Bargaining Update: Surveying Membership priorities

On Monday, June 29th, I submitted our intent to bargain for a new Collective Agreement with
the University.

The Collective Agreement expired on July 1st. However, our contract stays in force during
negotiations. Please continue to follow the protocols and procedures, policies, and processes
just as before. Your Collective Agreement rights and benefits as outlined continue to be in
effect. If you have concerns about your rights and benefits, please reach out to your WLUSA
steward or the WLUSA office at wlusaadmin@wlu.ca.

Shortly after signaling our intent to bargain for a new Collective Agreement, the University
responded back with an offer to meet for the first official pre-bargaining meeting. It was held on
July 7th and was immediately followed up with a second meeting on July 8th. I am happy to
report that we have agreed to a process that will move both WLUSA and the University down a
path to a success a round of bargaining.

Both WLUSA and the University look forward to building on a solid foundation established back
in 1995 when WLUSA first certified as a Union. Our current Collective Agreement was first
established and negotiated in 1997 and has remained largely a shining example of how
collective bargaining can lead to a trusting relationship between employees and the employer.
Our pre-bargaining meetings resulted in us agreeing on the composition of our table teams,
future bargaining dates and a new approach to bargaining this round. We also agreed to an
aggressive timeline and a commitment to try and conclude bargaining by the week of Aug 14th.
Following our meeting with the University, I consulted with the WLUSA Executive to discuss the
timing and next steps.

This is where I now require your input and your priorities. The membership survey is ready to be
emailed to you. You should receive an email soon from SurveyMonkey. Please keep an eye on
your Junk Email folder if you don’t see it in the next day or so. Please take your time and
complete it. It will help the research team and the table team to appropriately prioritize our
bargaining strategies. By July 14th we will tally up the results of the survey. Then on July 15th
WLUSA will hold a zoom meeting from 10:30am to 11:30am to update and inform you our
Members of our negotiating priorities and brief. This will become our proposal to the University.
I would like to point out now the efforts and hard work of your sixteen-member WLUSA
Collective Bargaining Committee. Their commitment to WLUSA and all of the hours they have
volunteered have resulted in a strategic vision and plan that will guide us to a successful round
of negotiations.

I look forward to seeing the results of the membership survey and to speaking with all of you
about our priorities, plans, and strategies on Wed July 15th at 10:30am. Details about our zoom
call and presentation will be emailed out soon.
If I have failed to answer a question you had or if this message has inspired new questions,
please email me and I will respond.

In solidarity, always being mindful of our rights and protections, and that of our home Laurier.

Niru Philip
Chief Negotiator, WLUSA/OSSTF D35

Related Posts

• Bargaining Update: Preparing for negotiations (June 26, 2020)