City of Edmonton Unit Negotiations Update
Posted on 8/9/2022
Thank you to the members that have been calling and emailing inquiring about the status of negotiations with the City of Edmonton. Please reach out to your Shop Stewards and Red Shirt Captains to learn more about how you can engage in the upcoming round of bargaining.
There is a signature of support campaign for “No Zeros” underway as well as a Red Shirt Campaign to start bargaining. The Negotiations Committees needs your support now! The Union is a reflection of membership solidarity and commitment to protecting purchasing power and creating safe, fair and effective workplaces.
The Negotiations Committee has finalized our proposals for the upcoming round of bargaining. The proposals were generated through meetings with the membership, focus groups, feedback from members and Labour Relations Officers and our grievance experiences.
The City and CSU 52 have booked two days in September (12th and 14th) to exchange proposals and explain the underlying interests that generated them. As well, the two teams will set a number of meeting dates.
As you probably know, ATU 569 (after a long and protracted session) and CUPE 30 have ratified new agreements; basically: 2021 - 0%, 2022 - 1% and 2023 - 2%. These rounds of bargaining were characterized by the City’s insistence on an economic package that ignored the economic conditions facing the membership. CUPE 38 very recently settled their deal in Calgary at 1.5%, 1.5% and 2%.
Yes, your Negotiations Committee knows what the current inflation numbers are, we know that the membership has improved productivity while engaging in remote work, we know that remote work was a success due the hard work and commitment of the membership. We know that all of the salary surveys conducted by Human Resource organizations, Conference Board of Canada and the Bank of Canada are predicting wage increases higher than those agreed to by ATU 569 and CUPE 30.
There is another issue on the horizon. The City has a group working on a new job classification system. This group is like a black box in that not only has the Union heard very little of their progress and outcomes but even City managers are wondering about the potential impact. This project will impact all of the unions and it needs to be discussed with the Coalition of Edmonton Civic Unions' Presidents. Nonetheless, it should still be discussed at the bargaining table as it will have an impact on work and pay.
Your Negotiations Committee is prepared and will represent your interests at the bargaining table. Please reach out to them and thank them for their hard work and commitment.
In Solidarity,
Your Negotiations Committee,
Joe Childs, Chief Negotiator/Director of Labour Relations, CSU 52
Pierre Blanchette, CSU 52 City of Edmonton Unit Director (Financial & Corporate Services)
Tracy Foran, CSU 52 First Vice-President (City Operations)
Jared Cutting, Committee Member (Edmonton Police Service)
Amanda Pickett, Labour Relations Officer
Lanny Chudyk, CSU 52 President (ex-officio)