• Workplace privacy: The employer will be responsible for telling you about cameras and surveillance tools used in the facilities. The appropriate uses of these tools are defined in the article.
• No discrimination/harassment: This will protect our mental and physical health on and off the job. The article will protect us with a formal complaint process we can access if we experience harassment or discrimination by anyone at work including management, residents, visitors and coworkers. The employer must follow timelines for resolving our complaints.
• Bulletin Board: Moving forward we’ll be provided with a union bulletin board, where we can post bargaining updates, posters for union meetings and other important information. Check the board to stay up-to-date on the issues that affect you.
All of these provisions will go a long way in creating a more respectful, worker-centric workplace, where we can continue to stand up for each other’s wellbeing and residents’ wellbeing.
We also signed off on a requirement that the employer provide AUPE with your contact information that will allow your union to better advocate for you.
We don’t have our collective agreement yet, but we still have tools for protecting ourselves. Since organizing, you’ve continued to come forward with your concerns, and as a result we’ve been able to advocate for staff. Remember, you always have the right to union representation. If your manager calls a meeting with you, or if you have any workplace concerns, call or email your Membership Services Officer (MSO):
Guy Quenneville
Work: 1-800-232-7284
Cell: 780-237-8253
Email: g.quenevill@aupe.org
Our next bargaining dates are scheduled for Aug. 13, 14 and 15. We’ve asked the employer to come prepared with their monetary proposals for those dates.
The Interim Grievance Procedure
On June 10, AUPE came to a settlement with Chartwell, winning an interim grievance procedure for staff, which we can use until we secure our first collective agreement.
This is a big achievement, and a direct result of your mobilization. After you continued to bring forward your concerns, AUPE filed a complaint against the employer with the Alberta Labour Relation Board (ALRB). The interim grievance procedure was a negotiated resolution to that complaint, and it is another tool we can use to protect our wellbeing, giving our AUPE representatives more ways to advocate for us.
If you’re having any problems at work, please continue to call, text and email your MSO at 1-800-232-7284(w), 780-237-8253(c), or g.quenevill@aupe.org and see if the interim grievance procedure can help you.
Making Progress
The interim grievance procedure you achieved is reflective of the larger protections we’ve made since joining AUPE. At our meetings in July, we secured a formal grievance procedure that will replace the interim process once our first collective agreement is in place. We also challenged layoff notices issued to some staff at Griesbach, and we’ve elected OH&S representatives to advocate for our health and safety in all three sites.
Thank you for standing behind each other through challenges like this. If you have any questions, please contact your negotiations team.
CHARTWELL BARGAINING TEAM MEMBERS:
Benjamin Kiwang ysagada1972@yahoo.com or 780-885-3210
Stella Diaz sbangalisan.24@gmail.com or 780-721-6496
Bernie Kelly bkelly58@shaw.ca or 780-717-9130
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF:
Merryn Edwards AUPE Negotiator m.edwards@aupe.org
Farris Sobhani Organizer f.sobhani@aupe.org or 780-271-0728
Celia Shea Communications c.shea@aupe.org or 780-720-8122