Dear Members of the UNE Family,

The 2025 UNE Local Presidents’ Conference is just a few short weeks away!

This three-day event will be packed with presentations, workshops and training that will enhance your leadership skills, give you the knowledge and tools to help you and your members.  It is also an opportunity for all Local Presidents, or their designates, to come together, engage in activism, and gain a deeper understanding of our Union’s structure and operations.

We ask that UNE Local Presidents register online here.

Save the dates!

📅 When: April 10-13, 2025
📍 Where: Hotel Saskatchewan, Regina, Saskatchewan

Each UNE Local is invited to send a Local President or designate to attend.

Apply online by Friday, March 7, 2025!

All Expenses Covered!

UNE is proud to fully cover the costs of your participation, including:

✅ Flights and transportation
✅ Accommodation and meals
✅ Loss of salary reimbursement
✅ Childcare support

Travel & Expense Details:

✈️ Your travel to the airport is covered! If you drive, track your kilometers and provide a google map of your trip. If you take a taxi, keep your receipt. (Please note: Unionized taxi companies are preferred over services like Uber.) 🚗 If you plan to drive to the Conference, pre-approval from UNE Events is required.

💰 Upon registration, an advance cheque will be provided to cover your per diem covering meals that are not provided.
👶 On-site childcare is available, or UNE will cover childcare expenses at home while you attend the conference.

Apply Today!
We ask that UNE Local Presidents register online here.

For assistance with the registration process or any other questions, please contact our Events Team at events@une-sen.org.

In solidarity,

The Local Presidents’ Conference Steering Committee

As we take time this month to honour and recognize Black legacies and leadership, CAPE and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists also wanted to carve out time to have an important discussion on how Black members can build and take power in our current unions, as well as how to defend ourselves with the union as our vehicle.

Black, Indigenous, and racialized members are encouraged to attend and be prepared to ask questions on this theme. 

We hope that you can join for this important discussion on concrete actions we can take. We’ll be joined by Chris Wilson from the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and Alisha Kang, the president of the PSAC component Union of National Employees. 

Some key questions we’d like panelists and participants to discuss:

• How do you succeed in developing Black union leadership? What do we mean by leadership (rank and file, elected officials, staff, etc.)?
• How do you succeed in organizing other Black members? What are some strategies to connect?
• How do you stay connected and involved with other Black leaders and activists in the labour movement?
• How can Black trade unionism influence electoral outcomes?

Wednesday, February 26
5 to 7 pm ET
Hybrid – at the CAPE national office and online 

First come first served for in-person attendance.  
For people attending in person, a light dinner will be served.
If you selected to attend in person but our capacity has been reached, you will receive a Zoom link to attend online instead.

Interpretation will be provided.

Register Now

Guidelines – Online interpreted meetings
 

Bios:

Alisha Kang is president of the Union of National Employees with over 27,000 members coast to coast and 80 collective agreements as well as holding a lead role in the Federal Black Employee Caucus. A published author, Alisha is a single parent and is most proud of her 22-year-old son Kael, a budding activist studying Law, and her 26-year-old daughter Kyrro, a scientist on the autism spectrum.

Christopher Wilson (he/him) is a workers’ rights advocate, community activist and lawyer with over 25 years experience in the labour movement. Christopher is a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists where he led the Green is Not White Research project that has engaged over 3,000 labour and community activists in participatory workshops to confront Environmental Racism.

Register Now

Your UNE regions invite you to participate in the National Capital Region’s Combined Regional Seminar scheduled to take place at the Chateau Cartier Hotel in Gatineau, QC from February 27 to March 2, 2025.

As a UNE member, your participation is fully funded and there is zero cost to you.

This seminar is for participants from the four NCR-based regions:

• National Capital Region – Separate Employers
• Ottawa – Treasury Board
• Gatineau – Treasury Board
• Outside Canada

Regional Seminars are packed with presentations, workshops and training that will give you the knowledge and tools to help you and your members. They are also a wonderful place to meet other activists and forge long-lasting friendships. 

UNE will fund two (2) participants and an additional (1) youth participant per Local. Preference will be given to:

• The Local President or designate
• A member who has not previously attended a seminar should be given priority
• A youth member (age 35 or younger as of December 31, 2026).

Locals should also encourage the participation of equity members and may send additional members at the Local’s expense.

