News

2021 Executive Board Election Results

To all Local 4304 members,

The results of the 2021 Executive Board election are in from the Election Committee!  The first run-off votes required for any executive positions will be held at the same time as the Steward, Committee, and Delegate elections on Wednesday, June 16th.

FOR PRESIDENT

Brendan Burke – 76 offline, 145 online – 48%
Lisa Main – 39 offline, 57 online – 21%
Sue Turner – 42 offline, 43 online – 18%
Heath Abbott – 23 offline, 36 online – 13%
Spoiled Ballots – 12

Since no candidate received at least 50% of the votes a run-off will be required between Brendan Burke and Lisa Main.

FOR VICE-PRESIDENT

Dwayne Hyde – 54 offline, 101 online – 34%
Donna Keeping – 35 offline, 80 online – 25%
Lema Callender – 52 offline, 48 online – 22%
Trevor Reid – 36 offline, 48 online – 19%
Spoiled Ballots – 19

Since no candidate received at least 50% of the votes a run-off will be required between Dwayne Hyde and Donna Keeping.

FINANCIAL SECRETARY

Ken Vogelpohl – 67 offline, 163 online – 52%
Kelly Hearty – 107 offline, 109 online – 48%
Spoiled Ballots – 27

Ken Vogelpohl is elected with 52% of the votes cast.

RECORDING SECRETARY

Angelo Neziri – 104 offline, 176 online – 64%
Karen Koyounian – 64 offline, 91 online – 36%
Spoiled Ballots – 38

Angelo Neziri is elected with 64% of the votes cast.

GRT UNIT CHAIR

Angela Ransome – 86 offline, 154 online – 55%
James McAuliffe – 52 offline, 55 online – 24%
Lisa Hatherley – 38 offline, 54 online – 21%
Spoiled Ballots – 14

Angela Ransome is elected with 55% of the votes cast.

GCC UNIT CHAIR

Casey Winter – 10 online, 1 offline – 61%
Wafaa Dineen – 7 online, 0 offline – 39%
Spoiled Ballots – 0

Casey Winter is elected with 61% of the votes cast.

SKILLED TRADES REPRESENTATIVE

Vern Sage – 20 offline, 11 online – 94%
Phil Mayberry – 0 offline, 2 online – 6%
Spoiled Ballots – 12

Vern Sage is elected with 94% of the votes cast.

TRUSTEES

Mark Cosgrove – 93 offline, 184 online – 24%
Tyler Kress – 98 offline, 176 online – 24%
Lesley Clark – 93 offline, 132 online – 19%
Kerry Church – 72 offline, 123 online – 17%
Darci Jewell – 75 offline, 107 online – 16%
Spoiled Ballots – 29

Since no candidates received at least 50% of the votes the lowest scoring candidate is dropped and a run-off is required between the remaining candidates.  This run-off process continues until three trustees are elected with at least a 50% vote count (in 2018, two run-off votes were required using this process).

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

Jonathan Warren – 94 offline, 162 online – 59%
Goran Ristic – 75 offline, 106 online – 41%
Spoiled Ballots – 30

Jonathan Warren is elected with 59% of the votes cast.

Online Voting NOW OPEN!

To all Local 4304 members,

Online voting for the 2021 Executive Board Election is now open!  There was a technical difficulty with the voting system for about the first 5-10 minutes after midnight where only one category was appearing on the ballot for members, this has now been corrected.

If you were one of those 5 or 6 members that voted the first few minutes after midnight please login again and cast a complete ballot.

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

Steward, Committee, and Delegate Nominations

To all Local 4304 members,

A reminder that nominations for the coming election for Stewards, Committees, and Delegates are STILL OPEN with several positions available to members in both bargaining units.  Members have until the end of the May General Membership Meeting on Wednesday (May 19th) to submit nominations for themselves or other members (the other member must also accept the nomination before nominations close) to run and serve in the various steward, committee, and delegate positions.  Election day for stewards, committees, and delegates is Wednesday, June 16, 2021.

