Bulletin
New Collective Agreement Update
January 27, 2022
To: All MoveUP members at BCGEU
After meeting with your “workload committee” made up of myself and Job Stewards Doris Stowe and Lanna Mindel, we have decided that a bulletin update should come out to the membership.
First, the workload committee held the first session on January 19, 2022, to discuss the committee and establish parameters for a meeting. Your stewards have done a great job canvassing the membership and have compiled a list with numerous issues, concerns, and suggestions that we will share with the employer before we meet again as a committee next month. Thanks so much to Doris and Lanna!
Second, many are asking when the new collective agreement will be available. Currently, Union Representative Trevor Hansen and I are proofreading the MOA and the new CA. Once our awesome administrative staff makes the updates, the CA will receive a final review and signatures. We will notify you when it’s available on the MoveUP website and in hard copy.
Lastly, your workload committee decided that it was prudent to remind you all of the “Union Observer” language in the collective agreement:
17.6 Union Observer
The Union shall notify the Human Resources Department that a request for a Union Observer has been made as soon as possible after a posting closes. The President of the Union or their designate may sit as an observer on a selection panel, including panel deliberations for positions in the Union bargaining unit. The observer shall be a disinterested party. Leave with pay shall be granted for the attendance of an observer where no travel is required if reasonable notice is provided. The BCGEU is not responsible for expenses incurred by the observer. The BCGEU will make a reasonable effort to coordinate interview scheduling with the Union Observer’s calendar.
This means that MoveUP members have the right to request that a union observer be present on the job selection panel for postings made by the employer. If you wish to potentially have a union observer sit in on the selection process for a specific job posting, please get in touch with a job steward for them to make the request.
I want to thank you again for the solidarity you showed in the last round of bargaining. It is sure to pay dividends in future bargaining with your employer.
In solidarity,
Philip Bargen, Union Representative