February is Black History Month

Black History Month in Canada is a time to celebrate the achievements, culture, and contributions of Black Canadians while also recognizing the history of racism, and ongoing struggles for equality.

First officially recognized in Canada in 1996, Black History Month marked its 30th anniversary this year. Over the years, it has grown to include community events, school programs, art exhibits, and public discussions that honour the legacy of Black leaders, activists, artists, and everyday change-makers who have helped to shape Canada’s history.

CDLC – S’ean-Gillen Memorial Scholarship

We are fortunate to be affiliated with several great organizations. One of which is the Calgary & District Labour Council. One of the benefits of such an affiliation is that our Members and their children are eligible for their two annual scholarships of $2,500.00. The deadline for their scholarship is June 1 of each calendar year. Members in good standing of Local 583 and their dependants are welcome to enter. Visit www.thecdlc.ca/education for more details!

Tax Receipts for our Retired and LTD

We mailed the tax receipts for our Retirees and Members on LTD who paid their dues in 2025.

If you have not yet received yours and you believe you paid dues in 2025 please give us a call and we can look into this for you.

Please note that it is likely your dues are deductible when doing your yearly taxes.

Membership Pins – Mail Out

We are currently in the process of mailing out pins for milestones in 2025. We are a little bit behind due to some internal staffing in the office as well as Elections late last year.

If you hit a milestone in 2025 you will receive a pin and certificate from us in the mail. Please note our milestone pins are in increments of 5, meaning for every 5 years of Membership you will receive a pin.

We are happy to report they should all be mailed out by mid-March.

We will begin mailing 2026 milestones quarterly to better ensure Members receive their pins in a timely fashion.

How Do I Start the Retirement Process?

This is a question we get frequently in the office. We have created a handy guide on the steps to take if you are thinking of retiring:

First, Members should email Pay Services at PayServices2@calgary.ca or call 403-268-5800 to inform HR of their intent to retire.

An alternate way to do this is to download the Intent to Retire form on our website, fill it out and return it to your Foreman for Maintenance, your Exempt Manager for Office or Employee Support Supervisor (ESS) or the ESS admins (cindy.frey@calgary.ca or sukhi.sallan@calgary.ca) for Operations. Please copy ATU 583 as well if you would like to, Jacinda.w@atu583.com. This way we are sure to have the information on time when processing your retirement package provided by the Union

Next, a Pay Administrator will contact the Member and provide all forms, as well as the Member’s LDW [Last day worked], LDP [Last day paid], and effective date based on the employee requested last physical day of work, and whether they are requesting to be paid out or time in lieu.

Once forms are approved, ESS Administrators will send those approved forms to a Pay Administrator for processing.
Then, the Retirement Analyst will then reach out to the Member to discuss retirement options.

We have started posting articles such as this on our website to better assist Members in processes they may be unfamiliar with. In addition to the Retirement Process we also have one on how to submit to WCB. Be sure to take a look at www.atu583.com – the vast majority of our articles do not require you to log in to view them and are a real asset to Members with questions on how things work!

Statutory Holidays and Pay

We get many questions both on our Telegram group and via calls to the office surrounding stat pay. Below we have compiled some of the most common questions and their answers:

Q: If I am on S&A or LTD do I still get paid for the stat (in this instance “the” encompasses all statutory holidays)?
A: You get paid for the stat as a regular S&A or LTD day but you do not get a premium if you do not work the stat. If it falls on what would be a day off within the first 12 months of leave, you will get a banked day in lieu of.

Q: If I am on vacation and the stat falls during my time off, do I get paid for the stat?
A: Yes. For instance, if you have 5 vacation days you would be paid for 5 + the stat or you may request an additional day off.

Q: Can I bank a stat if it falls during my vacation time?
A: Yes. For Office and Maintenance, you can advise your supervisor. For Operators, there are forms to fill out with Dispatch. You will need to give them 2 pay periods notice that you wish to do this. Community Shuttle Operators do not currently have this ability to bank it; however, they will be paid the additional stat pay.

Documentation is Important

Local 583 would like to remind members of the importance of documenting workplace situations and keeping copies of any documents that are submitted.

We understand that no one wants to spend their entire shift completing paperwork. However, if something unusual happens or something just does not sit right, making note of the time, date, location, and people involved can be very helpful. Having clear information makes it easier for the Union office to follow up and provide support if a matter needs to be reviewed.

If you are unsure of someone’s name, it is okay to ask. If you need photocopies of any documents, the Union office is happy to make them for you.

Most members also have a cell phone available, which can be a useful tool for keeping records. This might include saving messages, taking photos where appropriate, or jotting down notes right away. Of course, we must remind you that you should only be using your phone when you are not in the driver’s seat.

Taking a few moments to document important details can go a long way in protecting yourself and helping the Union assist you effectively!

Steward Interviews and Appointments

Officers and the Executive Board are hard at work appointing interested Members to committees or Stewardship OR inviting those interested parties to an upcoming Executive Board Meeting for a short interview with the Board.

We have had such a huge response to our posting that the Executive Board had to call a Special Meeting outside of our regularly scheduled Board meeting each month, in order to go through all of the requests.

That meeting took place February 27th, 2026 and we will be getting in touch with everyone who put their name forward one way or another in the coming weeks.

We are truly blown away by the submissions and thank everyone who put their name forward. We have said many times that our Stewards and Committee members are some of the most important roles in the Union and we continue to be grateful to those who wish to volunteer their time.

ATU International Stewards Training Calgary March 2026

The December 2025 Local elections resulted in a number of new Officers, Executive Board members and Shop Stewards being elected to various positions within the Local. As well, post election the Executive Board appoints additional Stewards in the Office, Maintenance and Operations work areas to assist with representing our members on the shop floor.

To that end, we are excited to announce that the International is hosting 14 of our new Stewards for an intense weekend training in Calgary from March 6th through 8th. There will also be over 20 additional new Stewards from across the province.

We want to thank our Stewards for dedicating their time to attend this import training session and the International for putting this together in such a quick and timely fashion.