Youth Delegates to Convention

At each seminar, regions will elect two (2) Youth Delegates and alternates to the 2026 Convention. To be eligible, Youth members must be 35 or under in the year of the Triennial Convention (2026, in Montreal, QC). UNE encourages your participation, so you don’t miss out on these delegate seats at the Triennial.

Travel, Accommodations and Meals paid by UNE

Participants will be expected to arrive for on-site registration at 6:00 p.m. Thursday evening, February 27, 2025. Accommodations will be arranged for delegates to spend three nights at the hotel for the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday as activities are scheduled to take place into the evenings. The Seminar ends on Sunday, March 2 at 12:00p.m. 

Your travel to and from the Seminar is paid for by UNE. If you are driving, track your kilometres and provide a google map of your trip. Your stay at the hotel is also paid by UNE, with no upfront cost to you. You will also receive a per diem covering meals that are not provided. 

Union Leave and Leave Letters

UNE will reimburse your loss of salary while you are attending the Seminar. Some employers (Treasury Board, Parks Canada) require you to submit a Union Leave Letter. UNE encourages you to advise your employer of your intent to participate upon receiving this communication.  Once the final selection has been made,  UNE will issue the leave letters.  Your pay will not be interrupted. (For example, if you are scheduled to work on the Friday, you submit a Leave Request and provide your supervisor with the UNE-issued Leave Letter).

Other employers will request you to take leave without pay. In this case, you will be reimbursed your loss of salary directly by UNE. Either way, we want to be sure you don’t miss a beat and that your salary and expenses for attending the event are taken care of.

Apply today!

You must apply by Friday, January 17, 2025. Applications are then sent to the regional team for final selection. Unfortunately, we will not consider late applications. 

Click here to register online.

Should you have any questions about the Seminar please contact events@une-sen.org.

In solidarity, 

Your UNE regional teams:

• National Capital Region – Separate Employers
• Ottawa – Treasury Board
• Gatineau – Treasury Board
• Outside Canada

Greetings,

The Union of National Employees Women’s Conference will be held this fall in the National Capital Region. We are excited to begin planning for the event and to get started with the work needed to make the event successful.

The National President, Alisha Kang, has appointed the National Executive Vice-President, Hayley Millington to chair the committee and she has chosen Mirelle Jaillet, the National Equity Representative for Women, and Carole Maillet, from the Francophone Committee as her co-chairs.

In preparation, we are creating a small steering committee. Our Conference committee will meet weekly via teleconference and, when necessary, in person. Meetings will be scheduled during the day and if you miss work to attend the meeting, a union leave letter will be provided for you.

The steering committee will include the following members:

• One woman from each UNE region
• One woman from the Francophone Committee
• UNE Event Staff
• One woman who has never attended an event

The committee will assist UNE Event Staff with the following and contribute to the overall organization of the conference:

• Determining the program and organizing the agenda
• Selection of subject matter and speakers for the conference
• UNE branded items & activities

Nominations should include a short paragraph from the nominee explaining why the member would be a good fit for this committee. Please submit your nomination to Suzanne Boucher no later than June 28, 2024.

UNE youth members gathered from April 18-21 for the first ever Young Workers Conference and left on Sunday looking forward to the next.

“You could feel the energy at registration on Thursday and it lasted all weekend long,” said UNE national president Alisha Kang. “The future of our union, our workforce, showed their strength and desire to make positive change.”

In the midst of networking opportunites, educational workshops and captivating guest speaker appearances, Allison Fraser, Vice-President of Local 80178, put the question to those gathered; why don’t the young workers have more voice within UNE?

The UNE president quickly came to the mic and declared the creation of the first ever UNE Young Workers Standing Committee.

Allison and her peers were impressed with how quickly their voices were heard.

“Better representation leads to better engagement and supports the union’s future success. Giving a voice to the younger demographic in our membership helps foster intergenerational solidarity and creates a mentorship environment that welcomes new members. Young workers have a unique perspective and different needs than older union members. By encouraging young members to take on leadership roles in the union as they advance in their careers, the union remains relevant and appealing to its new members.”

Ryan Lipski, who was on the steering committee for the conference, was happy to see their vision come to fruition:

“This conference encapsulates the power of young workers in standing up and advocating for the future they want for their union, their workplaces, and their communities.”

The next Young Workers Conference will be held during the next mandate, sometime after the triennial Convention in 2026.