AUPE’s Education Department has created a new course to help negotiating teams prepare for bargaining. Register today.
Nearly the entire union is about to enter collective bargaining.
Tens of thousands of members working for the Government of Alberta, Alberta Health Services (AHS), Covenant Health, Post Secondary Institutions, Boards and Agencies and Municipalities, are all set for a new round of negotiations in 2024. Members at several, smaller worksites are entering bargaining too.
Members throughout the union are laser focused on this upcoming round of bargaining, and that’s a message heard loud and clear. In response, AUPE’s Education department created a brand-new bargaining orientation course for all negotiating team members.
“Members set the mandate for their negotiating teams,” says AUPE Vice-President Darren Graham. “I was on our AHS General Support Services negotiating team for several years and, let me tell you, every stance we take and every demand we make is driven by the members and our interests.”
“The most important action members can take is having serious conversations with other members. This is a concept we hammer home in many of our Education courses because it is so important. If you have conversations about negotiations and the issues that matter, we can start asking what we are all prepared to do to make gains at the table and make our lives better.”
The course starts with the basics of bargaining, which helps those who are newly elected to their teams and is an important refresher for more experienced members. After the basics, the course goes through each stage of bargaining, from routine negotiating meetings to mediation, arbitration, and strikes.
AUPE staff support negotiating teams in a number of ways which are reflected in the course as well. Members who take the course will learn all the ways that other AUPE departments, like Negotiations, Organizing, Communications, Essential Services, Disputes and Arbitration support them at the bargaining table. At the same time, the course is designed to focus on the most relevant information for the members taking the course.
“The course is tailored to your workplace and collective agreement,” says Graham. “For example, if Essential Services legislation does not impact your bargaining unit, the course isn’t going to spend time on it.”
One of the most important topics covered is actions members can take to support their negotiating teams. It is extremely difficult for negotiating teams to make gains at the bargaining table without a strong, organized group of members behind them. When members are prepared to take action, including job action, to support their teams, it is easier to make our employers give in to our demands.
Actions can start out small, like wearing AUPE stickers at work or matching coloured clothing on bargaining meeting days. This is a way to show your solidarity before moving on to larger actions, like sharing informative pamphlets about negotiations and organizing rallies. The new bargaining course takes an in-depth look at these actions and how they help negotiating teams.
“The most important action members can take is having serious conversations with other members,” says Graham. “This is a concept we hammer home in many of our Education courses because it is so important. If you have conversations about negotiations and the issues that matter, we can start asking what we are all prepared to do to make gains at the table and make our lives better.”
It’s all about workplace power. If the negotiating teams orientation courses accomplish anything, it will be a renewed energy to fight for what members deserve and for members to feel a renewed sense of ownership of their union. We are going to enter 2024 with aggressive bargaining demands, and members will need to harness all their solidarity to be successful. If we fight, we can win the wage increases, benefits and improved working conditions we deserve.
Registration opened July 6 and closes August 19. You can log in at the AUPE course registration page to register today.
The Bargaining Orientation course schedule is as follows:
- Private Health Care
September 27/28
Edmonton & Calgary
(4 Courses) - Private Health Care
October 4/5
Edmonton & Calgary
(4 Courses) - GOA
October 18/19
Edmonton
(1 Course) - Public Health Care
November 1/2
Edmonton & Calgary
(3 Courses) - Education
November 8/9
Calgary Regional Office
(2 Courses) - Boards and Agencies
November 15/16
Edmonton
(2 Courses) - Private Health Care Opening 2024
November 22/23
Edmonton & Calgary
(4 Courses)