PLEASE NOTE: There has been a change to the voting time on the morning of Nov. 21. Voting in that period will now close at 7:30 a.m.
After significant delays, your negotiations team for Copper Sky Lodge is happy to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with the employer for our next collective agreement.
On Oct. 19, the agreement was finalized. While it doesn’t contain all the improvements we were hoping to achieve, it does contain some significant gains for us, including:
- Retroactive and future wage increases of:
- From April 1, 2019: 0.5 per cent
- From Jan. 1, 2020: 0.5 per cent
- From April 1, 2020: one per cent
- From the date of ratification: one per cent
- From Jan. 1, 2022: one per cent
- Night shift differential increases ($4.50 upon ratification, $5 on Jan. 1, 2022)
- Charge pay increase to $1.50
- Part-time/casual holiday pay increases to 5%
- Improved vacation (effective Jan. 1, 2022)
- Clarified vacation planning process
- More members now eligible for benefits (FTE for eligibility reduced to .568 from current .6, capturing part-timers on evenings)
- Flex Spending Account increased to $750
- Protection against benefit and RRSP plan changes and improved access to plan info
- Improved RRSP matching (ranging from $35 - $55 biweekly up from $25-35 current)
To see the full Memorandum of Understanding, check it out on AUPE’s site here. Anything that is not covered in that document will remain unchanged from our current contract.
With these changes, your negotiations team is encouraging you to vote yes on this proposal. We believe that it contains substantial improvements and will leave us in a strong position to make further gains in the next round of bargaining.
What happens next is up to you. Here’s how you can make your voice heard through our democratic process.
Information meeting about the agreement
Your negotiations team is organizing an information meeting about the agreement, where we can answer any questions that you have. Remember to attend, and tell your co-workers about it!
The meeting will take place on Nov. 16, at 10:30 a.m. It will be on Zoom, with the meeting ID of 854 9775 3846.
You can also go use the following URL to join the meeting when it starts: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85497753846
How and where to vote
Voting will take place in person, at the worksite, in the separated area of the Bistro. It will be open over the following periods of time:
- November 21: between 6:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., plus between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
- November 22: between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., plus between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., plus between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be able to have a group discussion and debate of the vote at the polling stations. We will enter the polling area, one at a time, and cast our ballot. In between each voter, we will be thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting all touch-points in the voting area, to ensure that we are following the best practices of public health guidelines.
This decision is important for you and your co-workers, and it’s important that we come to a decision together. Your negotiations team encourages you to speak to your co-workers about this proposal, and make sure that everyone makes their voice heard by voting. Of course, it’s important that those conversations do not take place on employer-paid time.
Together, we can finally reach a new collective agreement, with gains that reflect the work that we do every day. Let’s bring this across the finish line.
Your negotiations team is preparing for an online meeting in the lead-up to the vote, to discuss the tentative agreement. We will be contacting your again shortly with the details.
In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to your negotiations team with any questions, comments, or feedback.
YOUR NEGOTIATIONS TEAM
Mahar Alana: alanaw336@hotmail.com
Shelly Reid: slareid@hotmail.com
AUPE STAFF RESOURCES
Merryn Edwards, Negotiator: m.edwards@aupe.org
Jaime Urbina, Organizer: j.urbina@aupe.org
Mimi Williams, Communications Officer: m.williams@aupe.org