Pancake Breakfast & Family Picnic
It’s been a busy month for events here at Local 583! Early July we had our Annual Pancake Breakfast.
This event served up pancakes, sausages and other delicious breakfast options for approximately 400 of our Members and their families! It was so busy we ran out of sausages! But not to worry, we will ensure we order more for next year.
Then came our Annual Family Picnic. We were blown away by the attendance – over 800 ATU 583 Members and their families joined us for a day of BBQ, games and camaraderie. It was again so busy we actually ran out of the lunch punch cards, but thanks to some quick thinking from our FST and VP, we had some extra tickets from previous years to use!
Something of interest is that we base our numbers on the previous year (and then a percentage over that to account for new members, new family members etc.). In 2025 we had about 500-600 attendees to our Picnic so this year was a SMASH success! We will certainly continue to account for the growth of these events and are truly humbled by the number of people who came out to spend the day together as co-workers and friends.
Here are the winners of our Bike Draw:
Infant Wagon: Tahir Mahmood
Boy 1-3: Ranjot Meet
Girl 1-3: Brenten Clifton
Boy 4-7: Muhammad Bao
Girl 4-7: Ali Goled
Boy 8-10: Gagandeep Verma
Girl 8-10: Arshad Mahmood
Boy 11-14: Derek Anderson
Girl 11-14: Vikram Bhangal
Youngest in Attendance: Tahir Mahmood (7 months old)
Oldest Member in Attendance: Derek Yu
Four Reasons Why You Should Choose ARTA Over Another Benefit Provider
Choosing a benefit plan can be confusing, as there are more options available than ever before. Whether you are planning for retirement, are currently without an employer-sponsored benefit plan, or are looking for increased coverage levels, ARTA is here to support ATU 583 members with benefit plan options that are as unique as your lifestyle.
Here are the top reasons why over 34,000 ARTA members, including many from the ATU 583 community, continue to choose ARTA Benefits, year after year
ARTA’s Emergency Travel Coverage
Travel should be exciting and stress free. With ARTA’s emergency travel coverage, you are covered for 100% of eligible emergency medical travel expenses for 92 days while travelling outside your province of residence.
ARTA’s emergency travel coverage is unique, as there are no stability clauses for pre-existing conditions. That means even if you have had health complications prior to your trip, you can still access emergency travel coverage, assuming you and your doctor agree that you are healthy enough to travel.
ARTA’s emergency travel plans also include trip cancellation and interruption insurance to help protect your travel investment and minimize losses if you find yourself suddenly unable to travel. Whether it’s an unexpected illness, family emergency, or any other last-minute disruption, ARTA has you covered.
Paramedical Practitioner Coverage
Your health benefit plan should support your wellness goals — not limit them. That’s why ARTA offers what is called an “annual combined maximum” for paramedical services like massage therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractor visits, and more. On average, members who make paramedical claims use only one or two practitioners per year. So why should you pay for massage coverage if you don’t use it? Combining paramedial coverage into one category allows ARTA members to get more out of the services they want, without having unused coverage for services they don’t use.
A Financially Sustainable, Not-For-Profit Association
ARTA is a not-for-profit association, and prides itself on putting the needs of ARTA members before any fiscal bottom line or subsidizing another plan. Because of this non-profit model, all funds generated by member premiums stay within the plan, allowing us to keep rates low, make plan improvements, and ensure members always get the most out of their coverage. Some benefit plans offer their members a discount when they apply at a certain time during the year. ARTA doesn’t have any profit margins built into our monthly premiums, so our rates are as low as they can possibly be while keeping the plan stable and sustainable for the future.
ARTA’s Ancillary services
ARTA is more than a Health Benefit Plan provider; it is a vibrant, robust organization that offers members a wide variety of services. Through your ARTA membership you can access a wealth of wellness information and activities that can keep you connected, active, and vibrant in retirement. ARTA runs annual wellness walks, photo contests, offers scholarships for family members, and much, much more.
Saving money is important, especially when you are retired. That’s why we have the ARTA Perks discount program. ARTA members can use this program to save money at various retail outlets, restaurants, hotels, and much more!
Unique Among Benefit Plan Providers
Joining ARTA means more than just enrolling in a health benefit plan, it means becoming part of a supportive community that prioritizes your wellbeing at any stage of life. With comprehensive and flexible coverage, emergency travel coverage, dental care options and access to ARTA’s membership advantages, ARTA supports our members before and during retirement, through whatever life brings.
Eligibility
• Member of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583 (ATU) for a minimum of 2 years.
• Must be a permanent resident of Canada (excluding Quebec) and enrolled in all applicable provincial or territorial health care plans.
• Surviving spouses may apply for or transfer benefits after the plan member’s death
Care Calgary Members – New to ATU 583!
We would like to welcome our newest Members and a new bargaining Unit – Care Calgary! We now have 66 new Members who provide the same service as our Accessible Transit Operators!
For those that may not know, members of Care Calgary reached out to us regarding their concern that their CBA was not being appropriately bargained by their previous union. ATU 583 set out to see if the membership of Care Calgary as a whole was interested in being represented by Local 583. The rules around changing unions are complex but the short of it is that it went to a vote and over 70% of the Care Calgary members voted to be represented by ATU 583.
We have given notice to the management side of Care Calgary that we would like to set a meet and greet and to open negotiations. We are in the midst of setting up some dates and will keep the Membership informed as we proceed.
Thank you very much to the AFL for their support in this endeavor as well as thanks to our own Nathan Lewis and Cheryl Lundvall for their hard work with this process.
Once again, welcome to our new Members! We’re glad to have you here.
Allstate Insurance Discounts for Members
We are delighted to inform the Membership that Allstate has been able to reinstate the discounts for ATU 583 Members.
If you need insurance be sure to give Steve Watmough a call or send him an email, and see if the discount offered is the right one for you!
Cell: (403) 993-8359 or email SWatmough@allstate.ca
Please note that the discount offered will vary person to person as everyone’s needs for insurance are different. Additionally, you will need to contact Steve directly to partake in the discount.
Upcoming Meetings:
The Care Calgary BU will have their inaugural membership meetings:
Thursday August 6th, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the Union Hall located at Suite 103, 208 57th Ave SW (Calgary)
(Completed, for info only)
Sunday August 9th, 2026 at 11:00 AM at the Union Hall.
(Completed, for info only)
Regular Membership Meetings resume in September:
Tuesday September 8th, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the Union Hall.
Saturday September 12th, 2026 at 11:00 AM at the Union Hall
All Members in good standing with the Local are welcome at these meetings.
COPE 397 /jw
