FEBRUARY 2015

SPECIAL BARGAINING ISSUE

CUPE 1858 Newsletter

CONTENTS

PAGE 1
Bargaining

PAGE 2
Collective Bargaining
101
What is Bargaining in
Bad Faith?
Who is PSEA?

PAGE 3
Interested in Helping
Out?
The Cost of
Collective Bargaining
The Process of
Collective Bargaining

PAGE 4
The A-Team
Executive Contacts
Upcoming
Bargaining Dates

CUPE 1858 Newsletter

Bargaining
By: Deborah Hopper

Our collective agreement

guides both sides in resolving
any conflicts that arise.
While we might like to believe our
employers are magnanimous and will
always do what is right for their employees,
this is often not our reality. Within the
workplace, employers hold the majority of
the power creating a significant imbalance
when negotiating terms of employment
with current or potential employees. Forty
years ago, our predecessors at Malaspina
addressed this power imbalance by
becoming a union. In this way, the united
resolve of all members in our Local meant
that fair, equitable terms of employment
could be negotiated and upheld.
Today, little has changed in this power
dynamic. While many managers create
positive, balanced work environments for
CUPE members, others do not. Regularly,
whether by accident or design, managers
violate the employment or human rights of
CUPE members. When these problems

SPECIAL BARGAINING ISSUE

arise, your stewards and Executive

members use your collective agreement to
guide both sides in resolving conflicts
ensuring the rights of CUPE members are
maintained and respected.
During bargaining, your elected bargaining
team dedicates significant time
representing your interests. Through
discussion, debate and negotiation, the
two sides work to determine the mutually
agreed-upon terms under which CUPE
members will complete their work for VIU.
In this round of bargaining, as in the past,
your bargaining team is working to
improve your working conditions based on
your requests and feedback, as well as
information about areas where consistent
problems for members have occurred.
Bargaining can be an incredible opportunity
for the union and management to work
together to improve relationships and
decrease workplace challenges. However,
only when CUPE members support their
bargaining team does the union truly have
the power to improve the quality of your
work-life while strengthening VIU as an
organization.

Who is PSEA?

Collective Bargaining 101

FAQ

You will likely hear people talk

What is a collective agreement?

about PSEA in relation to

employer bargaining agent for

A collective agreement is a written contract

of employment covering a group of
employees who are represented by a trade
union. This agreement contains provisions
governing the terms and conditions of
employment. It also contains the rights,
privileges and duties of the employer, the
trade union and the employees.

all public colleges, special-

What is collective bargaining?

purpose teaching universities,

After a union is certified, it is entitled to

engage in collective bargaining on behalf of
the employees it represents. In most cases
the end result of this bargaining will be a
collective agreement, a contract between
the union and employer concerning the
terms and conditions of employment for
employees in the bargaining unit. A
collective agreement is a legally enforceable
document binding on all parties involved.

bargaining our collective

agreement. The PostSecondary Employers'
Association (PSEA) is the

and institutes in British

Columbia. PSEA sets
bargaining objectives for VIU
and a number of other
institutions in BC. Essentially,
the management of VIU is not
able to negotiate any cost
items with our union.those
decisions are made by PSEA

In order to make the bargaining process

more effective, the Code sets out certain
procedures that must be followed when the
parties enter into collective bargaining.

How are negotiations for a collective

agreement begun?
If the parties are bargaining to renew an
existing agreement, notice to require the
other party to commence bargaining can
be served only when four months or less
are left in the term of the agreement then
in force. However, should neither party to
the agreement serve notice to commence
bargaining, then the Code provides that the
notice is deemed to have been given 90
days prior to expiry of the agreement.
Once a notice to commence bargaining has
been served, the union and the employer
must begin "good faith" bargaining within
10 days.

For more information, visit the Labour Relations

Board of British Columbia website at:
http://www.lrb.bc.ca/codeguide/chapter5.htm

and VIU has virtually no input.

