Members of Executive Council,

Stop the Vote

I write to you today, to once again, to demand that you cease violating the TWU Constitution and Polices and that you stop the current mail-in ballot process, due to the contraventions that have already occurred (as outlined in the attached file) not to mention the following considerations which merit your immediate investigation and action:

- busloads of scabs were brought to both the Edmonton and Calgary TWU offices in order to hand in their ballots
- managers were attempting, in some cases, to enter the union office along with members
- reports from the East which suggest that ballots were being collected at work
- members at the first ratification meeting were not given the correct information with respect to their questions over pension issues (One example of this was Sister Cumming's assurance, at the Prince George meeting, that there was enough money in the plan to allow for the continuation of early retirement.  As per the bulletin that was distributed by the union office yesterday, it now appears that there may be some doubt about that.)
- members could not have contemplated an impact on the plan because they were not given accurate information with respect to the future of the plan, therefore the members were not given an opportunity to vote on the true merits of the tentative agreement
- many members report that they have not, as yet, had access to the full tentative agreement
- members complained that their votes could be seen through the envelopes provided
- Telus appears to be in violation of the Canada Labour Code Part 1 Section 94.1(b) since they are footing the bill for all courier services related to the vote

As stated in my previous correspondence to you, our members deserve better than this.  They need all the pertinent information in hand BEFORE their decision was made and their ballots cast.  They deserve a process that is fair, impartial and one that upholds the constitution and policies of the union.  They do not deserve sloppy representation, mixed messages, half answers, and your refusal to meet with them on issues that will impact them for the rest of their working careers (and quite possibly their retirement). 

You should be aware that some members are currently examining various types of litigation against the TWU because of the lack of proper representation and I certainly anticipate a certain amount of embarrassment will fall at the union's doorstep as result. 

I urge you to do right by the members, call an emergency executive council meeting and put a stop to this current vote.  Then, gather all the information the membership need to make a truly informed decision, hold ratification meetings (as per our Constitution and past practice) and let democracy rule.