Your negotiating team met with Olds College late in December with hopes of concluding negotiations and having a tentative agreement for us to vote on.
Unfortunately, the employer proposed rolling back parts our benefit package, and there was no way your team was going to agree to that. The employer also refused to include any monetary increases for 2022, and we took the position there must be an increase in 2022 based on what our membership has endured over the last two years and rising inflation rates.
We have not scheduled more negotiating meetings at this time. We want to hear your feedback and questions at our Annual General Meeting before doing so (more information below).
Government interference at Olds College
Post-secondary workers across Alberta have noticed the same thing at the bargaining table: namely, the Government is directing the employers’ negotiations and putting restrictions on what they are allowed to offer us at the table. Most universities, colleges, and technological institutes are proposing monetary packages very similar to what the Government offered public sector workers.
Your team is seeing this at our bargaining table as well. It is especially infuriating when we remember how the government forced massive layoffs at our college in 2020. We think it’s time the government stopped meddling in our contracts and let us negotiate freely with Olds College’s representatives to move forward in bargaining. The recent faculty association strikes at Concordia University in Edmonton and the University of Lethbridge proves that post-secondary workers have had enough!
Attend our Annual General Meeting!
Join our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, March 1 at 4:00 p.m. We will be meeting on Zoom, so please check your email for the link to the meeting!
Our negotiator, Christian Tetreault, will be there to answer your questions about bargaining and what comes next.
If you have questions about your AGM, please email your Membership Services Officer, Shelley Makowski, at s.makowski@aupe.org
Please reach out to your Negotiating Team members or AUPE Resource Staff if you have any questions about bargaining.
Olds College Negotiating Team
Colin Taylor colin.het@gmail.com or (403) 415-6760
Hannah Ayearst h.ayearst@gmail.com or (403) 679-1204
AUPE Resource Staff
Christian Tetreault, Negotiator c.tetreault@aupe.org
Scott Drake, Organizer s.drake@aupe.org
Alexander Delorme, Communications a.delorme@aupe.org