In November 2014, the PSEA
and union representatives
negotiated common items at
the multi-employer table; to
form the template agreement.
The template primarily covers
items related to
compensation. Bargaining
must now be concluded at the
local level on local items. More

WHAT IS BARGAINING IN BAD FAITH?

The requirement for good faith bargaining generally means that both parties must be sincere
in their attempts to reach an agreement. This includes meeting with the other side and
making every reasonable effort to conclude an agreement. The bargaining process calls for a
certain amount of give and take. Failure to agree with the other side's bargaining demands
does not, in itself, mean that a party is not bargaining in good faith. However, a deliberate
strategy by either party to prevent reaching an agreement is considered to be bad faith
bargaining. If one party engages in that kind of conduct, the other party can lodge an unfair
labour practice complaint with the Labour Relations Board.
(http://www.lrb.bc.ca/codeguide/chapter5.htm) Labour Relations Boards have consistently
said that both parties at the bargaining table have an obligation to engage in a full
discussion with the other. There are two sides to this obligation. One is not to say anything
that misrepresents the facts. The other is to disclose plans and decisions that could have a
material effect on union members.

information about the

agreements will be available
when the individual ratification
processes have been
completed.

CUPE 1858 Newsletter

Recently, the Labour Board of BC ruled that IKEA representatives tried to entice workers to
cross the picket line with promises of pay premiums above and beyond what was offered to
the union during rounds of collective bargaining talks. Bruce R. Wilkins, associate chair of
adjudication for the board ordered IKEA to pay to the union the amount equivalent to all
monies paid to bargaining unit employees from the beginning of the labour dispute which are
in excess of the pay the employer was willing to agree to with the union in collective
bargaining. IKEA was also ordered to cease contravening the labour code, cease bargaining
terms and conditions of employment directly with employees, and declare the terms and
conditions offered to employees in the web posting in excess of what was offered to the
union at the bargaining table as null and void.
(http://www.richmondreview.com/news/269220091.html)

SPECIAL BARGAINING ISSUE

Interested in Helping Out?

There are several ways that members can help out the process of collective
bargaining without actually being on the bargaining team. During the negotiations
of the contract, the bargaining team will often negotiate the spirit of language
around a particular issue, but then need members willing to sit on sub-committees
after bargaining to hammer out the details. Similarly, there will likely be need of
members to help out converting the collective agreement to plain English
without changing the meaning of the agreement. And finally, if you are passionate
about a particular issue related to your working conditions, and that item is being
negotiated this round, you can always volunteer to do research for the bargaining
team. This would be on an as-needed basis and wouldnt be very time consuming.
And you could always consider volunteering to sit on the bargaining team next
round. It is a really great way to have your say about the issues that are meaningful
to you and get some personal experience with how the entire process works.

The Process of Collective Bargaining

The collective bargaining process begins
with a notice to bargain, a written
notification given by either the employer
or the union requiring the other party to
commence collective bargaining for the
purpose of renewing or revising a
collective agreement or entering into a
new collective agreement. As soon as
notice to bargain is given, it is the
responsibility of the employer and union
to negotiate in good faith.

collective agreement and find agreements

on all of the contested items.
When they feel that they have agreement,
the employer must have the deal approved
by PSEA and the union must have the deal
ratified by the membership. This is done at
special ratification meetings in Nanaimo
and the outlying campuses. If it is
approved by PSEA and ratified by the
members, we have a new collective
agreement.
If it is not approved by the membership,
then a new bargaining team must be
created so that the union can go back to
the table and try and negotiate a collective
agreement that will be approved by the
membership and by PSEA.

