Bargaining Update—Edmonton Chinatown Multi-Level Care Foundation
Bargaining at the Edmonton Chinatown Care Centre has, unfortunately, reached a roadblock when your negotiating team last met with the employer on June 16 and 17.
We’ve been bargaining over monetary issues, and the employer wants to cut the length of shifts for Health Care Aides (HCAs) from 7.75 hours to 7.5 hours, with a commensurate pay cut that equals more than 3 per cent. This position is unacceptable to your negotiating team.
The only way we would agree to the shift length reduction is if the lost pay was made up for, in full, elsewhere (like improvements to benefits, for example). The employer has refused to fully make up for the loss, and has only partially offset it in their latest proposal. On top of that, their wage increase is only for one per cent increases in 2022 and 2023, despite the rapidly rising cost of living.
With inflation hitting eight percent and rising, and after two years of dedicated service during the pandemic, we have no reason to accept peanuts from the employer. We want the recognition that we deserve.
That’s why we’re hosting a meeting with all of our fellow AUPE members to discuss what comes next. We need to decide together how to respond to the employer dragging their heels and refusing to give us a fair deal.
We will be meeting on July 24 from 1pm to 4pm. Mark your calendars, because it’s important! The decision we make together about how to move forward will be a kay part of how strong our next collective agreement is. We need to make that decision together.
You should also tell all your co-workers about the meeting, and encourage them to attend. The more people show up, the stronger our position will be at the bargaining table. Just remember, don’t have union conversations on employer-paid time — do it on unpaid breaks or before/after your shift.
Your negotiating team will have more details for you soon. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the committee-members with any questions, comments, or feedback.
Your Chinatown Care Centre negotiating team:
Barni Mahmoud: gobeye@yahoo.com (780-885-4866)
Yanan (Anna) Zheng: yananzheng512@gmail.com (780-901-2712)
Yinghua Li: yinghuali61@hotmail.com (780-709-5610)
AUPE staff resources:
Merryn Edwards, negotiator: m.edwards@aupe.org
Michelle Szalynski, organizer: m.szalynski@aupe.org
Jon Milton, communications officer: j.milton@aupe.org