTE for this report from Penticton:

September 8th

Gail Simpson a member of UTE attempted to cross the picket line once again on Wednesday September 8.  Unfortunely she did not learn from 1991 Strike when she was a member in Vancouver and did cross.  I commend the picketers for holding a tight line at  8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. when she attempt to cross.  She was finally sent home from the employer after 12:00 p.m.

Gail Simpson did not come to the officer on September 15, 2004.  Rumour was the employer kept her home.

September 16, 2004

Penticton members removed there services at 10:00 a.m. today.  The only employee that stayed in was Gail Simpson.  We have not seen her outside the premises.  Unfortunately she has made her decision, which we have advised the members of the consequences. 

Click for more photos from the CRA picket line

September 16th

Click for some photos of strike activity in Surrey, including the Picket Line Idol competition winers: the Loading Dock Troopers.

OTTAWA - CUPE will lobby federal politicians, join picket lines and financially support striking Public Service Alliance of Canada workers, CUPE national leaders pledged today.

Armed with a forceful new resolution from his executive board, CUPE national president Paul Moist walked with PSAC pickets earlier this morning.

The resolution says CUPE members will "support the PSAC during their current bargaining..., including direct lobbying of federal MPs, picket line support, financial support." The document also pledges to "publicize this plan widely within our union."

Click for more about CUPE's solidarity with the PSAC (link to cnw.com opens in new window)

Some 25,000 employees of the Canada Revenue Agency, including more than 4,000 in B.C., are walking picket lines today in rotating job action designed to increase pressure on the Martin government to negotiate a fair contract settlement.

Patty Ducharme, B.C. spokesperson for the Public Service Alliance of Canada, says CRA facilities in Surrey, Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Penticton, and Prince George will be affected by today’s walkout, which marks a week of strategic rotating job action by tax office workers.

“Morale remains strong,” says Ducharme, “and our members are committed to winning a new contract with a fair wage increase, provisions to protect jobs and services for the public, and improvements for temporary workers.”

Ducharme says the union’s national strike coordinating committee will meet Thursday in Ottawa to fine tune strike strategy and develop new ways to increase the pressure on the Martin government to come back to the bargaining table, while minimizing the impact on the public.

The tax workers’ collective agreement expired almost a year ago.
Meanwhile, about 14,000 trades workers employed by the federal government who are also PSAC members are poised for job action as early as next Monday. That’s in addition to the more than 4,000 employees of Ottawa’s Parks Canada Agency who’ve been staging creative job action since early August to win a new contract.

In all, more than 135,000 federal employees could be off the job in the coming weeks, Ducharme warns.

September 13th

Union members began picketing Canada Revenue Agency offices across the country when the agency and representatives of the Public Service Alliance of Canada were unable to strike a deal late last Tuesday night, Sept. 7.

There will be picket lines set up outside all Revenue Canada offices in Quebec Monday, according to Nycole Turmel, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Turmel says the job action should not affect services to the public. Some designated employees are not allowed to strike: a CRA spokesperson said Child Tax Benefits and GST rebates will go out as scheduled.

Read more at cbc.ca (scroll down for an audio interview with Nycole Turmel)

Click for more photos!

Victoria: via Nick Humphreys

UTE and CEUDA members put up picket lines starting at 0600h at 2 locations in downtown Victoria, 703 Broughton and 1415 Vancouver Streets, and continued until 1700h.  Over 300 members participated at various times during the day with approximately 220 members on the sidewalk during the picket shift change, 1000-1100h.

A rented cube van was parked outside the government office at 1415 Vancouver draped with a PSAC banner.  The van was used as an office by the strikers with chairs and tables set up inside.  The PSAC mobile office was parked there throughout the day with hooded parking meters ensuring parking space.

The picketers were in high spirits delaying mangers, PIPSC members and designated employees from entering the workplace.  PIPSC members were very cooperative and supportive, obeying the requests of the picket captains and supplying the strikers with refreshments.  Designated members joined the strikers on the picket line before and after work and during their breaks.

The public mostly stayed away from the tax offices but those that did show up were friendly and supportive.  Couriers and post office workers drove by and didn’t try to enter the workplace.  Interviews were given to 2 television stations and 2 newspapers.

