Swoop Bargaining Update #3

Dear Members,

Recently your Swoop CUPE 4070 Bargaining Committee continued in collective bargaining with the Company. The most recent round of collective bargaining occurred last week, concluding on Thursday May 20, 2021.

Since our last update, the following Articles have been signed in TA:
- Uniforms
- Printing of the Agreement
- Relocation

The last round of negotiations can be characterized by the Union as productive and respectful. Both sides (Union and Company) appeared to be listening to the other, and each demonstrated efforts to respond to concerns with each pass of the proposals on a given article. Successful collective negotiations involve both parties being open to hearing the concerns of the other, and making meaningful efforts to addressing those concerns, while not giving up one’s own position beyond the point that is acceptable to that side.

This does not mean that one side caves to appease the other. Instead, both sides work to gain sufficient understanding of the needs of the other, to a point that ideas can continue to be exchanged with the goal of coming to mutual agreement. At current, this appears to be the approach of both parties on the majority of articles. We are making progress.

To provide the Membership with perspective in terms of where we are at in the Collective Bargaining process:

Following completion of TAs for each of the planned forty-three (43) articles that will comprise the Swoop proposed Collective Agreement, the final step prior to the conclusion of negotiations will be the bargaining of the all-encompassing monetary and financial package. Essentially, this will be the negotiation of anything throughout all of the tentatively agreed to articles that is related to monetary or financial matters. These articles have been negotiated in principle, with specific dollar or cost amounts that have been left “TBD” or ‘to be determined’. This is common practice in negotiations of first Collective Agreements following Union certification. All TBD references will have their specific value negotiated in the final monetary package.

The Committee, and your CUPE 4070 Executive wishes to assure you that we believe we are well on the way towards presenting Membership with a Tentative Agreement in 2021. Having now completed negotiations on ‘Scheduling’ and ‘Pay Administration’, we feel very good about where we are in this process overall.

The next round of Bargaining for the Swoop Collective Agreement is scheduled for next week, June 1 - 3, 2021. We will update you again following these negotiations.

Bargaining dates are secured into September (should they be necessary) as follows:

June 1 - 3, 2021
June 15 - 17, 2021
June 28 - 30, 2021
August 10 - 12, 2021
August 24 - 26, 2021
September 7 - 9, 2021
September 21 - 23, 2021

As always, if you have questions or require assistance from your Union, please reach out to us at: cupe4070.ca/contact.

In Solidarity,
Your CUPE 4070 Swoop Bargaining Committee