The nomination tracker is located here: https://tiny.cc/2021Local4304Nominations

At the time of writing this, there has yet to be any nominations submitted for the following positions (descriptions of each committee included):

• Local 4304 Young Workers Committee: The Young Workers Committee sets its own agenda for activism that upholds the integrity of Unifor’s constitution and the union’s progressive policies with the viewpoint of young workers in mind. The Young Workers Committee raises awareness of issues specific to young workers and young people in general with local union leadership and the local union membership, provides outreach to young members in the workplace and connects them with the union, advocates on behalf of young workers in the union and in the community, supports the work of other union committees and their campaign efforts, lending expertise and providing fresh insight into issues through a young worker perspective, and builds links with other progressive-minded and youth groups in the community and across the country, including student groups, youth environmental groups and social service groups. The National Union has defined a ‘young worker’ as someone who is 35 years of age or younger.
• GRT Fleet Training & Joint Apprenticeship Committees (Fleet only):  The Fleet Training Committee assesses training requirements and makes recommendations for training programs sponsored by the employer and provides constructive feedback on training sponsored by the Employer in order to support the efficient and effective maintenance and repair of the GRT Fleet. The committee will focus on training requirements pertaining to: Electrical systems, suspension systems, HVAC systems, engine and transmission diagnosis, air systems, and brake systems. The committee will contribute to the development of standard operating procedures through a review process as well as make recommendations for training to support the introduction of new technology.  The Joint Apprenticeship Committee will be composed of the same members as the Fleet Training Committee and discusses matters of interest to the parties in relation to apprentices and apprenticeships at GRT.
• GRT Joint Health & Safety Committee (Fleet positions – 1 from Kitchener, 1 from Cambridge): The purpose of the Joint Health & Safety Committee is to work co-operatively with the employer in identifying and resolving safety and health issues in support of a planned occupational safety and health program and to prevent occupational injuries and diseases in the workplace.
• GRT New Members Committee (Fleet position): The New Members Committee conducts the Unifor New Member Orientation Program and distributes a new member ‘Welcome Kit’ to all new members in their division with the goal of promoting union membership, participation in union activities and functions, educating members on the role of the union in their workplace, explaining the importance of following and defending their collective agreement and provides information about their many union representatives.
• GRT Operations Committee (Specialized Dispatch position, and Fleet positions – 1 from Kitchener, 1 from Cambridge): The Operations Committee works to improve working conditions related to placement of bus stops, performance of on-street operations, traffic control signals, pavement markings, street signs, turning movements, vehicle equipment layout and operation, workplace equipment layout and operation, etc. Per the GRT Collective Agreement the committee meets every two months with GRT Planning, Operations and Fleet staff/management to propose and discuss ideas to effect changes.
• GRT Return to Work Committee (Fleet position): The purpose of the Return To Work Committee is to make recommendations/provide input on modified duties that could be made available to members during the return to work process. The committee will not generally be involved in individual return to work cases
• GCC Joint Health & Safety Committee: The purpose of the Joint Health & Safety Committee is to work co-operatively with the employer in identifying and resolving safety and health issues in support of a planned occupational safety and health program and to prevent occupational injuries and diseases in the workplace.
• GCC Return to Work Committee: The purpose of the Return To Work Committee is to make recommendations/provide input on modified duties that could be made available to members during the return to work process. The committee will not generally be involved in individual return to work cases

There are also a number of other potential vacancies as well since not all committees have enough candidates as of yet to fill the number of positions that are available.  All Local 4304 members with any potential interest in serving on a union committee should take a look at the nominations tracker, and the descriptions of the committees, to see if they have an interest in serving on one or more of them.  Also, if you know of another member who you think would be a good candidate for a committee position consider encouraging them to run!

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

uXpress E-Mail Address Correction

To all Local 4304 members,

A quick FYI, that in the previous message sent to all members with the Executive Board candidate list there was a minor typo in the e-mail address to send campaign information to be published in the uXpress newsletter.  The correct email address is uxpress@unifor4304.org.  The deadline for submissions remains this Sunday, April 25, 2021.

