Written by Matt Barnable

Convention began on Sunday, September 4 to the singing of both U.S. and Canada National anthems. Delegates, guests and staff stood in solidarity and pride in what would surely be a historic convention. Guest speakers were brought in throughout the week to speak on a variety of labour, social and political issues. Speakers such as Richard Trumka president of the AFL-CIO and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel stood before us, and yes even presidential candidate Hilary Clinton sent a video message to the machinists. The first thing to notice was the scope of the event and the sheer amount of people. The production was well organized, massive in scope and had a larger than life feel. It would be easy to get caught up in the spectacle, the lights, the cameras, and the amount of machinists gathered at the convention. When we ran for election to represent you our fighting local 99, it was our intent to do just that, represent our Local. This meant that we must keep our eyes on the prize, take all of it in, but remain steadfast in our course to push for change. Brothers and sisters we believe we did just that.
Each of the three delegates from local 99 were hand selected by Canadian GVP Stan Pickhtall to serve on committees. Matt Barnable was appointed to the energy and natural resources committee, Ryan Fuchko was appointed to the health and safety, benefits and apprenticeship committee and Mark Meldrum to the prestigious sergeant at arms committee which oversaw security of the event. Even with sitting on these committees we had to not lose sight of what we felt we came there to do, and that was to push for meaningful changes for Local 99.
We were contacted before convention by Local 1751 President Vincent Constantineau. He represents many Air Canada workers in Quebec, who wished to join forces with us to lobby for our proposal on allowing electronic balloting. Vincent carried with him a wealth of experience and expertise in lobbying to push for constitutional amendments. We humbled ourselves, and took his advice and knowledge. Learning from those with experience is a cornerstone of what we believe unionism is about and important if we are to grow and improve. With Local 1751 by our side, we spoke in front of the law committee on Monday September 5th to push for our amendment to allow electronic balloting. Matt Barnable, Ryan Fuchko, and our brothers in local 1751 spoke to the law committee to urge them to consider our proposal. Unfortunately, despite all of our efforts, the law committee did not recommend concurrence on this matter and the delegates voted it down due to what they felt were security issues. Ryan Fuchko proposed a motion to allow us to try it on a trial basis overseen by a committee. We believe that much of the opposition is due to legal differences in Canada and U.S. We could not get it passed, but we don’t feel all is lost. Many delegates came to us in support of this, and were also disappointed we could not pass this. Electronic balloting is a huge issue that would greatly help this local due to the geographical span of our membership. We believe it would largely increase voter turnout. We must note that we did get some positive out of this, as the law committee informed us that we can do electronic balloting for contract ratification, just not for election of officers. The law committee was also optimistic that there might be avenues to help us out on this in the future.
In addition to our proposed amendment on electronic balloting, our convention committee submitted an amendment on lowering quorum for membership meetings. Previously it was at 25, which as we all know, can be hard to make due to the multiple meetings we hold and the remote locations we go to. We proposed a reduction to 20 members from 25 for locals larger than 1500 and from 15 to 10 with locals between 500 and 1500. The law committee agreed and recommended concurrence on this. Matt Barnable took to the mic to speak in favour of concurrence on this issue. Our delegation voted to accept this amendment, and we can now say, our local 99, was part of shaping our internationals constitution. If any member would like to see our proposed amendments, along with the law committee‘s recommendation for concurrence and non-concurrence, please contact us and we will be happy to get those files to you.
As all of you know, fires ravaged our great province here in Alberta, particularly in Fort McMurray. The convention dedicated time to speak on this and show a video which featured our members affected from local 99. Brother David Hyde from local 99 was brought up as a guest speaker in his firefighter‘s uniform to speak on his role in fighting the flames. We must admit it was hard to keep a dry eye during this moment, but was an honor to see Dave‘s bravery awarded. We got to thank IP Martinez for reaching out to us, and to all the locals who donated. The support throughout the week was unbelievable, as many people came forward to offer their solidarity or tell us that their local donated to us.
One noted tone of this convention was the support for current International President Bob Martinez. Everyone there seemed to be struck by his down to earth nature, his humility and his compassion. President Martinez is a strong man. We believe in his strength as he would not be leading the machinists otherwise, however he seems to be a man with great empathy as we saw him visibly moved during many of the member‘s tragic stories that were shared throughout. It is early in his term, but so far he carries himself as a man of the people, and it was noted by all the delegates throughout the week.
As stated earlier, it was a historic convention. A large group from Boeing organized themselves, stood in solidarity and took aim at what they felt was injustice to the membership. They distributed leaflets, printed t shirts, and lobbied, lobbied and lobbied some more. They proposed what they called the “membership bill of rights,” which encompassed many constitutional changes. Of these changes, most notably was one disallowing the international president to open up their contract until expiration of said contract. This happened to them in the past with the previous administration, which they felt greatly hurt them. It seemed to be a daunting task for them to push this bill through. The bill was large, and it proposed radical changes. There was skepticism as to whether or not it would pass. Well brothers and sisters, it did pass. This shows the power of a few standing together and FIGHTING for what’s right. The only word for this is “inspiration.” We learned a lot from our Boeing brothers and sisters, as to how to lobby, how to organize and how to fight!
To sum it all up, it was something special to be a part of. It was about more than seeing old friends. It was about more than theatrics. It was about more than seeing the leaders of labour. While all those things were great, we believe it was about seeing what a group can do when united and strong. Be proud brothers and sisters, your local 99 changed the international constitution. Strong relationships were forged to strengthen our local in the future, and help us to push for even more change. So if you ask us if this was worthwhile for our local to send delegates to, we will have to answer with a resounding “Absolutely.” Conventions are hands down the most critical component for the future of the machinists, and if we are not at the table, then our voices cannot be heard, well, they were heard this year. We were proud to represent all of you, and believe we not only achieved but exceeded what one would expect from members of what they call the “Fighting 99.”

Local 99 2016 Chicago Convention Delegates
Mark Meldrum
Matt Barnable
Ryan Fuchko

This video was played at the convention to make the delegates aware of the scope and scale of the wildfire disaster in Fort McMurray.