GSBC Update #8 - 10,000 members tune in to bargaining town halls
Update for Locals 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 009 & 012, Government of Alberta
More than 10,000 AUPE members who work for the Government of Alberta (GOA) attended four telephone town-hall meetings on Aug. 14 and 15 to hear about bargaining.
Members asked lots of good questions and heard answers from their Government Services Bargaining Committee (GSBC).
The overwhelming message was that members appreciate the work being done by the GSBC and that the committee has their full support with whatever actions need to be taken.
Steps for a legal strike
Many members had questions about going on strike. Your team shared the following key steps leading up to legal strike action:
- Our collective agreement must be expired;
- We must begin collective bargaining;
- If an agreement is not reached, we must work with a government-appointed mediator;
- There must be a 14-day “cooling-off period” following mediation;
- We must hold a strike vote and majority of those voting must agree to the strike;
- We must give our employer and the mediator 72 hours notice before the strike begins;
- We go on strike.
Sept. 7 Rallies
AUPE's largest bargaining rallies are Saturday, Sept. 7 in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer. You can get the details of those and other rallies here. Please join a rally on your non-work time to show your support.
Negotiations will resume on Sept. 18 and 19, when we will discuss monetary issues. We are also waiting for our Essential Services Agreement (ESA) to be completed, which is now in the hands of the Umpire/Mediator. We hope to have this ESA completed by mid to late September.
Once the ESA is finished, we and the employer have agreed to move to formal mediation. Tentative dates for that mediation have been set for Oct. 8, 9, 10, 21 and 22.
If you have questions, please contact your representative on the GSBC.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – GOVERNMENT SERVICES BARGAINING COMMITTEE (GSBC)
Local 001 Kathleen Buss, GSBC Representative quilterbuss@gmail.com
Local 002 Lorraine Ellis, GSBC Representative lorraine.ellis@shaw.ca
Local 003 Dax Lydiard, GSBC Representative 003bargaining@gmail.com
Local 004 Bowman Pringle, GSBC Representative bowman.pringle@gmail.com
Local 005 Jeffrey Bleach, GSBC Representative Bargaininglocal005@aupe.org
Local 006 Rob Poggemiller, GSBC Representative poggrobe@hotmail.com
Local 009 Russell Clark, GSBC Representative russell.clark@shaw.ca
Local 012 Richard Hansen, GSBC Representative chairlocal012@aupe.ca
AUPE STAFF NEGOTIATOR
James Mitchell, Negotiations j.mitchell@aupe.org