CEP Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union Local 950

News and Events

Our new collective agreement has been ratified. 74.3% of Local 950 engaged in the process and cast a ballot, and a strong majority voted to accept the agreement. The new collective agreement will be uploaded onto this site ASAP, and a hard copy will be distibuted to all members sometime in the next few months. Our bargaining comittee - Ian George, Jamie Lodge, and Greg McMahon - did a great job in difficult circumstances. Many thanks to them. The bargaining committee was assisted by our National Rep Joie Warnock, and by Debbie and Cathy at the CEP Western Region office. The bargaining committe would like to thank all those who took the time to attend an information meeting and to cast a ballot.

Canadas best-paid 100 CEOs breezed through the worst of the recession with earnings 155 times higher than the average Canadian income earner, says a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The study, Recession-Proof, looks at 2009 compensation levels for Canadas best paid 100 CEOs and finds they pocketed an average of $6.6 million during the darkest period of the recession, a stark contrast from the total average Canadian income of $42,988.At this rate of reward, this handful of elite CEOs pocket the equivalent of the average Canadian wage by 2:30 pm on January 3, the first working day of the year, says the studys author and CCPA Research Associate Hugh Mackenzie. The study shows executive compensation in Canada wasnt always this rich. In 1998, the best paid 100 CEOs pocketed an average of 104 times more than the average Canadian wage earner, compared to 155 times more in 2009.Even that extraordinary number understates the real story, says Mackenzie. Thanks to a change in corporate reporting introduced in 2008, we only have a conservative statistical estimate of the stock options that make up about one third of CEOs 2009 pay. The public will never know how much most of these CEOs actually got paid in 2009. And thats only half the story. These CEOs are sitting on $1.3 billion of stock options they havent yet cashed in. Thats about $2 in future income for every $1 they declared in 2009.When the CEOs decide to exercise those stock options, the study reveals Canadians will subsidize that bonus with an estimated average of $360 million in foregone taxes, since stock options are taxed at a lower rate, as if they are capital gains. Among Mackenzies recommendations: getting rid of that expensive and unfair loophole.The study highlights the role that soaring executive compensation plays in the dramatic growth in income inequality in Canada identified in a recent CCPA study by Senior Economist Armine Yalnizyan. Yalnizyan found that fully one third of all income growth in Canada in the past 20 years went to the richest 1% of Canadians

Local 950 Membership Meetings

A general meeting of the local is held about once a month at 11:30 am Pacific, 12:30 pm Mountain time. Anyone interested in attending can do so via conference call at 604-678-9970 or 1-866-792-1316. The conference ID can be obtained by contacting Brent Eichler. The 2011 Annual General Meeting was held at Westwinds in Calgary on Monday March 21st. Thanks to all who attended.

Video Links

Stewards

Vancouver:Tim Moore, Brent Eichler

Edmonton: Steward needed

Calgary: Steward needed

Treasurer

Gord Parkinson

Trustees

Yinka Alexander

Keith Parker

Secretary

Position open

Vice Presidents

Darren Klein

Derek Scott

Tim Moore

President

Brent Eichler

Our National Representitive

Joie Warnock

Communications Energy & Paperworkers Union Local 950

Representing Bell Employees in Western Canada