The bargaining committee would like to announce the return of Michel Bouchard as Negotiator since Xavier Laberge has decided to return to his former post within the CSN. Michel, who has previously worked with UCCO-SACC-CSN in the roles of advisor for the Ontario region, CSN team coordinator, as well as negotiator for several years, has come back to our team. The bargaining committee welcomes his expertise and his historical knowledge as Michel has been with our union since its founding.
The bargaining committee acknowledges and appreciates the solidarity demonstrated by the members across the country on Tuesday morning and this unity was certainly felt by the team as they met the employer on the first day of the session.
On September 17th , 2024, the bargaining committee once again came to the table prepared to negotiate in good faith. Over the summer, we had pared down our non-monetary demands and submitted our proposals to address the issues in a manner that respected the interests of both parties. For two days, the employer refused to respond to any of our proposals. In fact, though they had the summer to analyze our monetary package, they even failed to table an amended offer, which recognized settlements reached by other bargaining units.
On September the 19th, the employer finally did respond to the package the union developed to help conclude the non-monetary discussion. After receiving that response, the bargaining committee worked very hard to amend those articles. Work was conducted until late in the evening and instead of giving us a solid response, the employer communicated that they will be seeking some mandates for the October session to settle these articles.
During the next bargaining session, scheduled for October 22nd to 24th, our focus will be on our monetary package and their response on the remaining tabled non-monetary demands. Despite some incremental movement, it is clear that the employer remains reluctant to recognize our distinct working conditions for which the members of UCCO-SACC–CSN deserve to be properly compensated.
When called to show our collective strength and your support for the bargaining committee, we are asking all members to continue to step up to send our message clearly to the employer.
For those of you who are active on social media, please be mindful that the Employer (TBS, CMs Wardens), is keeping a close eye on posts regarding our negotiations and some posts could negatively affect its course.
Proud. United. Strong
Your bargaining committee