We will use every tool we can to reach a fair collective agreement
Your negotiating team met with the employer on May 3. The employer opened with a barely-improved offer of:
- Year 1: 0%
- Year 2: 0%
- Year 3: 0%
- Year 4: 0%
- Year 5: 0.75%
- Year 6: 0.75%
- Year 7: 0.75%
- Plus a 0.75% lump sum in recognition of work performed during Covid for the year 2021.
This wage offer is nowhere near the ballpark of where it needs to be. Your negotiating team will not agree to this insulting offer.
Once again, the employer tried to justify this offer by saying they “are not Alberta Health Services.” But we told them – that is not our problem. We are seeking a fair collective agreement, and AHS sets the pattern and several agreements have recently been reached by AUPE that mimic AHS.
Good Sam members are not worth less than those who do the same work but get paid more. We will not agree to take anything less than the wages accepted by members in AHS:
- April 1, 2020: 0%
- Oct. 1, 2021: 1%
- Sept. 1, 2022: 1.25%
- April 1, 2023: 2%
- Plus a 1 % lump sum for hours worked in 2021.
Your negotiating team countered with a very slight change to our offer, which brings us to 0.5% above the AHS deal. Following that, we discussed our next steps, including voluntarily going to binding arbitration.
The employer could not quickly agree to that, but they committed to considering it and said they will get us an answer in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, the parties continue to work on the Essential Services Agreement. Once that has been completed – which we anticipate will be in June 2023 – we will proceed to formal mediation. The ESA determines if we have the right to strike or if the parties must go to compulsory arbitration instead.
While we don't know what path we will take if mediation fails – we need to be ready to use every tool available to us to reach a fair collective agreement.
Your negotiating team thanks you for your patience and sticking together through this process. We know this is taking a long time, but at this point, the fault lands squarely at the employer’s feet. They cancelled our meeting dates – and when they finally showed up – they came to us with a horrible offer that in no way demonstrates that they understand your worth.
Simply put, they know what it will take to get the deal – they just don't want to. But we will keep fighting to get the contract you deserve.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – GOOD SAMARITAN SOCIETY (CONTINUING CARE)
Betty Wiebe
timbetty@telus.net
Debbie Caplette
acdcfam@telus.net
Diana Bigelow
dianabigelow@gmail.com
Tahera Khalfan
taherakhalfan@gmail.com
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Kate Robinson Negotiations
k.robinson@aupe.org
Mary Riemer Organizing
m.riemer@aupe.org
Michelle Szalynski Organizing
m.szalynski@aupe.org
Maureen Mariampillai Communications
m.mariampillai@aupe.org