Thanks to all who attended the recent CMG convention, a hectic and entertaining 3 days of brainstorming, workshops and carousing with colleagues from across the country. It was exciting to see so many Toronto newbies, proof the CMG is still attracting enthusiastic individuals.

We were also happy to see CBC bosses Richard Stursberg, Fred Maddox, Todd Spencer, Jennifer McGuire (and more) attending a Q&A session. 

We Discussed:

CBC & CMG reaffirm intentions to continue jointly solving problems, with    JOINT WORKLOAD committees  (we have one in TV and are working on setting up Radio and .ca. & others)

 Pay Equity:

CBC & CMG are looking into potential differences in compensation between men and women.  Discussions are ongoing.

SRC-  Backfilling Woes

A serious problem outside of Quebec: the lack of qualified backfill, (not having permanent work makes it difficult to keep temp staff).

A novel solution? Boot Camp: A summer boot camp in Regina for Francophone reporters.

A Shout Out: To a long time  reporter/producer (Radio/TV)  for taking a year’s gig in Iqualit working with newbies.

On The Home Front:  CMG Money Woes

Because of the media job cuts in recent years (at CBC and other media the CMG represents- Canadian Press, TVO, TFO, CW Television, S-Vox, APTN, Thomson Reuters), members and dues are decreasing. The crunch has made expanding a priority (plus the more members the more clout). CMG will hire someone, luckily there is $$ from the CWA (Communication Workers of America/Canada).

Cutting Costs:

Is a convention a good use of $ ??  Billeting, train travel, car pooling, and bagged lunches were discussed. (Talks continue)

 Limiting the Prez:

CMG National President Lise Lareau disappointed many, and caused a few tears by announcing after 12 years running Canada’s largest media union she plans to retire.  Reform minded as always, She recommended future presidents be limited to 9 years (3 terms) in office.  Lots of debate- the majority liked it  BUT it failed to get the 2/3’s needed to pass. There was more, but I’ll try to work it in another day.

So look for a National election in the fall, perhaps the most contested in well..12 years! (LL will be sharing her plans in more detail soon, feel free to send her a farewell note..sniff)   lise@cmg.ca)

Carmel

April has been a busy month, for members and the union. We’ve seen unrest in Radio over sudden staff changes and some very brave journalists put out their own survey - to share their workload, and quality concerns with the CBC.  I applaud their innovative approach, and hope it brings positive results.
 
To quote: … …” it has certainly got their attention.’’” 
We hope we can help channel that power for good, and plans are underway to hold one or more staff meetings in radio to setup a committee that can work with CBC to try to resolve problems early. Robert Barlow is the CMG Toronto Chief Steward responsible for Radio On the TV front, we held a meeting on the 4th floor (April 15); several dozen members attended to share their concerns. Issues ranged from the seemingly arbitrary reassignment process and low morale, to the stress of having to do many “little jobs” on top of core job functions

A quote:              ….”if I was a writer I’d kill myself…”.

The good news? We have a dedicated Joint CMG/CBC committee working on addressing these issues. We passed your concerns onto this committee. It met   with CBC managers April 23.  Bill Thornberry is the CMG co-chair of that committee. We held a second meeting (Apr 19) for executive and senior producers (in case you didn’t know, exec’s & seniors are also CMG members). Some may find it hard to believe, but we heard similar workload concerns: ranging from long hours  to constant on-call with the cursed blackberries, and uncertainty about roles. 

A   quote:        ….” some days the hub needs a referee…”

The good news? We also have a CMG and CBC team looking into these issues, so we shared this list with them, they meet with CBC in May. Full lists of concerns are also posted online, Feel free to add your concerns: info@cmgtoronto.ca

Carmel Smyth,  President, CMG Toronto

Its been a hectic month since the election. We have a great new CMG Toronto committee in place. (see LEC bios)

We meet for a full day once a month to discuss problems and projects in the broadcast center.
 
Priorities:
Parking Money
We are intensely trying to resolve the parking money issue: ($12.50 in parking $ given to staff who work between midnight and 7am -when public transit is NOT available. This has been the practice for many years, and recently CBC decided to review it. Since then we have been meeting regularly with senior CBC staff trying to rework or revise the program so that it can continue.
 
News Renewal
On the news renewal workload issue, we have a joint CMG/CBC committee working to try to resolve problems on the 4th floor. There are several union volunteers, and several staff who work in news on the committee, so they definitely KNOW what the problems are!!   Bill Thornberry is chair if you want to share your concerns. (bill.thornberry@cmgtoronto.ca)
 
I have great hope for this committee since CBC has committed that it will work to address any issues we bring up.
 
Radio Workload Committee:
Making Radio a priority: …we have a TV committee up and going, and the time is ideal (now that radio staff are being relocated), to start something similar in Radio. I’m pleased we have several volunteers (newbies to union work), in Radio who are interested (anyone else want to join?) let me know. carmel@cmgtoronto.ca
 
Reviewing All CMG Committees:
The final thing we are working on is trying to make our existing union committees (see Committee list) fair, diverse and inclusive of staff from ALL areas of CBC.
 
Until next time,
Carmel
 
Comments/Questions?      carmel@cmgtoronto.ca