July 12, 2012 at 7:37 PM
The current Ornge collective agreement expires October 31, 2012. In preparation for negotiations, Ornge bargaining committee members Chuck Telky, Mike Chad, and Dan Lefebvre, accompanied by Local 2002 Executive Assistant Ashley Watkins and Regional Vice President, Rita Reid completed a province wide proposal tour starting on June 4 in Markham and finishing June 27 in Moosonee.
Majority turn-outs at all 11 bases clearly demonstrated that the membership of Ornge is united in obtaining the best possible collective agreement and ensuring their bargaining rights are upheld.
Bargaining starts and ends with the membership; to assist the committee in compiling bargaining priorities, members are asked to complete and submit surveys. The results of the surveys are then debated and discussed at proposal meetings to determine the demands that the union will submit to the company.
95 per cent of members responding to the online survey said that they were actively following news reports in the media (of questionable business practices and corruption in the upper ranks of Ornge). CAW National President Ken Lewenza met with Ornge in March, to discuss the dismal labour relations climate within the company, commenting, "We have to ensure that our CAW members are not at risk and their confidence in their collective agreement and the bargaining process is maintained.”
Within the next few weeks, the CAW will issue a notice of intent to bargain to the company. The bargaining committee will meet again in September to compile survey data, scrutinize current contractual language and formulate the CAW proposal document.
The Ornge bargaining committee will continue to keep the membership updated as the process unfolds.
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The CAW represents approximately 200 members at Ornge (Ontario Air Ambulance) who are
responsible for patient care and medical transfers for 12.5 million residents of Ontario.
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