Dear Members,
I would personally like to thank each and every one of you who made it out to the picket lines to support our Members who have struggled through the past 4 and a half weeks, showing our strength against the employer in our fight for a fair contract at the bargaining table. Unfortunately, we did not achieve our goals at the bargaining table, and the CIRB has ordered us back to work until such time as a Collective Agreement can be properly negotiated, with negotiations needing to be completed by May.
The office is working diligently to address the issues with the Discrepancy Forms, and this process has taken longer than we anticipated. Working within the parameters of Daily Strike Pay has also proven to be a challenge. That said, I would like to provide an update to the Membership.
On Tuesday, December 17th, the CIRB ordered us back to work. As a part-time Officer, and with other Members volunteering in the office, this created some challenges. Article 26.06(b) requires 5 days’ notice to the employer to be booked off on Union Business, which slowed down our progress. There was uncertainty about whether the book-offs would be honored, meaning we would have to wait 5 days before being officially booked off to resume the necessary work. I was able to get my book-off done to keep things moving, but other Members had to wait an extra day before they were booked off.
We are now processing the Week 4 and Week 5 cheques together, and they will be sent out to the Depots for volunteers to handle and distribute. A station will be set up in the cafeteria at the PPC for people to come and collect their cheques. All discrepancies are being addressed and will be resolved and sent out as they are processed.
I want to sincerely apologize for the delay and the length of time this has taken. Running through over 2,000 Members per day, seven days a week, required far more time than we initially anticipated. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all the picket captains and volunteers who assisted from day one through to the cleanup at the end.
I wish all Members a Happy Holiday Season with your family and friends. If you have any questions or would like to make alternative arrangements for receiving your cheques, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
With the highest respect, and solidarity,
Kevin Biggs
Secretary Treasurer, Vancouver Local 846