CEIU members at the CBSA to move to CEUDA; CIC members stay with CEIU

Members employed at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will be represented in the future by the Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise (CEUDA).

This change is one of a number of membership allocation decisions taken by the President of the PSAC aimed at improving service to members. The affected members have played a valuable role within our union since they joined in 1977, and while CEIU will miss their contributions in the future, they will undoubtedly become a solid asset within CEUDA.

With the creation of the CBSA, three component unions of the PSAC represented members at the agency: CEIU, CEUDA and the Agriculture Union. In response to the situation at the CBSA, as well as similar cases at other government departments, the PSAC has undertaken to realign component representation.

The PSAC action was prompted by a number of issues. First, members themselves questioned why they were in a different component union from their co-workers; it simply made no sense to them. These concerns were echoed by activists and leaders who found little basis for the jurisdictional divisions between components within the same department. In addition, the creation of "blended positions" in new agencies, such as the Border Service Officer position at the CBSA, made it impossible for the PSAC to allocate members to one component or another.

The PSAC has decided, as a general rule, that only one component will represent members in a specific department or agency. This will ensure that members speak with a single, united voice and are represented in a consistent fashion on all issues. As a result, CBSA members will move to CEUDA. However, CIC members will remain with the CEIU, contrary to what had, in error, been originally reported by the PSAC.

CEIU will support its members throughout the transfer to CEUDA. In addition, we will arrange a protocol to ensure the orderly movement of grievances and other servicing files to CEUDA. More information on issues related to the transfer will be provided in the coming weeks.