Lamont County Housing Foundation Local 047 Chapter 026
Your negotiating team for Lamont County Housing Foundation met with the employer on July 19 – 21, and made some progress on non-monetary items. Unfortunately though, the employer is giving us a bad salary offer, which we aren’t willing to accept.
First, the good news: we’ve agreed to a number of non-monetary clauses, which paves the way for a fair contract. Those items include:
3 Application
4 Union Recognition and Business
5 Union Membership, Security, and Check-Off
6 Union Stewards
7 Management Rights
11 Appointments, Promotions and Transfers
18 Resignation
23 Workers’ Compensation
29 Grievance Procedure
32 Uniforms
33 Employee-Management Advisory Committee
5 Workload Appeal Process
6 Contracting Out
But once we had agreed to those basic items, we started to run into disagreements with the employer. First of all, we were proposing a three-year deal, while the employer was proposing a four-year deal. We would only be willing to accept a longer contract if the employer makes it worth our while, which is not the case with their current offer.
Your negotiating team proposed three years of 3.5 per cent salary increases. The employer countered by offering four years, with salary increases of zero, 0.5 per cent, one per cent, and one per cent, in that order—making a total increase of 2.5 per cent over four years. That’s less than what we want in a single year!
Already, 3.5 per cent is a compromise. Inflation is raging out of control, with no signs of slowing down. The most recent update puts annual inflation at 8.1 per cent in Canada—which means that in order just to maintain our purchasing power, we need salary increases of 8.1 per cent. Anything less is effectively a pay cut.
That’s why we’re asking for a total of 10.5 per cent over three years—an amount that is extremely reasonable, considering the uncertainty in the economy right now.
We’ve worked through the past two years of COVID, and we’ve kept ourselves and residents safe. We deserve recognition for the sacrifices that we’ve made. It’s time for employers to thank the people who have kept things running during the pandemic. We won’t accept a bad deal—and the employer’s current salary offer is, to say the least, extremely disappointing.
Our next bargaining dates are August 8 and 9. We will make sure to keep you updated about any progress at the bargaining table. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your negotiating team with any questions, comments, or feedback.
Lamont County Housing Foundation — Negotiating Team
Ben Dubitz bddubitz@gmail.com
Laura Pederson laurapederson8@gmail.com
Cathy Dueck c.j.dueck@shaw.ca
AUPE Staff Resources
Chris Dickson, Negotiator, c.dickson@aupe.org
Tracy Noble, Organizer t.noble@aupe.org
Mimi Williams, Communications Officer m.williams@aupe.org