CEIU welcomes local 648

Local 648 (Scarborough, Ontario) received its CEIU charter at a general membership meeting on December 5. National President Jeannette Meunier-McKay welcomed the former NHWU members and encouraged their participation in the CEIU.

Local President Genie McDougall accepted the charter on behalf of her members, saying, “I’m looking forward to becoming active within CEIU and I hope many more from our local will get involved.” The local is located in the same building as CEIU local 574 and the members of both have come to know each other over the years, especially in strike situations. “We’ve had a good working relationship with local 574” said McDougall, “and we’ll be working more closely with them in the days ahead.”

The national president welcomed the new members to the CEIU and briefed them on a number of critical issues, including collective bargaining. She stressed the importance of collective bargaining for improving the salaries and working conditions of members and highlighted the issue of core hours of work. “Service Canada is pushing for changes to the core hours of work for day workers” she said, “and this could damage the quality of family life for many of our members.”

Local 648 has approximately 450 members who carry out call centre and processing duties related to the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security Benefits.