This is usually followed by the union and

the employer setting up dates to meet
and begin bargaining. While this is going
on, the union (and the employer) are
working with their members (through
surveys) to put together our proposals.
This is a list of changes, omissions and
deletions that we would like to see to
the collective agreement. These are
ratified by the membership at a special
meeting vote at all of the campuses.
The meetings begin and the union and
the employer try and work through the

The Newsletter

The union calls a strike vote when the

collective bargaining process reaches a
point of impasse when there are still
unresolved issues but neither side is willing
to make further concessions. A successful
strike vote authorizes the unions executive
committee to call for labour action or a
strike if further negotiations do not
produce an agreement acceptable to our
members. While a strike vote may sound
alarming, it does not necessarily mean that
a strike is inevitable. In fact, the stronger
the strike vote, the less likely it is that we
will have to strike, because it signals to the
employer that we are united in our resolve
to obtain the best possible contract. It also
doesnt mean a full scale walk-out, there
are a number of different approaches that
can be taken to bring pressure to bare.

SPECIAL BARGAINING ISSUE

The Cost of Collective

Bargaining
and who pays it.
The CUPE 1858 Executive just
received membership approval
for the 2015 budget at the last
general membership meeting. At
that meeting, members learned
that there are certain costs
associated with bargaining. The
following is a brief outline of
some of the costs and
information on who pays them.
When our CUPE 1858 bargaining
team is meeting prior to
bargaining to prepare the
Bargaining Survey, organize the
survey results, complete research
and prepare our bargaining
proposals, the union is
responsible for covering the costs
of the wages for the bargaining
team to be away from work.
Once we enter into bargaining
with the employer, the costs of
the bargaining team to be away
from their jobs for negotiations is
covered by the employer. The
union continues to cover costs if
bargaining team meetings are
required in addition to
negotiations.
Once we have reached a tentative
deal with the employer,
representatives from the
bargaining committee must have
that agreement ratified by the
membership. The union bears the
cost (hall rentals, book off time
for bargaining team members and
travelling costs) of holding
meetings for that purpose in
Nanaimo and at our other
campuses.

The A-Team
CUPE National Services Representative
Spokesperson
Ian McLean

CUPE 1858 First Vice President

Bernie Heise
Although active in the
unions for many years,
this is the first year that
Bernie is bargaining for
our members.

Ian brings a number of

years and a vast wealth
of experience to the
table as our National
Rep. We are lucky to
have him!

CUPE 1858, Trustee

Steve Schmidt

CUPE 1858 President

Deborah Hopper Chair

Steve has been

involved in bargaining
for CUPE for a number
of years and is a
passionate voice at the
table.

Has been on the CUPE 1858

bargaining team two times
as well as successfully
bargaining a new collective
agreement for Western
Student Housing staff.

CUPE 1858, Chief Steward

Rob Campbell

CUPE member
Tiffany McLaughlin
New to bargaining
this year, Tiffany is
excited about this
opportunity to
represent our
members at the
table.

Rob has bargained for our local

the last 4 rounds of collective
bargaining. He brings the
concerns that members share
with him during the course of
his day to the discussions.

CUPE 1858 Executive Contact Us

President

Deborah Hopper (local 6610)

Deborah.Hopper@viu.ca

1st Vice-President

Bernie Heise (local 2584)

Bernie.Heise@viu.ca

Upcoming Bargaining Dates

Bargaining Dates
Monday, February 23 Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Tuesday, March 17 - Friday, March 20, 2015

2nd Vice-President

VACANT

Chief Steward

Rob Campbell (local 2419)

Rob.Campbell@viu.ca

Other Information

Membership Secretary

Kamala Haughton (local 6215)

Kamala.Haughton@viu.ca

Also CUPE 1858 is on Facebook (CUPE Local 1858) and

Twitter (@CUPE1858)

Treasurer

Shannon McKenzie (local 6650)

Shannon.McKenzie@viu.ca

Recording Secretary

Crystal Kreschuk (local 6210)

Crystal.Kreschuk@viu.ca

CUPE 1858 Newsletter

Check out http://www.cupe1858.org for more details.

SPECIAL BARGAINING ISSUE

Check out http://www.cupe1858.org for more details.