News

GRT Collision Appeals Committee Election Results – Correction

Please take note of the following correction in the election results for the GRT Collision Appeals Committee:

GRT COLLISION APPEALS COMMITTEE

Donna Keeping – offline 37, online 90  22%

Mike Capa – offline 55, online 154  36%

Irene Bradshaw – offline 24, online 77  18%

Dwayne Hyde – offline 38, online 97  24%

Spoiled – 4

Mike Capa and Dwayne Hyde are elected to the Collision Appeals Committee

Online Voting NOW OPEN!

To all Local 4304 members,

Online voting for the 2021 Steward, Committee, and Delegate Election is now open!  Don’t forget to vote, either online or in person, today!

Not seeing all the possible union committees or candidates on your ballot?  Remember that you will only see and vote on the positions that are applicable to your bargaining unit, position, and designated work location.  Also, many candidates were acclaimed when nominations closed since there was an equal or fewer number of candidates than the number of positions available; elections are not required for any of those positions.  In addition, since the nominations closed at the May General Membership Meeting some candidates have also withdrawn from the election which resulted in a few more acclaimed candidates.

Candidates who have already been elected or acclaimed to various positions are highlighted in green on the nominations tracker at: https://tiny.cc/2021Local4304Nominations

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

Online Voting NOW OPEN!

To all Local 4304 members,

Online voting for the 2021 Executive Board Run-Off Election is now open!  Don’t forget to vote, either online or in person, today!

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

No Trustee Run-Off

To all local 4304 members,

During the previous general election in 2018, run-off elections were required to elect three trustees with a majority vote per the December 2013 ‘Unifor Policy Regarding Local Union Elections.’  This policy from the National Union forms part of our Local’s constitutional requirements and governs how elections are run for any Unifor Local’s that don’t have their own separate set of National-approved election rules in their by-laws.

However, In February this year, the National Executive Board amended the ‘Unifor Policy Regarding Local Union Elections’ such that we no longer require a run-off for the Trustee positions in THIS general election; a copy of the new policy was just provided to our Local.  The new policy regarding Trustee run-offs reads as follows:

33. The three Local Union Trustees will be elected at the same time and there is no distinction between the three offices. The membership is instructed to vote for no more than three candidates. In the election of the three Trustees, the majority is determined in the following manner:

(a) Where there are less than seven candidates, the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.

(b) Where there are seven or more candidates, the majority point is determined by adding the total votes cast for the office of Trustee and dividing by 3 (which is the number of positions to be filled). This number is divided by 2 to determine the 50% mark. The next highest number above the 50% mark is the majority point.  Example – 480 votes cast for Trustees, divided by 3 = 160. Further divided by 2 to get the 50% mark = 80. The next highest number above 80 is 81. Trustee requires at least 81 votes to receive a majority.

(c) If more than three candidates receive a majority vote, the three candidates with the highest majority shall be declared elected.

(d) Where there are seven or more candidates and no candidate receives a majority, the run-off is confined to the six candidates receiving the highest number of votes. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.

(e) Where there are seven or more candidates and only one candidate receives a majority, the run-off is confined to the candidates receiving the second, third, fourth and fifth highest number of votes. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.

(f) Where there are seven or more candidates and only two candidates receive a majority, the run-off is confined to the candidates receiving the third and fourth highest number of votes. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.

You can download your own copy of the new February 2021 policy HERE if you wish.

Per the new policy, since there were only five trustee candidates in the current general election the top three are declared the winning candidates.  Therefore the new Trustees will be Mark Cosgrove, Tyler Kress, and Lesley Clark and no run-off for the trustees will be on the ballot on Thursday, June 3rd.

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

uXpress submissions for the Steward, Committee, and Delegate Election

To all Local 4304 members,

The nominations for Stewards, Committees, and Delegates closed at the May General Membership Meeting this past Wednesday, May 19th.  Members who are running as candidates for positions as Stewards, Committee members, or Delegates can have their campaign platforms published in the next edition of the uXpress.  Candidates wishing to be published in the newsletter should send their campaign platform and any other images/graphics to Ken Vogelpohl at uxpress@unifor4304.org by the deadline, midnight at the end of Sunday, May 23rd, 2021!

For a complete list of candidates, members can visit the nomination tracker https://tiny.cc/2021Local4304Nominations.  The nomination tracker is still updated as needed and is tracking election results with colour-coding as follows:

• Candidates currently running for election have a WHITE background.
• Candidates who have been elected or acclaimed have a GREEN background.
• Executive candidates who are currently in a run-off election have an ORANGE background.
• Members who have declined a nomination, and candidates who have been defeated in an election or have withdrawn their name from the election have a GREY background.

