AUPE gears up for mediation with Bow Valley College
CALGARY – After months at the bargaining table, nearly 250 members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees are gearing up for mediation with their employer, Bow Valley College.
“We started bargaining back in July, but the employer refuses to acknowledge economic reality,” said AUPE staff negotiator John Wevers. “So far they have not budged from an offer that falls well below what’s going on in the education sector.”
AUPE applied for a provincially appointed mediator in early October. Wevers expects the process to begin by the end of the month.
“We have made every reasonable effort to negotiate a fair and realistic collective agreement, but management maintains a middle-of-the-pack approach to bargaining,” said Wevers.
To demonstrate their resolve for a fair collective agreement and to protest recent cutbacks, layoffs and outsourcing, AUPE members at the college have instituted “blue Wednesdays,” where they wear blue to show their solidarity.
AUPE President Guy Smith said, “in the end, this is about respect for the hard-working support staff Bow Valley College. AUPE is committed to ensuring that all our members get collective agreements that reflect the valuable contributions they make in the workplace.”
AUPE is Alberta’s largest union, with nearly 80,000 members in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. It represents over 9,000 support staff at post-secondary institutions and school districts around the province.