Sisters & Brothers:
Please accept this as an update to our current contract negotiations that are ongoing with the employer’s representatives.
Our negotiation committee gathered with the full Local Union Executive Board on Sunday Feb 28/ 2016. The E-board was fully briefed with regard to the status of negotiations and we collectively started the final push toward a memorandum on Monday morning with the assistance of a provincial conciliator. Unfortunately the conciliator had limited availability and could only offer up two and a half days through the week.
We continued to meet through the full week until late Friday. We were able to sort out most, if not all, of the non-monetary considerations and resolved nearly all of the outstanding issues. Unfortunately, we were not able to close all of the wage and pension issues that arose and it became apparent that an agreement was not within reach at that particular timeframe. Late in the day on Friday March 4/ 2016 the parties decided to step away and take a pause from the process.
Let me assure you that I will be conversing with the employer very soon to determine the next steps that we take to achieving a suitable agreement. I think I can speak for both parties in that we are committed to working toward a negotiated settlement and look forward to coming up with the key components that will lead us to a recommended settlement.
I thank you all for your patience and will endeavour to keep you as informed as possible during the remainder of this intricate and challenging stage of the procedure.
In solidarity,
Rob Edwards, President
UFCW Canada Local Union 12R24