In addition, a reminder that Thursday, June 3rd, 2021 will be the run-off election for the Executive Board.  The Steward, Committee, and Delegate election will be on Wednesday, June 16th, 2021.

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

Executive Board Run-Off Election – Thursday, June 3, 2021

To all Local 4304 members,

Since there are Executive Board candidates in the required run-off election that are also on the ballot for Stewards, Committees, and Delegates it has been decided to hold the Executive Board run-off election on Thursday, June 3, 2021.  This will allow the Executive Board candidates to decide whether or not to pursue positions on a committee, as a steward, or as a delegate prior to the election day for Stewards, Committees, and Delegates on June 16th (or in the case of the newly elected President, whether they simply come off the June 16th ballot).

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

Steward, Committee, and Delegate Candidates

To all Local 4304 members,

Nominations for Stewards, Committees, and Delegates CLOSED at the end of the PM portion of the May General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, May 19th; election day for these positions is Wednesday, June 16th.

With the close of nominations, there are many members who are officially acclaimed to their positions where the number of nominated members is equal to, or less than, the number of available positions; elections for those positions are not required.  There are also several vacancies where not enough members were nominated to fill the available positions; if any eligible member wishes to fill an available vacancy the newly elected President can appoint members after the start of the new term of office.

At the time that nominations closed the candidate list for Stewards, Committees, and Delegates was as follows:

LOCAL-WIDE COMMITTEES

Aboriginal and Workers of Colour (AWOC) Committee

(2 positions available)
Athol Baker – ACCLAIMED
Lema Callender – ACCLAIMED

Community Services Committee

(2 positions available)
Donna Keeping – ACCLAIMED
Ken Vogelpohl – ACCLAIMED

Constitution & By-Laws Committee

(3 positions available)
Donna Keeping – ACCLAIMED
Warren Schnurr – ACCLAIMED
Ken Vogelpohl – ACCLAIMED

Education Committee

(3 positions available)
Donna Keeping – ACCLAIMED
Warren Schnurr – ACCLAIMED
Ken Vogelpohl – ACCLAIMED

Environment Committee

(2 positions available)
Laurianne Westover – ACCLAIMED
1 position vacant

Human Rights Committee

(2 positions available)
Donna Keeping
Athol Baker
Lema Callender
Ken Vogelpohl

LGBTQ Committee

(2 positions available)
Donna Reist – ACCLAIMED
Leslie Clark – ACCLAIMED

Recreation Committee

(3 positions available)
Nicki Lederman
Dwayne Hyde
Kristopher Lederman
Dawn Frey
Mark Cosgrove
Peggy Giesel
Sonya Taha

Women’s Committee

(2 positions available)
Karen Koyounian
Donna Keeping
Irene Bradshaw

Workers with disAbilities Committee

(2 positions available)
Laurianne Westover – ACCLAIMED
1 position vacant

Young Workers Committee

(2 positions available)
2 positions vacant

DELEGATES

Canadian Council

(2 positions available)
Donna Keeping
Kevin Webber
Ken Vogelpohl
Lisa Main
Lisa Hatherley

Unifor Convention

(2 positions available for GRT)
Donna Keeping
Warren Schnurr
Ken Vogelpohl
Lisa Hatherley

(1 position available for GCC)
1 position vacant

Ontario Regional Council

(2 positions available for GRT)
Donna Keeping
Kevin Webber
Ken Vogelpohl
Lisa Hatherley

(1 position available for GCC)
1 position vacant

GRT STEWARDS

Conventional Operations – Kitchener

(5 positions available)
Aaron Rolson
Donna Locke
Michael McPhee
Dwayne Hyde
Brendan Burke
Mark Cosgrove
Kevin Schingh

Conventional Operations – Cambridge

(3 positions available)
Donna Keeping
Karen Koyounian
Brain Stewart
Trevor Reid
Lisa Main

Specialized Operations – Kitchener

(2 positions available)
Allie Schmitt – ACCLAIMED
1 position vacant

Specialized Operations – Cambridge

(1 position available)
Lisa Hatherley – ACCLAIMED

Fleet – Kitchener

(4 positions available)
Vern Sage – ACCLAIMED
Robert Kennedy – ACCLAIMED
Dave Leitch – ACCLAIMED
Adam Passmore – ACCLAIMED

Fleet – Cambridge

(2 positions available)
Eddie Pereira – ACCLAIMED
Eric Heary – ACCLAIMED

GRT COMMITTEES

Collision Review Committee

(2 positions available)
Marlene McCracken
Donna Keeping
Lisa Hatherley
Robert Kennedy
Irene Bradshaw
Darren Mahon
Dwayne Hyde
Mike Capa

