Bulletin
CapilanoU – Recap of our Recent Telephone Townhall
July 13, 2022
To: All MoveUP Members at CapilanoU
We would like to thank all our members who participated on our telephone townhall on June 28, 2022.
As we know there were some members who were unable to attend or were unable to receive a call. While our dialing system is very effective, at times it may encounter connection issues particularly if the receiver is in a poor coverage area or has unknown calls blocked on their phone. We recommend
For those who were not able to join the call, we have put together a Q&A summary here on what was discussed.
What happens if the BCGEU members in the public sector go out on strike?
At the present time, the BCGEU has indicated that they are planning for strategic, targeted job action. Those strategies could include things such as an overtime ban or work-to-rule (i.e. working to the strictest interpretation of the rule). That means there likely won’t be any picket lines going up any time soon.
In the event a picket line does go up, if you are part of a shared office or otherwise encounter a picket line, then you would be expected to respect the picket line and not cross. In that event, our office will be in coordination with your job stewards to get information out to you as quickly as possible.
The government recently shared information that they offered an 11% raise over three years. How does that affect our bargaining?
The recent proposal that was shared by the BC government was, in some ways, a positive given that it was a significant improvement on what was initially proposed as reported (roughly half of that figure).
However, public sector unions including ours have identified that a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is crucial to supporting members as they deal with rising costs due to inflation. The proposal, in the view of the BCGEU bargaining team, fell short of that expectation.
We are supportive of getting the best deal possible for our members and we will bargain accordingly so as to ensure that outcome without compromising the work that our labour movement partners are engaging in overall.
Will John Horgan stepping down as BC Premier affect bargaining?
No, although we are sure the Premier would like to see fair deal being reached for all parties before he formally relinquishes his position. We also remind members that while the public sector bargaining process may feel frustrating, our negotiators have seen a significant difference in dealing with this government versus the previous BC Liberal governments where 0% wage increases or even wage cuts were frequently tabled, not to mention contracts being torn up or reneged on after being signed (just ask teachers or nurses).
When are our next scheduled bargaining dates?
Our next scheduled bargaining date is July 19.
Are we going to go on strike now that the latest BCGEU offer was rejected?
Although the BCGEU members are in a legal position to strike now, they would still legally have to provide 72-hour notice before engaging in any strike activity. We are nowhere near that point in our bargaining.
If we were to contemplate job action, we would first need to do a strike vote with you and your bargaining unit.
Once an agreement is reached, will there be retroactive pay?
Depending on the terms of the settlement, we would ask for retroactive pay back to the date that the collective agreement expired.
Is there any way we can support our bargaining committee?
SIGN UP FOR OUR JOB ACTION COMMITTEE HERE.
This is your contract. You are the Union. Help us out by staying informed, reading our bulletins, and coming to our monthly membership meetings.
Update your contact information if you haven’t done so already, so we can ensure that you are getting up-to-date information on the status of our negotiations. You can update us here.
More information will follow in subsequent bulletins. For success at the table, we need to all move forward together.
If you have any questions or concerns about bargaining, feel to reach out to your stewards, your councillors, or e-mailing Nathan (nbeausoleil@moveuptogether.ca)
or Christy (cslusarenko@moveuptogether.ca).
In solidarity,
Nathan Beausoleil, Union Representative
Christy Slusarenko, Vice-President of Combined Units