Kelowna : via Regina Brennan

The Plan: The Liberal Cabinet Caucus Retreat was held here on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We had booked 2 charter buses to get any members that we didn’t need on the picket lines in Penticton to Kelowna on time to gather together at 10:00am at Sparkies Boat Rental which is part of the Grand Hotel.  We planned to picket our two worksites in Kelowna with minimal numbers of pickets and asked everyone else to go to the demo.  Patty Ducharme and several members from Vancouver and Summerland, members from CRA, CFIA, and TB, all planned to go and have a noisy protest.  We had previously found out that all the boardrooms of this hotel faced a lagoon off the lake.  We rented boats from Sparkies, under the guise of a high school reunion, “Martin High”, and planned to try to disrupt the cabinet meetings with megaphones, picket signs, and airhorns.  We had hoped to fill all the boats we had rented and have the remainder of our members, and anyone who felt uncomfortable being in a boat, go to the front of the hotel and picket there.  Joanna was in charge of the floatilla, and Patty was in charge in the front. 

The event: The buses did not show up in Penticton, despite the fact that I had a signed contract.  We sent all the members who were willing to carpool from Penticton in their cars to join the others.  We pulled down all our picket lines in Kelowna and asked everyone to go to the Grand Hotel.  We ended up with over 100 picketers at the Grand, which was about half of what we had hoped for, but they were keen and loud.  We had 4 - 2 person peddle boats out on the lagoon with 8 of our members in them.  We had tried out the larger 4 person peddle boat but found it too slow so returned it for the faster 2 person models.  There was fairly tight security, although the security seemed to only come about 1 hour before the PM was scheduled to speak.  There was some concern about this fairly sizable group in the boats, but Joanna assured them that not everyone had showed up for the Highschool reunion, they didn’t need all the boats they had rented, and they would be sure to just stay at the other end of the lagoon, out of the way of those noisy protesters!  There were RCMP at the lake, and they commandeered a large, slow, 4 person peddle boat and went to put up a police line on the lagoon to keep people away from the hotel.  Our members knew they could likely out peddle the RCMP, so they went for it, and peddled as fast as they could to get as close as possible to the hotel boardrooms before starting to blow their airhorns and make announcements over the megaphones about getting to the table and getting serious with negotiations.  There was a discussion between Joanna and the RCMP officer in the boat over who paid for his boat, and Joanna correctly pointed out that he owed us the money for the boat rental.  He refused and Sam got his badge number.  The spirit was light hearted and good, but it was clear that any more wouldn’t have been tolerated.  The RCMP also had a speedboat on the lake, appropriately called “The Chase”, so after making a racket for a while, our group quietly left the lake and joined the others for lunch. 

Meanwhile, at the front, Patty and her crew had found out where the press conference was scheduled to be held.  It was an alcove in the hotel with great acoustic qualities, so she gathered her group there and began to lead a loud, rousing rendition of Solidarity Forever, followed by Sam Wiese reading out a statement from the group and then followed by a lot of noisy airhorns.  The press conference was delayed.  Eventually, an RCMP officer came out and offered a meeting with the elusive Reg Alcock in exchange for stopping the noise.  Patty said no, she wanted to meet with the PM, Reg Alcock, her own MP who has been avoiding her, and the Minister for Revenue, McCallum.  The RCMP countered with everyone but the PM, and while Patty and her team were discussing whether or not this would be acceptable, the Liberals cancelled their press conference entirely.  We did still manage to meet with several Cabinet Ministers, who all were receptive and the mood was friendly, but completely non-committal.  We received a lot of media coverage.  The members in Kelowna and from Penticton were very pleased with the event and were grateful for the show of support from their union leadership, brothers and sisters.  As a footnote, Patty just left me a message that she was eventually thrown out of the hotel for speaking to an MP.

Thanks to:

• All the CRA members in Kelowna and Penticton, who were brave and went way beyond what they normally do. Your courage and persistence inspired many of us. 
• Also all the members from Treasury Board, CBSA and CFIA who joined us even though they are not yet on strike.
• CEUDA Component for flying Steve Pellorin-Fowlie in to assist in the demo.  Steve was with many of us for the CRA strike vote, and it was great to see him again.
• Sisters Subs, for their great name and for providing our group with free coffee.
• Ilichman Bakery for the wonderful doughnuts.
• Gord Larkin from the Canadian Labour Congress for coming to help make some noise, and for bringing some union friends with him, including someone from WE Enterprises.
• Thanks to the reporters, who so often seem to ignore us, but didn't (or maybe couldn't) ignore us this time.
• And last of all, the woman who works at Sparkies Boat Rental, who was helpful and polite and stayed calm, even while the boats we had paid for were being commandeered by the RCMP.  She had no idea who we were or what we were planning because we mislead her, and we thank her for believing us and hope that we didn't cause her any trouble with her employer.

September 9th : via email

We are now in a legal strike position and it goes without saying that, even if there are no picket lines established at your sites, some actions can nonetheless be taken within the workplace to demonstrate solidarity. The following are simple examples and I’m sure you can think of some more:

• Do not volunteer for overtime
• If you use your car to conduct business, take it off the road and have the CRA rent you a car.
• Make sure you take all break and lunch periods.
• When receiving instructions from the employer ask that they be provided to you in writing, make sure they are very clear and ask whatever questions you need to ensure you understand exactly what is being asked of you.

