The employer cancelled our scheduled Oct. 24-25 meetings which were intended to discuss the renewal contract and focus on our non-monetary proposals addressing systemic site issues and leadership concerns.
Initially your negotiating team reached out to the employer to outline our approach of presenting non-monetary proposals first. This was to emphasize the urgent need to tackle significant problems highlighted in recent survey results among our members, which indicated widespread dissatisfaction with site management.
Unfortunately, during the discussions the employer's lawyer refused to meet if we were only discussing our non-monetary proposals, insisting instead on monetary discussions which effectively led to the scheduled meetings being cancelled. They stated they would not meet in person without a more substantial monetary proposal.
In contrast, the owner of the company showed a willingness to listen and find common ground but was largely overshadowed by the lawyer’s aggressive tactics.
The issues of poor site management are longstanding and have only intensified since our unionization, making it crucial that these concerns be addressed effectively and our non-monetary proposal is looking to address these concerns and attempts to take the clear bias and favouritism out of the work site, using a seniority-based approach.
This cancellation highlights the ongoing challenges in communication and the need for the owner to take a more active role in fostering constructive discussions that truly address our critical concerns.
Your negotiating team will be discussing our next steps, including the next meeting dates, and share an update once details have been confirmed. If you have any questions or concerns about this bargaining update, please contact a member of your negotiating team or the Member Resource Centre, toll-free, at 1-800-232-7284.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – WHITEHORN VILLAGE
Stacy Ryan
staceyryanchipman@gmail.com 403-589-6688
Susan Kuriakose
susanplanchottil@yahoo.com
Sam Oros
samoros2017@gmail.com
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Christian Tetreault, Negotiator
c.tetreault@aupe.org