Collision Appeals Committee

(2 positions available)
Donna Keeping
Mike Capa
Lisa Hatherley
Irene Bradshaw
Brendan Burke
Darren Mahon
Dwayne Hyde

Fleet Training & Joint Apprenticeship Committees

(2 positions available for Fleet)
Tyler Kress – ACCLAIMED
Vern Sage – ACCLAIMED

Joint Health & Safety Committee

(2 positions available for Conventional Operations – Kitchener)
Yasin Illjazi
Rob McNall
Stephanie Baillie
Angela Ransome
Dwayne Hyde
Brendan Burke
Scott Desjardins
Sue Turner
Lema Callender
Heath Abbott

(2 positions available for Conventional Operations – Cambridge)
Donna Keeping
Karen Koyounian
Rick Weisler
Norm Ciotti
Athol Baker
Lisa Main

(1 position available for Specialized Operations – Kitchener)
1 position vacant

(1 position available for Specialized Operations – Cambridge)
Lisa Hatherley
Keith Henry

(2 positions available for Fleet – Kitchener)
Adam Passmore – ACCLAIMED
1 position vacant

(1 position available for Fleet – Cambridge)
Todd Balke – ACCLAIMED

New Members Committee

(2 positions available for Conventional Operations)
Kerry Church
Nicki Lederman
Donna Keeping
Dwayne Hyde
Julio Guzman
Warren Schnurr
Lisa Main

(1 position available for Specialized Operations)
Lisa Hatherley – ACCLAIMED

(1 position available for Fleet)
Tyler Kress – ACCLAIMED

Operations Committee

(2 positions available for Conventional Operations – Kitchener)
Aaron Rolson
Brendan Burke
Lesley Clark
Norma Switzer
Cheryl Rooymans
Ken Vogelpohl

(1 position available for Conventional Operations – Cambridge)
Angelo Neziri
Donna Keeping
Mike Capa

(1 position available for Specialized Operations – Kitchener)
Allie Schmitt – ACCLAIMED

(1 position available for Specialized Operations – Cambridge)
Lisa Hatherley
Keith Henry

(1 position available for Specialized Operations – Dispatch)
1 position vacant

(1 position available for Fleet – Kitchener)
1 position vacant

(1 position available for Fleet – Cambridge)
1 position vacant

Return to Work Committee

(2 positions available for Conventional Operations)
Donna Keeping
Lema Callender
Lisa Main
Trevor Reid

(1 position available for Specialized Operations)
Lisa Hatherley – ACCLAIMED

(1 position available for Fleet)
1 position vacant

Scheduling Committee – Conventional Operations – Kitchener

(3 positions available for Conventional Operations – Kitchener)
Leon Tipovski
Donna Locke
Paul Wagler
Angela Ransome
Brendan Burke
Julio Guzman
Ken Hicknell
Norma Switzer
Lema Callender
Lesley Clark
Sue Turner
Janet Jacobs

Scheduling Committee – Conventional Operations – Cambridge

(2 positions available for Conventional Operations – Cambridge)
Donna Reist
Angelo Neziri
Donna Keeping
Karen Koyounian
Mike Ionita
Trevor Reid
Rick Weisler
Barb Newman
Richard Meredith
Lisa Main

Scheduling Committee – Specialized Operations

(1 position available for Specialized Operations – Kitchener)
Allie Schmitt – ACCLAIMED

(1 position available for Specialized Operations – Cambridge)
Lisa Hatherley – ACCLAIMED

Scheduling Committee – Fleet

(2 positions available for Fleet)
Adam Passmore – ACCLAIMED
1 position vacant

Uniform Committee

(2 positions available for Conventional & Specialized Operations – Kitchener)
Sarah Eckert – ACCLAIMED
Kelly Hearty – ACCLAIMED

(2 positions available for Conventional & Specialized Operations – Kitchener)
Karen Koyounian
Donna Keeping
Lisa Hatherley
Lisa Main

(1 position available for Fleet)
Adam Passmore – ACCLAIMED

Women’s Advocate

(1 position available for women)
Karen Koyounian
Donna Keeping
Sonya Taha

GCC STEWARDS

Kitchener/London

(1 position available for Kitchener, and London drivers)
Tim May
Casey Winter

Brampton/Niagara/Oshawa

(1 position available for Brampton, Niagara, and Oshawa drivers)
Wafaa Dineen – ACCLAIMED

GCC COMMITTEES

Joint Health & Safety Committee

(1 position available)
1 position vacant

Return to Work Committee

(1 position available)
1 position vacant

Women’s Advocate

(1 position available for women)
Wafaa Dineen – ACCLAIMED