A small change was made to Article 5.2(a) that increased the composition to the Union’s bargaining committee by two (2) to include both the Union President as well as the CUPE National Servicing Representative, at no cost to the Employer.
With the deadline of April 5, 2021 fast approaching for members to express an interest on sitting on the Unions 2022 Bargaining Team we wanted to take a moment to provide some information that may be of interest to members considering putting their names forward.
In recent years our local has tried to focus on three primary areas of concern:
- Job Security
- Wages/Benefits
- Working Conditions
Unfortunately we are no longer able to bargain wages/benefits at the local level and we are well aware this is the number one priority for the majority of our members, the best we can hope for is a strong team at the Provincial table that will be advocating for this. As such we need to turn our minds to enshrining strong language in our C.A. when it comes to our other two priorities. This is done by taking the time to find, or draft, language that would best serve, if not all, the majority of our members.
It is also important to keep in mind that almost everything we hope to gain by way of good language will have a cost associated with it, we need to be proactive in determining that cost for both new language, or existing language should we choose to use it as a bargaining chip.
There will be training opportunities provided to the bargaining team that will take place during working hours, but there will be an expectation for some work to be done outside of the workday. The team will also begin attending monthly coordinated bargaining meetings; this will give everyone a chance to meet and discuss issues with members from other K-12 locals in the valley; these are often held on Friday’s between 9:00am-2:00pm. While our team will endeavour to hold meetings leading up to bargaining during work hours, there may be some times where this is not possible in which case meetings after work, or on the weekends will need to happen on your own time.
The time spent at the bargaining table with the Employer will, for the most part, be held during working hours and upon the successful completion of bargaining the team will be disbanded.
We would ask any interested members to please advise via email at unionoffice@cupe411.ca on or before April 5, 2021. The Union will then proceed to set-up five separate Zoom Meetings, one for each division, where members will be able to vote for their chosen representative. The goal is to have the committee established by April 15, 2021.
If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact the Union President at 604-392-1411 (office) or 604-316-9923 (cell) for answers.
In Solidarity