December 1, 2020 at 3:30 PM
On June 27, 2019, Unifor members at the GTAA ratified a new four-year Collective Bargaining Agreement by an astounding 90 per cent. The Agreement went into effect on August 1, 2019, and will expire on July 31, 2023.
There were significant gains made to the new Agreement, but the most significant was a defined benefit (DBplus) pension plan. The parties bargained this "benefit" and agreed to transition from the current GTAA plan with Sun Life over to the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) DBplus pension plan.
As per Article 28.09 of the Unifor-GTAA Agreement, it is acknowledged and agreed that the “transition date” may occur on or after January 1, 2021, based upon factors including the ability of the Employer and the administrator of CAAT DBplus to accommodate this transition.
In the last two months there have been a number of discussions regarding two very significant issues relating to the transition to the CAAT DBplus pension plan. The GTAA has identified they have a difference of opinion on what they believe was bargained vs. Unifor's interpretation:
The first issue involves the definition of "earnings" as it pertains to the CAAT DBplus plan: The company’s position is that the contributions are based on pensionable earnings. However, Unifor contends that the earnings are based on a members' total T4 earnings (as outlined in the DBplus handbook on the CAAT web site).
The second issue is in respect to the ability of participating members to port their account balances held under the current pension plan over to the new CAAT plan.
Unifor does not concur with either of the GTAA's interpretations (above).
In light of these differences, Unifor’s legal department and the GTAA drafted a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) as the parties – Union and Company – disagree over the definition of "earnings." The MOU was signed by Unifor and the GTAA on November 27, 2020 to ensure that the CAAT DBplus pension plan is implemented on January 1, 2021. Click here to view the MOU.
By signing this MOU, the language reserves any and all rights to file a grievance(s) as per the Grievance and Arbitration Procedure of the collective bargaining agreement. The MOU further clarifies that it is the Arbitrator’s right to determine the disagreement between the parties on the earnings definition and the date as may be ordered by the Arbitrator.
Please note: the MOU does not address the issue of porting account balances from the current pension plan to the CAAT DBplus plan. The company would not agree to include the portability or transfer of these monies to form part of the MOU.
Unifor's priority is to ensure that the CAAT DBplus pension plan is effective January 1, 2021 and we will contest these two issues per the Grievance and Arbitration process.
DECEMBER 8 MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
As a next step, your Unifor bargaining committee will be holding three virtual membership meetings on December 8th to discuss these ongoing issues. Meetings will be conducted using Zoom Video. Times are as follows:
Meeting 1
1100 – 1230
Meeting 2
1330 – 1500
Meeting 3
1530 – 1700
(note: all times are Eastern Standard)
We will send a follow-up email with links to the Zoom meetings on December 7th.
Please ensure you attend one of these meetings. Unifor will be providing you with a complete overview on what has taken place and the plan of action on dealing with these significant issues that has arisen by the GTAA at the eleventh hour.
We will be communicating with you further as this issue unfolds. We may require your assistance and ask for your participation in the near future. In the interim, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Unifor bargaining committee representative.
In solidarity,
Your GTAA Bargaining Committee
Rick Pucilowski, District Chairperson
Mario Di Nardo, Bargaining Representative - Airside
Antonios Kourteridis, Bargaining Representative – Facilities
Pauline Leloudas, Bargaining Representative - Professional and Support
Elena Reabchina, Interim Bargaining Representative - Operations
Rob Santo, Bargaining Representative - Skilled Trades
Ashley Watkins, Assistant to the Local President
Paul Shiels, Unifor National Representative
/20-12-01 GTAA DBPlus pension update en.txt