Negotiating team needs your support more than ever
After delays caused by COVID-19, your negotiating team met with the college for the second time on Feb. 25 and 26, 2021, to continue bargaining for a replacement collective agreement.
At our initial meeting in September, the employer was not prepared to provide the union with its monetary demand for the current round because they were waiting for direction from their principal funder (Alberta’s UCP government).
The parties proceeded to discuss non-monetary items.
The changes we proposed were gathered through interaction with members, consultation with Membership Services Officers (MSOs) and a survey of the full membership, which was conducted to provide direction for this round of bargaining.
We can report many of the amendments we proposed have been agreed to, but there is still work to be done dealing with Layoff and Recall, Contracting Out, Employment Security, Workload and Personal Files and Discipline.
On Feb. 25, the employer provided what it described as a comprehensive package of items for discussion, containing responses to some union positions.
This included a new salary schedule with significant cuts and reductions to cost-share arrangements in Article 35 Health Plan Benefits.
The college held back on tabling proposals on several other monetary articles, including Article 16 hours of Work, Article 17 Overtime and Article 20 Shift Differential/Weekend. The employer said it intended to seek additional cuts in these areas if the union did not accept the salary proposal.
Here are examples of the impact of the employer’s proposed salary reductions:
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%
In addition to the salary reduction, the college is seeking a 10-per-cent cut in the cost-share arrangement for Health Plan Benefits and Dental Benefits.
The monetary proposal, in addition to the recent announcement of an efficiency review being conducted by an external contractor and the college’s lack of commitment to maintaining staffing levels, was very frustrating for your negotiating committee.
The union focused its monetary proposals on providing a reasonable salary increase that would allow members to maintain their standard of living by keeping pace with inflation. The employer’s proposals would see members fall further behind every year as inflation rises.
We also proposed a new parking article to keep control of the recent unreasonable increases and a second LSI Level to provide recognition for the significant contribution senior employees make to the success of the college.
We are scheduled to return to the bargaining table on March 11 and 12 and will continue to work toward a fair collective agreement that meets the needs of the membership.
We need your support more than ever to engage in action to support your negotiating team.
We will be holding virtual meeting following the March bargaining session and we encourage you all to participate. Details will be circulated later.
If you have any questions, please contact one of the members of the negotiating team and we will be happy to respond.
Your negotiating committee
Michael Doughty - mike1975a@gmail.com
Jill Siewert-Lemieux - darryljill@hotmail.com
Karl Marten - treasurer71@outlook.com
Dale Perry, AUPE staff negotiator - d.perry@aupe.org