Bargaining
Salal Foundation – Tentative Agreement Reached on first collective agreement
January 26, 2026
To: All MoveUP members at Salal Foundation
Your bargaining committee is proud to announce that after more than a year of negotiations with Salal Foundation, we have reached an agreement. This agreement takes the form of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and represents your first collective agreement.
The MOA establishes wages, benefits, and workplace protections that did not previously exist, marking a significant milestone for members and laying the foundation for future gains
Your vote is essential to making these gains a reality for you and your colleagues.
Your bargaining committee proudly recommends a YES vote in support of this new agreement.
A membership meeting has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m., January 27, to review the details of the agreement and provide an opportunity for members to ask question. A teams invite will be sent directly to your HOME email address.
Once you and your colleagues vote to accept the new collective agreement, it means the agreement has been ratified and the terms of the new agreement go into effect immediately.
Please take the time to review the summary of the key gains below. This outlines the wages, benefits, and workplace protections that are part of this first collective agreement that previously did not exist.
Summary of MOU:
- Wages: From current pay to a negotiated pay scale
Your current wages are now protected by a collective agreement and linked to a defined pay scale with annual progression.
Current Base Wages for Job Classifications:
- Support: $56,000
- Coordinator: $62,000
- Lead: $54,600
Appendix A – Step 5 Wages and Increases
The collective agreement establishes a five-step wage scale,
At Step 5 of the wage scale, wages increase for the following classifications:
Support
- Step 5 wage: $64,000
- Wage Increase: $8,000 (14.3%)
Coordinator
- Step 5 wage: $72,000
- Wage Increase: $10,000 (16.1%)
Lead
- Step 5 wage: $91,000
- Increase: $36,400 (66.7%)
- Benefit Improvements (All New)
APPENDIX “B” – Benefit Plan
Summary
Employee Life Insurance
• Flat $50,000
• Reduction at age 65 to 50%
• Termination of Coverage at age 70 or earlier retirement
Dependant Life Insurance
• Spouse $5,000
• Child $2,500
Employee AD&D
• Equal to employee life
Short Term Disability Benefits
• Eligibility for Full-time employees
• Elimination period up to 7 calendar days
• 75% of weekly earnings up to a maximum benefit of $2,800 per week
• Benefit duration – 16 weeks duration
• Termination of coverage at age 75 or retirement
Long Term Disability Benefits
• Eligibility for Full-time employees
• Elimination period of 112 calendar
• 66.7% of monthly earnings up to a maximum benefit of $10,000 per month
• Benefit duration – up until age 65
• Termination of coverage at age 65 or retirement
Extended Health
• Prescription Drugs: 80%
• Paramedical Practitioners: 90%
• Vision Care: 100%
• Medical Supplies & Services: 80%
• In-Province Hospital: 100%
• Out of Country Emergency Medical: 100%
Paramedical
• $500 per standard practitioner per year
• $1,000 for mental health practitioners per year
• Coverage Includes: acupuncturist, chiropractor, massage therapist, naturopath, osteopath, physiotherapist, podiatrist, psychologist/clinical counsellor/marriage and family therapist/social worker/psychotherapist, speech therapist
Vision
• Eye Exams: 1 every 24 months
• Vision Care: $300 every 24 months
Medical Supplies and Services
• Hearing Aids: $700 every 5 years
• Orthopaedic Shoes: $150 every year
• Private Duty Nursing: $10,000 per year
• Gender Affirmation: $15,000 lifetime maximum
Hospital Care
• Semi-private room
Out of Country Emergency Medical
• Trip duration: 60 days
• Maximum: $5,000,000 lifetime
Dental Care
• Basic Coverage: 90%
• Major Coverage: 50%
• Basic & Major combined annual maximum: $1,500
• Recall exams every 9 months
Health Care Spending Account (HCSA)
• $1,500 per year total per plan
- What this first agreement delivers
- Substantial wage increases
- Paid time off between Christmas and New Year
- Wages locked into a formal pay scale
- Thousands of dollars per year in new benefits, best in class
- Right to refuse to cross a legal picket line
- Union rights & representation, just and reasonable cause
- Privacy, limits of employer surveillance
- Generative AI restrictions
- Seniority & job posting protections
- Fair promotions
- Respectful workplace standards
- Workload, hours & work-life balance
- Paid leaves of absence (e.g. first responders, search and rescue, etc.)
- Improved vacation
- Overtime at double time in most circumstances
- Strong grievance and arbitration rights
- Job security & fair treatment
- Income protection during illness or injury
In solidarity,
Mike Novak, Union Representative
Rainer Fehrenbacher, Bargaining Committee member