LOCAL 071 CHAPTER 002 – ALL NON-ACADEMIC STAFF
Your negotiating team will apply for enhanced mediation
Olds College has refused to discuss any of the reasonable requests we made when we met on August 3.
Despite telling your negotiating team that it wanted the college to be the employer of choice in Olds, it is refusing to even talk. Shutting the door on workers isn’t going to make the college anyone’s choice employer.
It seems that the college Board of Directors has been given instructions by the Alberta government’s Provincial Bargaining Co-ordination Office (PBCO) and isn’t willing to push back.
How did we get to this point?
On May 26, you voted to reject a tentative agreement that had been reached between your negotiating team and the employer.
Following that vote, your negotiating team met with members to determine next steps. The employer had asked us to bring creative solutions, so we presented five items:
- Job Security for the term of the collective agreement;
- Limiting the amount paid for parking;
- Have three of the current 10 special leave days be unrestricted. If requested, they are granted if operational requirements are met;
- The same “merit increases” or grid increases management will be receiving based on the lifting of the salary restraint for non-union employees; and
- Withdraw agreement to Clause 25.08 and have the carry-over remain status-quo. Currently you are allowed to: ‘… carry forward a vacation entitlement of up to, but not exceeding twenty (20) working days for previous years. This carry over amount is in addition to vacation earned in the current fiscal year.’
Early in the negotiations we agreed in good faith to a carry-over of 10 working days, which would be a roll back, however this was based on numerous variables and the amount of roll backs put on the table by your employer. No one from the employer’s current negotiating team was part of these conversations. Having it remain status quo is a non-monetary item and within the PBCO’s mandate.
We were creative in trying to find solutions, but the employer was clearly not serious about considering anything new.
The current collective agreement is in full force and effect, so nothing agreed to by either party can be implemented until we ratify a collective agreement.
What happens now?
We will be applying to the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) for enhanced mediation.
Meanwhile, we will be working to put an Essential Services Agreement (ESA) in place. An ESA is required by law before negotiations can go to formal mediation.
This agreement is negotiated by the union and employer and determines which services are essential services and must continue during a strike or lockout.
Important notes
Recently, you received communication from the employer saying that your benefit coverage has been renewed with Sunlife.
If you have any discrepancies in your coverage, please contact the human-resources department at the college. If your situation is not fixed, contact your Membership Services Officer (MSO) to file a grievance. You can contact your MSO by calling 1-800-232-7284 or by clicking here.
In the same communication, the college said that long-term disability (LTD) claims were up by 222 per cent.
Your negotiating team told the employer this could be a direct result of the workplace culture created by management, but the employer dismissed this. Again, Olds College shows that it doesn’t like to listen to its workers.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact a member of your negotiating team.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – OLDS COLLEGE
Colin Taylor
colin.het@gmail.com or 403-415-6760 (cell)
Kim Goddard
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Christian Tetreault Negotiations
c.tetreault@aupe.org
Scott Drake Organizing
s.drake@aupe.org
Terry Inigo-Jones Communications
t.inigo-jones@aupe.org