Laval Bus Drivers Settle • Steelworkers to Protest Lock-Out • Whisky Plant Has New Deal • UBC Profs Ratify • Vale Workers Vote for Settlement Plan • Seven Employers Reach Agreements
Laval Bus Drivers Settle
One-day strike called off as talks resume
Local 5959 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has a new collective agreement with the Société de transport de Laval. The 500 bus operators voted 76 per cent in favour of a new contract on January 16. It provides a two per cent increase in each of four years, plus a 1.0 per cent annual lump sum. The company will contribute $1 million to address the underfunded pension plan and employees will increase their contributions, as well. Finally, unspecified changes were made to contract language to allow the company efficiencies and savings in its operations. They will be the source of the money going to the pension plan.
A one-day strike planned for January 10 was cancelled several days earlier. According to the company, the settlement should “set the tone” for negotiations set to begin soon with other unionized employees.
Steelworkers to Protest Lock-Out
Pension concessions at issue in bargaining
The United Steelworkers (USW) is holding a “Day of Action” on January 29 in support of the 900 locked-out employees of U.S. Steel in Hamilton. A wide range of national unions have pledged their support. The 900 Steelworkers (and 9,000 retirees) are being asked by the company to accept a defined-contribution plan for new employees and the end of indexing for retirees.
Meanwhile, the Employment Insurance claims of 580 U.S. Steel employees have been accepted by the government and they will receive benefits. It was determined that the stoppage of work for these employees was not the result of the lock-out. U.S. Steel had curtailed several of its operations before the remaining workers were locked out on November 7.
Whisky Plant Has New Deal
Contract paves way for investment
Diageo has reached a new collective agreement with the 300 members of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) at its Amherstburg, Ontario plant, according to the Windsor Star. They voted on January 16 by a 63 per cent margin to accept a deal that provides them lump sums totaling $1,700 over three years, but no wage increases. Benefits are unchanged.
According to CAW rep Colette Hooson, the aging plant was in need of capital investment and, by ensuring that labour costs would not compound, the new collective agreement was instrumental in winning corporate investment.
UBC Profs Ratify
McMaster support staff also vote
The 3,000 members of the University of British Columbia Faculty Assn. (UBCFA) voted in favour of a new agreement on January 14. The agreement runs for two years and included no wage increases, as dictated by the province’s negotiating framework. However, there were some trade-offs. A 1.0 per cent productivity bonus was eliminated and professional development funds increased by $600 to $1,100 for faculty currently eligible. A 1.0 per cent annual bonus was also eliminated, but long-service increments were introduced at the 20-year and 25-year milestones.
In Hamilton, 173 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who provide food service at McMaster University voted 91 per cent in favour of a new agreement on January 15.
Vale Workers Vote for Settlement Plan
Union highlights company’s intransigence
According to CBC News, the 130 striking members of the United Steelworkers employed by Vale at Voisey’s Bay have voted in favour of the settlement proposed in the report of the province’s industrial inquiry (see LVI 3931, January 17, 2011). The company, which is still criticizing the report as “flawed,” has taken no action.
Seven Employers Reach Agreements
The following tentative agreements have been reached or ratified recently:
AbitibiBowater, Maniwaki, Quebec – CEP, January 14, tentative
Dana Holding, Chatham, Ontario – CAW, January 11, ratified
Fairmont Royal York, Toronto, Ontario – UH, January 13, tentative
Field Aviation, Toronto, Ontario – IAM, December 17, ratified
Legal Services Society, British Columbia – PEA, January 12, tentative
Maison de la famille, Prescott-Russell, Ontario – OPSEU, January 12, ratified
Sunrise Poultry, Surrey, British Columbia – UFCW, December 20, ratified
