September 25, 2015 at 2:00 PM
General Membership Meetings
Unifor has scheduled two general membership meetings to give the EVAS pilots an
overview of the next steps in solidifying a collective agreement. The first will be held in
Gander on Tuesday, September 29th and the second is in Halifax on Wednesday, September
30th. All EVAS members are encouraged to attend the meetings. Representatives
from the Bargaining Committee, Local 2002, and the National union will be in attendance.
GANDER
DATES:
- Tuesday, September 29, 2015
TIME:
LOCATION:
HALIFAX
DATES:
- Wednesday, September 30, 2015
TIME:
LOCATION:
- Unifor regional office, 63 Otter
Lake Court, Bayers Lake
The Bargaining Process
We wanted to outline for the Pilots at EVAS what you can expect from Unifor in terms
of negotiations. Our bargaining style, though somewhat unique, has worked for Unifor
over many decades, with thousands of employers and for more than 305,000 members.
Our model blends the experience of our Unifor Representatives with the detailed
knowledge of the elected bargaining committee. We believe strongly in the value of
members electing their peers and speaking to them directly because those are the faces you
see day to day, and you have established workplace respect for one another.
Our committee is now in place, which we communicated to you in our first update.
We are now in the process of taking the information from the meetings and the feedback you
have provided to the committee. Those suggestions, along with the information we have
from other pilot contracts, have formed the foundation of a list of proposals. Those
proposals will be the beginnings of the first EVAS collective agreement.
We hope to have a smooth bargaining process with EVAS; this is traditionally how it
goes with Unifor. We settle more than 98% of our collective agreements without any
labour disputes. We understand that we will not make improvements on every single
suggestion you have provided us; but we are confident we can make sufficient gains to have
a strong vote of support by the membership. Nothing we negotiate will be finalized
until you — the membership — have time to see the results of the negotiating process and
have an opportunity to vote for the agreement. Unifor does not have a vote; it is
only you, the pilots, who will vote on your collective agreement.
Some of you have asked what happens if EVAS refuses to negotiate seriously with
Unifor. As stated at the membership meetings, Unifor will not tolerate EVAS dragging
its feet. If talks stall, Unifor will immediately involve the government and file for
conciliation. If, after the conciliation process is finished, EVAS still refused to
negotiate a fair agreement, then two outcomes can occur. They can lock out the pilots
from the workplace or workers can vote to strike. We will get into a more thorough
explanation if needed, but for now that is the basic process and we are optimistic that
EVAS will be in the 98% majority of settlements and not part of the 2% minority of labour
disputes.
Throughout the bargaining process, we ask the membership to respect the bargaining
committee and understand that they are dealing with a confidential process until it is
worked out and a tentative agreement is reached. There is a simple reason for this:
it is an ongoing negotiation process and things can change from day to day, so there is no
value in telling the membership we have achieved a certain pay rate or benefit until it’s
signed off and completed. Things can change from topic to topic, and we don’t want
the membership to be misinformed on a piecemeal agreement. We want to present a full
document so that you can see the full offer. It is normal for some of you to like
certain things more than others, but only as a whole package will you see an overall
improvement to your work-life balance for you and your family.
This is not to say you will not hear from us, we just wanted to explain why we do not
go into great detail until the contract talks have concluded. At the same time, if you
don’t see it in print from us consider it a rumour and do not form an opinion until you
have had the chance to see the full package and make your own informed decision.
Rumours can run rampant in workplaces, but we are confident that with only two work
locations (Gander and Halifax) rumours should hopefully not occur.
If you have any concerns about things you are hearing, contact one of the bargaining
committee members or Unifor representatives and let them know. They will look into
the issue and get back to you with the correct information.
Thank you for your understanding, patience and continued support.
In solidarity,
Cheryl Robinson, President Unifor 2002
Ashley Watkins, Assistant to the local President
Chad Johnston, National Representative