September 8th

Workers to stage "aquatic protest" at Liberal's cabinet meeting in Kelowna this morning to press for fair settlement

VANCOUVER - Canada Revenue Agency taxation offices in B.C. are behind picket lines this morning, as more than 4,000 CRA employees in the province who are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada launched job action after last ditch efforts yesterday in a lengthy bargaining dispute failed to achieve a fair contract settlement.

CRA facilities in Kelowna, Penticton, Prince George, Surrey, Vancouver, and Victoria are affected by the strike, which comes after Ottawa rejected the framework for a fair settlement for 23,000 CRA employees that was recommended by a federal conciliation board a week ago.

"A deal should have been close at hand," says union spokesperson Patty Ducharme. "But the tight-fisted Martin government is to blame for the strike because it refused to make a reasonable wage offer or move at all on other key issues like provisions to protect jobs and services, and improvements for temporary workers."

Meanwhile, Ducharme says striking workers will take to the water in Kelowna today to send a strong message to Prime Minister Martin to stop stalling and negotiate a fair settlement for federal government employees.

With the federal cabinet meeting at the exclusive Grand Hotel resort in a conference room overlooking Lake Okanagan, the PSAC has chartered a number of small boats to ensure that the Martin government can't ignore the workers' demands for a fair settlement. That protest, which Ducharme will attend, is set to begin at 10 a.m. in Kelowna.

Today's strike activity in B.C. is part of a creative PSAC job action plan, says Ducharme, that will maximize pressure on the government and minimize the impacts on taxpayers and the public.

In addition, about 4,000 PSAC members who work for Parks Canada have been taking job action since early August to protest stalled talks for a new contract. And more than 100,000 other federal government employees are moving closer to job action, creating a mounting problem for the minority Martin government.

September 7th : via email

To: PSAC Locals / Branches in BC
cc: National Officers / Regional Council Members
     Staff - Vancouver RO & CBB, Victoria RO

***On behalf of Regina Brennan, Regional Strike Coordinator for CRA***

Please continue to inform all PSAC members that should CRA and PSAC be unable to reach a tentative settlement PSAC members of the CRA bargaining unit will be in a legal strike position as of 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, September 8, 2004.  You may see picket lines at the following locations (please see below) at any time once the unit is in a legal strike position. Currently the national strategy is to hold rotating strike days, so not all buildings will have picket lines and members may not be picketing every day.

Also, please help remind your members who are co-located with the CRA work sites listed that they can act in solidarity with the striking members including calling their manager in order to get escorted across the line; joining the picket line before, during breaks, or after work; purchasing coffee and donuts for members on the line, etc. Please approach the picket captain for instructions on how best to support the line.

All PSAC members are welcome to show their support!

CRA Work Locations in BC

VANCOUVER
1166 W. Pender St., Vancouver
757 W. Hastings St., Vancouver (Sinclair Center)
1133 Melville St., Vancouver
777 Dunsmuir, Vancouver (Pacific Center)
400 Burrard, Vancouver
333 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver
858 Beatty, Vancouver

SURREY
9755 King George Hwy, Surrey
9737 King George Hwy, Surrey
Surrey Mall - Central City 
55 13370 78th Ave., Omniplex Surrey

PENTICTON
277 Winnipeg St., Penticton
186 Nanaimo Ave., Penticton

VICTORIA
1415 Vancouver Street, Victoria,
703 Broughton Street, Victoria,

PRINCE GEORGE
280 Victoria, Prince George
299 Victoria St., Prince George

KELOWNA
Capri Mall 1835 Gordon Dr., Kelowna
Heritage Mall, Kelowna

September 7th : CBC

OTTAWA - If negotiations fail Tuesday, 25,000 federal employees with the Canada Revenue Agency could go out on strike Wednesday, including 7,000 who work in the Ottawa area.

Ed Cashman, who heads the Public Service Alliance of Canada for the National Capital Region, said he'll know later Tuesday whether the CRA employees will go out.

Cashman said a national rate of pay is one of the same issues that caused Parks Canada employees to turn to rotating strikes in mid-August.

Parks Canada employees went back to work Monday, after walking out on Friday.

Click for the photos!

April 30th

With long lineups of taxpayers expected to file last minute returns Friday, unionized employees of the Canada Revenue Agency will be held a special lunch-time event today to draw attention to service cuts and to seek support for their efforts to negotiate a fair contract with the Martin government.

Here are some photos from Victoria.