28 August 2003

Rival union tries to block
Guild emails to members at CBC

Canadian Media Guild | TNG Canada Local 30213

A rival union has joined forces with CBC management to bar the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) from sending emails to its members at work.

Until this year, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation did not complain about the CMG contacting its members via email. Since 1999, the Guild office has sent more than 200 communiqués to its CBC members via email. Most of those communiqués were also posted on the CMG website and several were distributed on paper in the workplace.

The Communication, Energy & Paperworkers (CEP) union, which represents technical, design and trades employees at the CBC, has stated that Guild members (program production and presentation, general administration employees) should not be allowed to communicate with their union.

In a recent letter to the corporation, CEP's legal counsel writes: "The CBC has a responsibility to ensure these (networks) are not used for improper purposes."

However, in the same letter, CEP states that it has demanded equal access to the CBC's networks.

The corporation first declared such communication "improper" after the CMG issued a communiqué to members at CBC on July 31, explaining why they were receiving calls at home from a private-sector marketing firm. The pollsters were asking questions clearly linked to an impending vote that will determine which of the unions — CMG or CEP — will represent all unionized members at CBC outside of Quebec and Moncton, NB. The Guild stated in the communiqué: "It would appear this poll is being paid for by CEP." It then complained to the CBC that the corporation had violated employee confidentiality by releasing Guild members' home telephone numbers to the CEP, which had in turn passed them to an outside party.

Now the corporation's Industrial Relations department is theatening to cut off the Guild's access to any CBC email address.

The CBC's policy on employee use of electronic networks states:

"The Corporation provides employees access to its electronic networks to assist them in the performance of their job-related duties and responsibilities. These include the gathering of news, the search for and retrieval of information and correspondence and communication within the Corporation and with individuals and organizations outside the Corporation."

The policy also allows 'limited personal use' of the network by employees.

Peter Murdoch, CEP's Vice President Media, didn't respond to requests for his comments for inclusion in this article.

The Guild is urging its members to provide a home email address to the union so that lines of communication remain open in the event CBC is successful in blocking access to the corporate mail system.

Over the past 18 months, the Guild office has been contacting members individually to obtain their email addresses and to ensure they are receiving messages at the address of their choice, either at home or work. To date, the CMG has addresses for about 85 per cent of its CBC membership.

(This story first appeared on the Canadian Media Guild web site.)