Voting for Tentative Agreement Underway!
As discussed and reviewed in our recent ratification meetings, please review the instructions for the contract ratification vote below.
An online ballot has been sent to everyone at their work email address as of Tuesday, May 1st at 8:00 PM (EST).
PLEASE NOTE that the subject line of your email ballot is “Tentative Agreement Ratification Ballot / Scrutin sur la ratification de l’accord de principe”
· Voting has begun as of 20:00 (8:00 PM) EST on Tuesday, May 1st.
· Voting will conclude at 24:00 (midnight) on Tuesday, May 7th.
Every effort will be made to get a ballot to all eligible voters who do not have access to corporate email during the ratification process.
If you do not have access to corporate email during this time, please contact the Elections and Tellers Committee at eet@cawl2000.ca by 12:00 (noon) EST on Tuesday, May 7th. Requests received after this time will be handled on a best effort basis.
Please CLICK HERE for a summary of the proposed changes to our Collective Agreement. Further details and Memorandum of Agreement posted in the Member Resources section of our website.
In Solidarity,
Your CAW Local 2000 Collective Bargaining Committee
CAW Council, April 2012
CAW members from across Canada gathered at the union’s Family Education Centre in Port Elgin, Ontario for CAW Council meetings from April 13 to 15. The Council is considered the union’s parliament where delegates, representing rank-and-file members, meet to discuss and debate the key issues facing the union.
CAW President Ken Lewenza addressed council delegates and spoke on a range of issues addressing jobs and the economy, the negative impact of free trade deals, the CEP/CAW new union proposal, the union’s upcoming round of bargaining with the Detroit 3 automakers, and proposals to overhaul Canada’s foreign investment rules in the wake of the Electro-Motive plant closure in London, Ontario.
Ken Lewenza (CAW), Dave Coles (CEP), Peter Kennedy (CAW)
Highlights of New Tentative Agreement
The following are highlights of the tentative agreement reached with the employer on April 3rd, 2012 by your CAW Local 2000 Collective Bargaining Committee. Your bargaining committee wishes to thank the membership for their support during this difficult and lengthy process.
Your Bargaining Committee unanimously recommends acceptance of this tentative agreement, which protects the vast majority of our rights, benefits and privileges in our Collective Agreement and provides stability for our membership during a time of change in our industry.
SUBSTANTIVE COMPONENTS:
DURATION: Four-year agreement from January 1st, 2012 to December 31st, 2015
WAGES: There will be a 2% wage increase in each year of the contract.
- January 1st, 2012 – 2%
- January 1st, 2013 – 2%
- January 1st, 2014 – 1% / July 1st, 2014 – 1%
- January 1st, 2015 – 1% / July 1st, 2015 – 1%
CT2’s at Step 12 of the wage scale will see an 8.25% compound increase over the life of the agreement.
CT1’s at Step 8 of the wage scale will see an 8.28% compound increase over the life of the agreement.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS COVERAGE: All benefits coverage remains intact at previous plan levels.
VARIABLE PAY PROGRAM (VPP): Payout remains at 4%.
RETROACTIVITY: The retroactive period will run from January, 2012. Retroactivity is pensionable.
CHANGE – Article 8.04 – Restoral Call Out: Four (4) hour minimum pay for Restoral Call Out reduced to 3 hours minimum. Rate of pay remains at time and a half (1.5x pro-rata rate).
Payout for Restoral Call Out work performed remotely (eg. via computer from home) remains unchanged.
Note that payout for Assigned Overtime (Article 8.02) and Standby (Article 8.03) also remains unchanged.
ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES:
CHANGE – Article 4.05: Members who apply for non-union positions on a temporary basis retain and continue to accumulate seniority rights only for a period of twelve (12) months. (previously 6 months).
CLARIFICATION – Article 5:
- Existing language re-numbered for sake of clarity. Does not change the mechanics or intent of the previous language in any way.
- Word “reassign” has been replaced with “rebalance” throughout. Done for the sake of clarity as there were no existing provisions to “reassign” staff.
CHANGE – Article 5.05 – Temporary Work in Another District: 48 hours advance notice now provided to union. (Previously Article 5.09, no obligation for notice).
CHANGE – Article 7.06 – Meal Period: Greater flexibility for employees working modified work week.
CLARIFICATION – Article 9: Replace “Rebalance” with “Rebalance as per Article 5”.
NEW – Article 19: Introduction of group grievances.
Voting will commence on May 1st via online balloting.
Results will be announced shortly after conclusion of voting on May 7th.
TENTATIVE CONTRACT AGREEMENT REACHED!
Your CAW Local 2000 Collective Bargaining Committee is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement has been reached with the employer.
Your bargaining committee wishes to thank the members of our union for their unwavering support during this difficult and lengthy process.
Detailed information will be shared at the following membership meetings:
- April 9th – Toronto (West)
- April 17th – Halifax
- April 18th – Ottawa
- April 19th – Montreal
- April 23rd – Vancouver
- April 24th – Calgary
- April 30th – Hamilton/Kitchener/London (to be confirmed)
- May 1st – Toronto (Downtown)
In Solidarity,
Your CAW Local 2000 Collective Bargaining Committee
Conciliator appointed for collective bargaining
After a brief delay, a conciliator was appointed to our collective bargaining sessions with the company last week. It is expected that our next round of negotiations will be during the first week of March. An additional update will be sent once those dates have been confirmed and further updates will follow throughout the course of our negotiations.
Your CAW Local 2000 Collective Bargaining Committee remains focused on getting a fair contract for you, our members.
In Solidarity,
Dylan Gadwa
President – CAW Local 2000
WIN! CETA motion passed by City of Toronto executive committee
CAW Local 2000 continues it’s active involvement in raising awareness and accountability on the proposed Canada Europe Trade Agreement (CETA). As noted in this previous news bulletin, the impact of this proposed agreement is potentially huge and is likely to have specific provisions related to foreign ownership in our industry industry.
Already, we have begun to gain traction and have a victory to share: Yesterday evening, Toronto’s executive committee passed the following motion:
THAT CITY COUNCIL:
- Endorse the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) seven principles for the Federal Government to apply to the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and future trade deals
- Encourage the Federal Government of Canada and the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway to continue consultation with FCM in order to address municipal concerns in relation to trade deals.
- Request the Province of Ontario to accelerate direct dialogue with City of Toronto officials to ensure that the City of Toronto’s municipal rights are protected, with particular attention to:
- The low procurement thresholds of $340,000 for goods and services and $8.5 million for construction
- Local procurement needs
- Dispute resolution mechanism
- Communicate its position to the Federal Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
This is a small yet very important step that will eventually allow the full city council to move the issue forward and pursue the matter with the provincial and federal governments.
It should be stressed that this is a proposal being brokered by the federal government and will affect Canadian citizens from coast to coast. As such, our union is committed to pursuing the issue at all levels of government across Canada in partnership with our CAW National office, the Council of Canadians, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Canadian Environmental Law Association as well as academic and private sector experts from all areas affected by this proposed trade agreement.
In summary, even as we continue to pursue and advance our members cause in our workplace, our Local will continue to step up it’s involvement in the broader social issues that affect our communities, as well.
Stay tuned – there will be more to come!
Dylan Gadwa
President – CAW Local 2000
