Your negotiating team met with the employer on Jan. 20. We came ready to discuss wages, but the employer was not – even though they promised they would be.
Not only were they unprepared, what they did have to say was also very disappointing.
They did not even want to talk about “me too” wage increases, which is the proposal that our wages increase the same as Alberta Health Services workers. Obviously, Optima does not believe we deserve the same respect as AHS staff who do the same work.
Our wages have not gone up since 2021, even though wages for workers at other facilities have.
Costs are going up, but our paychecks are not. This cannot continue. We cannot live like this. Caring for residents is hard work, and Optima needs to pay us fairly for our work. It is going to be up to us to demand respect and pushback. We must prepare to fight for what we deserve.
Our next bargaining meeting is Feb. 3. We have asked the employer to provide a full written response to our wage proposal at that meeting.
If you have any questions about this update, please contact a negotiating team member.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – YARROW WILDROSE
Stella Diaz
sbangalisan.24@gmail.com or 780-721-6496
Inna Tarady
innataradai53@gmail.com or 780-884-6280
Praveena Naidu
praveena.narayan@hotmail.com or 780-721-3841
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Merryn Edwards de la O, Negotiations
m.edwardsdelao@aupe.org