Bargaining Update: Bargaining stalls – we’re not backing down.
Your Lethbridge College AUPE negotiating team met with the employer on May 6th and 7th to continue negotiations. We signed off on another seven Articles and 3 letters of understanding during these meetings.
However, we did not find common ground with the employer when it comes to wages and other improvements. The college is sticking to the UCP government’s plan that your team reported on in our last bargaining update: wage rollbacks, reducing normal working hours for newly hired employees in some classifications to seven hours per day instead of eight, and a 10-per-cent cut to the cost-share arrangement for Health Plan Benefits and Dental Benefits.
Here are some examples of the employer’s proposed salary rollbacks, which include cut of up to 5.6%:
Class Level 3
Current Step 1 $18.04 Step 3 $19.59 Step LSI $21.75
Proposed Step 1 $18.04 Step 3 $19.15 Step LSI $20.63
-0% -2.3% -5.4%
Class Level 7
Current Step 1 $23.39 Step 3 $25.47 Step LSI $28.25
Proposed Step 1 $23.39 Step 3 $24.83 Step LSI $26.74
-0% -2.6% -5.6%
Class Level 11
Current Step 1 $30.40 Step 3 $33.09 Step LSI $36.68
Proposed Step 1 $30.40 Step 3 $32.27 Step LSI $34.76
-0% -2.5% -5.5%
Your team is solid. We refuse to accept rollbacks and are looking forward to bargaining with the help of a mediator in the future.
Essential Services and Mediation
Before we can bargain with a mediator, we must first have an Essential Services Agreement (ESA) in place. Your bargaining team is working with the AUPE Essential Services Department to get this process started.
All services we provide for the college are essential, but an ESA is a very technical document that does not judge what is “essential” in the normal sense. An ESA lists the services that are needed to protect the life, personal safety or health of the public, or necessary to the maintenance and administration of the rule of law or public security.
We must negotiate our ESA in order to continuing bargaining with the help of a mediator. Once we have the ESA we can work toward a settlement with the assistance of a mediator and should we be unable to reach a settlement we can further exercise our right to take legal strike action to support our positions. Similarly, the ESA is required if our employer decides to lock us out of our own worksite.
We will share more information about our progress negotiating an ESA in the future.
Small Progress
Here is what we signed off on during our meetings on May 6th and 7th:
• Art 13 Personal files and Discipline – We gained 24-hour notice for disciplinary meetings.
• Art 15 Classification – The language is now gender neutral.
• Article 17 Overtime – No change (no reductions).
• Article 20 Shift Diff/Weekend Premium – No change (no reductions).
• Article 23 Maternity / Adoption Leave – Increased parental leave to 62 weeks to bring it up to new employment standards.
• Art 27 Annual Vacation – Small changes to leave approval language.
• Article 41 Implementation of Salary Schedule – No change (no reductions).
• LOU – Maternity Leave Allowance – No change (no reductions).
• LOU – Position Review – Minor changes to remove old dates.
• New LOU Classification Review – The employer has agreed to conduct a complete review of all bargaining unit classifications to ensure proper pay for duties and responsibilities.
Thank you for your continued support. Without you, our task of fighting against the employers proposed rollbacks would be impossible. It is time for all of us to stand up and voice our displeasure with the College’s lack of respect for the important work we do.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your negotiating team or AUPE resource staff.
Lethbridge College AUPE Negotiating Team
Michael Doughty - mike1975a@gmail.com
Jill Siewert-Lemieux - darryljill@hotmail.com
Karl Marten - treasurer71@outlook.com
AUPE Resource Staff
Dale Perry, Negotiator, d.perry@aupe.org
Darcy Thiessen, Organizer, d.thiessen@aupe.org
Terry Inigo-Jones, Communications, t.inigo-jones@aupe.org