2022 BTS BARGAINING PROPOSAL form – Deadline November 24 2021

Bargaining Proposal Form

Sisters and Brothers,

Our Craft BTS/Unifor Collective Agreement expires May 2022. Please download and fill out the proposal form and return them no later than November 24 2021 as the local must submit all proposals by December 1 2021. It is important that every member fill out the form.

The PDF form is a fillable form that may be submitted electronically by email or fax.

Please download the BTS Bargaining proposal form and return it to the Local Executive
Email

barg.cba.proposals.2022@gmail.com

Or

Fax to:

416.538.1997

Form provided by Unifor National

FILLABLE BTS BARGAINING PROPOSAL SURVEY

In Solidarity,

Lee, Sanjay, Brian, Chris

2022 BTS BARGAINING PROPOSAL form – Deadline November 24 2021

Bargaining Proposal Form

Sisters and Brothers,

Our Craft BTS/Unifor Collective Agreement expires May 2022. Please download and fill out the proposal form and return them no later than November 24 2021 as the local must submit all proposals by December 1 2021. It is important that every member fill out the form.

The PDF form is a fillable form that may be submitted electronically by email or fax.

Please download the BTS Bargaining proposal form and return it to the Local Executive
Email

barg.cba.proposals.2022@gmail.com

Or

Fax to:

416.538.1997

Form provided by Unifor National

FILLABLE BTS BARGAINING PROPOSAL SURVEY

In Solidarity,

Lee, Sanjay, Brian, Chris

Bell Canada back in black as revenues hit pre-pandemic levels

Source:

http://Lightreading.com

Remembrance Day November 11 2021

Remembrance Day commemorates the sacrifices of people in all armed conflicts.

Why Remember?

We must remember. If we do not, the sacrifice of those one hundred thousand Canadian lives will be meaningless. They died for us, for their homes and families and friends, for a collection of traditions they cherished and a future they believed in; they died for Canada. The meaning of their sacrifice rests with our collective national consciousness; our future is their monument.1

 

These wars touched the lives of Canadians of all ages, all races, all social classes. Fathers, sons, daughters, sweethearts: they were killed in action, they were wounded, and thousands who returned were forced to live the rest of their lives with the physical and mental scars of war. The people who stayed in Canada also served—in factories, in voluntary service organizations, wherever they were needed.

Yet for many of us, war is a phenomenon seen through the lens of a television camera or a journalist’s account of fighting in distant parts of the world. Our closest physical and emotional experience may be the discovery of wartime memorabilia in a family attic. But even items such as photographs, uniform badges, medals, and diaries can seem vague and unconnected to the life of their owner. For those of us born during peacetime, all wars seem far removed from our daily lives.

 

We often take for granted our Canadian values and institutions, our freedom to participate in cultural and political events, and our right to live under a government of our choice. The Canadians who went off to war in distant lands went in the belief that the values and beliefs enjoyed by Canadians were being threatened. They truly believed that “Without freedom there can be no ensuring peace and without peace no enduring freedom.”2

By remembering their service and their sacrifice, we recognize the tradition of freedom these men and women fought to preserve. They believed that their actions in the present would make a significant difference for the future, but it is up to us to ensure that their dream of peace is realized. On Remembrance Day, we acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of those who served their country and acknowledge our responsibility to work for the peace they fought hard to achieve.

During times of war, individual acts of heroism occur frequently; only a few are ever recorded and receive official recognition. By remembering all who have served, we recognize their willingly-endured hardships and fears, taken upon themselves so that we could live in peace.

What does inflation data tell us about prices in Canada?

Source: Unifor National

 

 By Kaylie Tiessen, National Representative, Research Department

Canada’s top-line inflation measure hit an 18-year high in September 2021 at a rate of 4.4% compared to one year earlier.

September marked the sixth month in a row that year-over-year inflation is above the Bank of Canada’s target rate of 1% to 3%. That trend sparked much shock-inducing commentary stirring up fear and concern.

But with the Bank moving up the window for a potential increase to the interest rate by one quarter and suggesting inflation may last three months longer than previously expected, Canada is hardly in the doom and gloom scenario some would like us to believe.

In a previous blog post, Sune Sandbeck, Unifor National Research Representative, explained why The Bank hasn’t moved to change the interest rate yet, based on various measures of consumer price growth. This post takes a closer look at CPI-Total, the measure that is most often covered by the media, to parse out what prices are changing and understand why.

The chart below deconstructs the monthly price changes across all sub-types of consumer goods since January 2019 and highlights some important points about inflation.

First, transportation and shelter have been the largest contributors to inflation for the last 7 months, with food coming in third.

Second, inflation was below 1% for the first 10 months of the pandemic, including a few months of deflation, when prices actually decreased. This was due to a decline in the price of oil and gas and small declines in the price of recreational activities and clothing and footwear – all items that experienced a substantial drop in demand in 2020.

Third, while the monthly inflation numbers have been volatile through the pandemic and are currently quite high, the average rate of inflation since January 2019 is 2.8%. Policy makers look at the average CPI change in a specific time period to set some context for the current trend and understand whether or not price changes are out of line.

Image
A graph looking at various components leading to changes in Consumer Price Index between January 2019 and September 2021.

The Bank of Canada has highlighted two main reasons why inflation is higher than previous years.

First, prices are continuing to recover from the lows, and in some cases declines, experienced in 2020 when demand for oil dropped so substantially that producers were paying more to ship a barrel of oil than they could make selling that same barrel. In essence, it is because prices are “catching up” after a period of stagnation.

And second, supply chain disruptions, particularly in the United States, are having an outsized effect on prices in the short- and medium-term.

Neither of these reasons for the recent high inflation rate will be solved by increasing the interest rate and potentially slowing economic activity.

In fact, raising interest rates now, while the unemployment rate remains elevated and GDP has not fully rebounded is just as likely to cause economic damage.