Date: January 8, 2024
Greetings Sisters, Brothers, and Colleagues,
The Employer and Union completed the signing of agreed-to items during the November dates. The Employer had proposed making revisions to the Articles that define the guaranteed and regularly scheduled hours of work indicated in Articles 2.09, 2.10, 12.02, 12.06, which the Bargaining Committee disproved of, following their own canvassing of the membership on that particular issue.
At that point in negotiations, the Union requested that the Employer put together their “final offer”, to allow the membership to decide on whether or not they would approve of the Employer’s proposed changes. The Memorandum of Settlement was put together on November 28 and completed on November 29 with the Union agreeing to have the membership vote on the MoS by January 10, 2024.
Three membership meetings were set up at the SEIU-West Swift Current office boardroom for 2:30, 4:30, and 7:30 on Wednesday, January 3. The electronic Simply Voting platform was set up and used for the ratification vote, which went out to all members at 8:00 PM on November 3, with the voting closing at 8:00 PM on November 4 (open for 24 hours).
The membership made it clear during the meetings, that they firmly rejected the MoS, with the main points of contention focusing on:
• the General Wage Increase of 1.0%,
• the proposed changes to Hours of Work, and
• the creation of Multi-Site positions.
Simply Voting results came in at 9:30 am Friday January 5, 2024 with 90% of the membership rejecting the MoS. The Bargaining Committee thanks everyone for their engagement during the meetings, and is looking forward to working with our members, and keeping them informed of the next steps. All active and registered members are urged to continue monitoring their email for notification of the next meeting(s) date and times.
Additional Unit meeting(s) have been scheduled, and will be held at the SEIU-West Boardroom in Swift Current on Friday, January 19 at 2:30, 4:30, and 7:30 PM. Members have been emailed the details and are urged to attend one of these Unit Update meetings, discussing the next steps in Negotiations.
In Solidarity,
The SEIU-West Southwest Homes Bargaining Committee
Justine Cherpin (Unit Chair) • Myrna Gehl • Staff: Sharon Farrell (Union Representative) • Larry Buchinski (Southern Negotiations Officer)
Click here for a printable version of this Bargaining Update