Dear colleagues and fellow CMGers:

With the start of a new year, it seemed like a good time to take stock of some of the activities of the CP/BN branch and to look ahead to some of what’s to come.

Strategic Planning
Members of the branch executive, supplemented by Gary Norris from the business department, met separately last week with the chairs of three of the working committees set up by the board of directors to develop a strategic plan for The Canadian Press/Broadcast News. These working groups, looking at Commercial Services, Photos, and the Digital Newsroom have completed their work and will deliver a preliminary report to the Executive Committee of the board. Another committee, Tiers & Pricing will now begin its work and all of the material will eventually go to Implications Committee.

We were encouraged by what we heard.
? The solid commitment CP/BN members have to the membership exchange.
? A strong appreciation for the value CP/BN delivers and it’s importance to them and the national media.
? A preliminary recommendation to loosen some of the things that restrict the company’s ability to compete in the marketplace and so earn more cash.

Of course, we must emphasize that these are recommendations; how the board will react and what it chooses to do with them remains to be seen.

While a separate communiqu? will soon be issued with more details, from our perspective, the meetings afforded us the opportunity to stress that CP/BN needs to be properly resourced if we are to fulfill an increasingly complex mandate. We emphasized that basic contribution levels from our owners have not increased for a decade and raising more money commercially won’t help us if that simply allows members to lower their investment in the company. If CP/BN is to continue its historic role as serving their needs as a valuable and cost-effective national institution, they need to put their money where their mouths are. We also emphasized that all staff need to be fully informed and involved as decisions are made about future directions.

Location Executive Elections
Please keep an eye out for details about location executive elections in your bureau. Elections must be held before the end of February. I urge you to consider running for office as both a way to give something back to your colleagues and your union and to ensure your ideas for improving the workplace and union are heard. There is always work to be done and the more hands to do it, the lighter the load. Most important, we always need energy and brainpower. At the very least be sure to vote where positions are contested.

CMG Convention ? April 28-30
Toronto and Montreal need to elect delegates to attend the Guild’s biennial national convention in Calgary in April. All location unit presidents (or their designate) are automatic delegates and represent their bureaus; Toronto and Montreal are entitled to extra delegates because of their size.

This year the convention is combined with the Branch Executive/Presidents Council meeting so there should be an excellent opportunity to touch base both with our own colleagues as well as with other members of our growing Guild family.

Thanks to all who voted in the recent ratification of the tentative agreement, and to Karine Fortin, James Stevenson, Scott Edmonds and staff rep Kathy Viner who served on the bargaining committee that reached the agreement. Through their efforts, and especially because of your support for those efforts, the committee was able to make modest gains while resisting any further concessions.

Finally, I want to draw your attention to the recent job posting at CP/BN for the Online Video Co-ordinator. This is an opportunity to be at the front of a very interesting development and to actually shape an emerging field in a dramatic, creative and long-lasting way. As branch treasurer Gillian Livingston put it, “This shows that CP/BN is ready to embrace new media technologies, and that’s a necessity for the company to remain on top.”

Please keep your feedback coming. Feel free to contact any member of the Branch Executive: Gillian Livingston (glivingston@rogers.com); Martin O’Hanlon (mohanlan@sympatico.ca); Scott Edmonds (tsedmonds@yahoo.ca); or myself (perkx@sympatico.ca) as well as Guild staff representative, Kathy Viner (kathy@cmg.ca)

All the best for 2006!
Regards,

Colin
CP/BN National Branch President
Canadian Media Guild