Housekeeping and food-service workers at AgeCare SkyPointe are still members of AUPE and continue to have the protection of a collective-bargaining agreement.
There has been confusion over your status since your jobs were transitioned from AgeCare to Aramark, but you have always been and continue to be members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).
This means that all the terms and conditions of the collective agreement that existed before Aramark took over are still in place.
If you have any problems at work, your union is still here for you. Some members have reported issues with vacations, benefits, shift schedules and union dues.
We will help you to resolve these issues, but to do that we need to hear from you. Please contact AUPE and provide your pay stubs so we can determine what needs to be done to correct any errors.
You can contact AUPE in a number of ways:
- Talk to Local 084 Chapter 007 chapter chair Fe Timpac, flame.iron76@gmail.com. She is also a steward.
- Talk to work-site steward Raquel Feliciano, rsfeliciano@yahoo.com.
- Contact the Member Resource Centre here or by calling 1-800-232-7284. Ask to talk to your Membership Services Officer (MSO) Prachi Mishra.
Transition issues
Problems reported by members include:
Vacations: Aramark has been paying out some members for vacations rather than allowing them to bank them.
Benefits: Initially, Aramark stopped deductions from your paycheques for benefits. Later, it reinstated them, but at an inflated rate. Some members were told that benefits would not start until February of this year, even though they should have remained constant.
Shift schedules: The employer stopped emailing shift schedules to members, meaning you were no longer getting two weeks’ notice of what your schedule should be. Two weeks’ notice is required under your collective agreement.
Union dues: Aramark temporarily stopped collecting union dues.
Pushing back
AUPE has been pushing back on these issues, but Aramark’s responses to our questions weren’t satisfactory.
We escalated our action by filing two policy grievances, one about union dues and one about vacations. More policy grievances may be filed soon.
Meanwhile, AUPE came to agreement with Aramark and AgeCare to file a joint application to the ALRB to formally recognize your status as AUPE members.
While we wait for this to be processed, our policy grievances and other efforts to address issues caused by the transition continue. Stay tuned for updates.
