Bargaining Update—St Therese Villa: Local 040, Chapter 011, All Staff
Your negotiating team is happy to announce that we’ve reached a tentative agreement with the employer at our last bargaining session on August 4. Now, it is up to you and your co-workers to decide whether to accept this deal.
If we accept, the agreement will run retroactive from April 1, 2020 to March 30, 2024. The first year and a half of that time will have no pay increases, followed by a one per cent raise across the board retroactive to October 1, 2021, a 1.25 per cent pay increase on September 1, 2022, and a two per cent pay increase on April 1, 2023.
In addition to those modest increases, we would also receive a lump sum payment of one per cent of our salaries for all regular hours worked in 2021 as a COVID bonus. Any worker who has been with St. Therese for more than 20 years would also receive a two per cent pay increase.
The agreement contains improvements around appointments which would allow you to take medical appointments under two hours without removing time from the sick leave bank.
Other improvements include a better holiday policy, in which the employer will recognize any holiday proclaimed by the provincial or federal government—which means we would get an additional holiday on Truth and Reconciliation Day on September 30. The employer will also pay $250 for active registration in the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA). We increased flexibility with Personal Days, and would now be able to take them in either full or half-day increments.
With all these improvements in mind, your negotiating team is recommending you vote Yes to this tentative agreement and adopt it. These improvements will leave us well-placed to come into the next round of negotiations strong and make even more improvements.
Voting will take place on September 15, 2022, and it will occur in-person on the worksite. It’s very important that you vote and make your voice heard! Our union is only as strong as our participation, so make sure that you vote—and tell your co-workers about the vote as well! Just remember not to have union conversations on employer-paid time.
In the coming weeks you will be emailed the entire tentative collective agreement, a tracking sheet that shows all the specific language changes during this round, and the hours and room where the in-person vote will take place on September 15, 2022.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to the members of your negotiating team with any questions, comments, or feedback.
Your AUPE Negotiations team.
Sherry Galbraith – sherrygalbr@yahoo.ca
Nancy Seymour – gogirlnance@hotmail.ca
AUPE staff representatives
Christian Tetreault, Negotiator c.tetreault@aupe.org
Jon Milton, Communications j.milton@aupe.org