ECC: Memorandum of Agreement Reached!

Please be sure to scroll to the bottom for important voting information.

As you recall, members rejected the employer’s August offer by 84%. With that strong rejection and the reasons behind it, your union negotiating committee returned to the table with Edmonton Convention Centre (ECC) for improvements.

Your co-workers from your union negotiating committee unanimously recommend accepting the employer’s offer.

We are pleased to announce that in our latest round of bargaining on December 13 & 15, 2022, your union bargaining committee and ECC reached a memorandum of agreement for which we will bring you for a vote.

Significant changes to the August offer were achieved, including additional increases to pay rates in 32 of the 34 classifications, with most classifications receiving immediate increases of over $1.00 per hour.

There is retroactive pay for all hours paid going back until January 4th, 2022, the time frame that most members were actively working. Some members could expect retro pay of over $5000.00 if the offer is accepted.

Your bargaining committee was also able to change the language on the full-time vacation to ensure that no one suffers a reduction in time or pay going forward. Also achieved was a “wage re-opener – under certain conditions” clause in year 4 of the memorandum.

These additional changes are on top of the other items in the previous agreement.

To highlight a few of these changes:

• There are significant changes to the scheduling language (Article 7).
• The inclusion of s “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation” as an additional general holiday.
• There are new improvements to how vacations are selected and new benefits for part-time employees who have not previously qualified under the old hourly qualifier.

You can find the rest of the changes in the attached memorandum here.

If you have any questions about the offer, please contact your ULRO, Catherine Lelis (clelis@ufcw401.ab.ca), the Union Negotiator and Northern Director Larry Zima (lzima@ufcw401.ab.ca). You can also speak to one of your co-workers on the bargaining committee; Bana- Banquets, Germain- Banquets, Neil- Maintenance, Mike- Custodial Services, and Francis- Kitchen.

In-person voting will occur in the Riverview Room on January 10th, 2023.
The polls will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Online voting will take place on January 12th from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.

You will receive an email to the email address your union has on file. It’s important that we have your correct contact information. You can update your information at this link by scrolling down the page: https://gounion.ca/contact/. Alternatively, you can let Catherine Lelis know if you need to update your information by sending her your correct/preferred email to: clelis@ufcw.ca

This online voting will be conducted by a company called Converso. They ensure a secure and independent voting process. We will provide you with a secure code that is individualized just for you. The online voting platform will use a tracking system to ensure that voting credentials are only used once. Your vote will not be shared with anyone – your vote is 100% confidential. Your union will be cross-referencing in-person and online voting lists to ensure that each member only has the opportunity to vote once so the integrity of the voting process is maintained.

Support service will also be available through Converso to assist members with issues with online voting. Converso will send out comprehensive information about online voting to the email address we have on file for you.

Converso recommends that, where possible, you avoid using a Hotmail email address for this process, as Hotmail sometimes automatically blocks the emails you need to receive.

Please ensure we have your correct email as soon as possible.

The question on the ballot will be: 

Yes – I accept the company’s offer
No – I reject the company offer and authorize the union to take the required steps for a potential strike

Please make sure you vote. Don’t let others decide for you!

For a digital version of this document, click here.

Posted on: December 29,2022