Digitization of the Monthly Insights Letter
Currently, we mail out almost 800 newsletter a month and print an additional 1500 for further distribution. After much discussion on the topic, we have decided to move towards a digital newsletter.
We have already begun compiling emails and will aim to have our newsletter fully, or at least mainly, digital by September 2026.
This is an important move for several reasons. Physical newsletters are a great expense due not only to postage costs but also: printing, supplies, and labour. We are also confined in the amount of information we can disperse via this method, each month, due to space limitations. The environmental impact of sending almost 10,000 pieces of paper out per year, is also very significant.
If you would like to get a head start on updating your information, please email to our admin, or give us a call us at Jacinda.w@atu583.com or 403 258 1258 ext 0 and just let the admin know you would like to update your personal email address for newsletters.
Please note that by providing your contact information to us, you agree to receive information from ATU 583. If you would like to cease receiving information at any time please contact us and we can assist.
ATU 583 Annual Pancake Breakfast
Mark your calendars! Our Annual Pancake Breakfast will take place on Tuesday July 7th, 2026 at the Union Hall! We are located at 208, 57th Ave S.W and the breakfast will be served in Suite 103. Members are welcome to tour Suite 201 as well where the offices are located.
We will have: pancakes, sausages, bacon and more, including vegetarian options!
This event will 9 AM until 4 PM. We have extended the hours as a result of feedback from Members who couldn’t make the “breakfast” hours!
This event is family friendly so please feel free to bring them along.
ATU Local 583 Regular Membership Meetings – Summer 2026
The Membership voted this month to suspend the July and August Regular Membership Meetings. This is something the Executive Board has historically recommended based on low attendance due to a generous uptick in vacation days taken by Members.
We will continue to host our monthly Facebook Live updates to keep the Membership up to date on the goings on of the Local during the summer months.
Negotiations 2026
We expect to have a poll/survey regarding proposals out to the Membership late-August/early-September. Once those proposals from Members have been reviewed, we will have a Special Called Meeting to discuss the package we will be presenting to the City.
Now is a great time to review your CBA and consider what items you believe to be of most importance in this upcoming round of bargaining.
Our Negotiations Committee will also have proposals to go over.
This meeting is for information only.
Once bargaining has commenced, we will keep the Membership as updated as we can. However, in order to not weaken our position at the table, details will likely be at a minimum until we have a memorandum to present to the Membership.
Driver Shields
As this newsletter is typed, Officers are viewing a shield demonstration at Spring Gardens.
We will have an update prepared as soon as possible based on the Officer’s feedback.
It is of utmost importance to Union leadership to ensure our Members are as safe as possible at work. No one, absolutely NO ONE deserves to be assaulted while they are working. This includes verbal assault as well as physical.
All four of our current Officers have driven a bus (whether Conventional or Shuttle) at some point in their careers and all four have experienced verbal or physical assault, or both, while on the job. We are deeply aware of how this affects Members and the result this can have on our ability to feel safe at work.
This type of violence against our Operators is despicable and unacceptable.
These shields are a major step towards better safety and we will not sign off on them until they are truly ready to perform as a barrier for our Operators.
We have said it many times before, but it is no less true today: You deserve to be safe at work; we are doing our very best to ensure this is the case.
Call Ins
This is one of our periodic reminders to please take a representative of the Local with you when you have a call in!
One of your most important rights as a member is to have a Steward with you when you have been called in by management.
Regardless of the status of your working relationship with your Supervisor, we recommend you take a rep in to every such meeting.
Stewards are not only there to ask questions but they also take vital notes, can ensure the call in proceeds appropriately and also be a level of moral support. If you end of being disciplined, the notes a Steward took during the call in process can be invaluable.
Just this year alone over 50 Members have not taken reps in with them during call ins. This number is only an estimate due to circumstances such as, if the call in did not result in a letter, we have no record at all that it even took place.
The process to have a rep there with you could not be simpler. Just call or email the office with at least 24 hours notice (403 258 1258 ext 0 or booking@atu583.com) with the following information: Your full name, badge number if applicable, employee number, the date, time, location and reason for the call in as well as the Supervisor (or Foreman etc.) who called you in. We will confirm a rep can be available. You should be issued the call in with at least 24 hours in which our office is open (so, for example, not on a Saturday when the call in takes place on Monday) so we have time to assign a rep for you.
Even if you decide at the very last minute that you want someone there with you, this is still your right. You can ask your Supervisor before the call in starts, to reschedule so you have a rep with you. They have historically done this with zero issues. If you do run into a problem, please call us immediately at the number provided earlier in this article.
Women’s Committee Garage Sale
May 30th was our first ever Women’s Committee Garage Sale! It was a smashing success with over $600.00 raised.
We could not have done this without the support of Members like you who donated items and/or came down to shop the sale! Thank you!
We would like to thank all of our volunteers who helped unpack, organize and sell the items as well as the volunteers who barbecued up some hoy dogs to boost sales.
Overall it was a great day and we raised a good chunk of money to go towards community donations.
If you would like to read more and see some photos from the day please visit www.atu583.com/news!
COPE 397 /jw