My apologies for any confusion this may cause,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

Executive Board Nominations have CLOSED

To all members of Local 4304,

Nominations for the Executive Board for the coming election have now closed.  The best of luck goes out to all the members who have chosen to put their name out there and run for positions on the next Executive Board.  The final list of candidates is as follows:

FOR PRESIDENT – entire Local votes on position

Brendan Burke
Lisa Main
Sue Turner
Heath Abbott

FOR VICE-PRESIDENT – entire Local votes on position

Dwayne Hyde
Donna Keeping
Lema Callender
Trevor Reid

FOR FINANCIAL SECRETARY – entire Local votes on position

Kelly Hearty
Ken Vogelpohl

FOR RECORDING SECRETARY – entire Local votes on position

Karen Koyounian
Angelo Neziri

FOR UNIT CHAIR – GRAND RIVER TRANSIT – only GRT members vote on position

James McAuliffe
Angela Ransome
Lisa Hatherley

FOR UNIT CHAIR – GREAT CANADIAN COACHES – only GCC members vote on position

Wafaa Dineen
Casey Winter

FOR SKILLED TRADES REPRESENTATIVE – only Skilled Trades members vote on position

Vern Sage
Phil Mayberry

FOR TRUSTEES – 3 to be elected, entire Local votes on positions

Kerry Church
Darci Jewell
Tyler Kress
Mark Cosgrove
Lesley Clark

FOR SERGEANT-AT-ARMS – entire Local votes on position

Goran Ristic
Jonathan Warren
Kevin Schingh

In addition, Athol Baker and Donna Reist have been acclaimed to the positions of AWOC Representative and LGBTQ Representative respectively.  They were the only members to run for their positions so elections for those two spots are not required.  Congratulations go out to both Athol and Donna in their new roles on the next Executive Board.

All candidates who are running for Executive Office can have their campaign platforms printed in the coming edition of the uXpress newsletter.  Candidates wishing to be published in the newsletter should send their campaign platform and any other images/graphics to Ken Vogelpohl at uxpress@unifor4034.org by the deadline, this coming Sunday, April 25th, 2021!

Election Day for the next Executive Board is Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

A reminder also that nominations for all steward, delegate, and committee positions in both bargaining units are STILL OPEN until the end of the May General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, May 19th, 2021.  Nominations for stewards, delegates, and committees can be submitted to recordingsecretary@unifor4304.org.  To view the list of nominees and see descriptions of the available positions you can visit the nomination tracker at https://tiny.cc/2021Local4304Nominations.

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304

2021 General Election Nominations – UPDATE

To all Local 4304 members,

Once again, a reminder goes out to all members that nominations are OPEN for all Executive Board, Steward and Committee positions for both bargaining units for the coming General Elections. Members may continue to view the nominations for all positions online at: http://tiny.cc/2021Local4304Nominations. This spreadsheet is continually updated as nominations are received and accepted or rejected.

UPDATE: An additional sheet has been added to the nomination tracker called ‘Descriptions’ which is colour-coded to the various nomination sheets and provides useful information on all the various union positions, including descriptions of each position/committee and their duties.  If you have been sitting on the fence about running for a union position, or do not know what some of the committees are or what they’re expected to do, reviewing the description and duties may help you decide what to run for; you may even discover that a passion or hobby you enjoy outside the workplace may be useful on certain committees that you may never have thought of serving on!

Nominations for all Executive Board positions close – NEXT WEEK – at the end of the April General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, April 21, 2021.

Nominations for all Steward and Committee positions close at the end of the May General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

All nominations should continue to be sent to the Recording Secretary at recordingsecretary@unifor4304.org before the close of nominations or may be given orally at the respective General Membership Meeting.  Nominations from members for a member other than themselves must also be accepted by the nominated member to be included on the appropriate ballot.

I would also like to request AGAIN that all members make every effort to share this information among the rest of the membership.  If you are inclined also please post this message in the workplace locations where you are working from or forward this to members who may not yet have registered on the Local 4304 website.  Management-imposed pandemic restrictions on entering the workplace have made it difficult to post the required information as widely as possible since we are not permitted to enter the workplace except for our required work shifts; having the assistance of other members to post this in locations they are already working out of would be greatly appreciated!!

Yours in solidarity,

Warren Schnurr
Recording Secretary
Unifor Local 4304