Richardson Oilseed Zoom and Vote
Late last night, the company tabled what they describe as their last best and final offer. The Negotiating Committee has decided to put this offer in front of the membership for a vote before proceeding towards strike action.
“There is never as much money in one of these offers as we would like,” said Union Spokesperson Chris O’Halloran. “We pushed the company hard and did not mince words about the fact that the membership expected an excellent offer of settlement.”
We have secured improvements to:
- Union Recognition and Dues Deduction
- The Grievance Procedure
- Overtime Allocation and Sign-up
- Paid Holidays
- Vacation Entitlements
- Classification Improvements
- Boot Allowance
- New Employees Orientation
- Employee Right and Dignity and Respect
- Leave of Absence
- Use of Banked Overtime
- Union Education
- % Wage Increases
- Pension Improvements
- Benefit Improvements
Although we always want to see more money, benefit, and pension contribution, the Committee thought it essential to let the membership vote on the company’s last best and final offer before taking the next steps towards a strike.
“We are a democratic organization, and the members must decide on the next steps in their negotiation,” continued O’Halloran. “The company believes this is a fair offer, but if the membership does not accept it, we will be prepared to proceed towards a strike to put added pressure on the company.”
We will be holding a Zoom meeting to answer questions and present the offer:
- Monday, December 13, at 7 pm (Click Here to Join on Monday)
- Tuesday, December 14, at 7 pm (Click Here to Join on Tuesday)
We will be ratifying the contract as follows. For a step-by-step description of the process, read right to the end of the page.
We will be voting the offer in person:
Thursday, December 16,
at the Holiday Inn Express (217 41 Street South, Lethbridge, AB)
from 7 am to 7 pm.
Any member who cannot vote in person can vote online from:
12:01 am December 17 to 11:59 pm.
Please verify your email with
Bobbie (bmenzak@ufcw401.ab.ca)
if you intend to vote online.
We will count the ballots at the union office on December 18 at 10 am.
We will take the following steps to make sure members have all the information needed to make an informed decision:
- If the members reject the offer, we will immediately apply for mediation (To learn more about the mediation process, check out this video).
- Mediation will take two days of negotiations before the union can ask the Mediator to write out.
- The Mediator writing out will trigger a government-mandated 14-day cooling-off period.
- Your union will schedule and hold a strike vote during the cooling-off period. The membership must vote ‘yes’ for strike action, or vote ‘no’ to accept the offer. If the members vote to strike, the company will likely apply for a “lockout vote.” It will be in a place following the cooling-off period to close their doors to the membership.
- We will ask the company if they wish to improve their offer following a vote by the members to strike. If the company declines, we will serve a 72-hour strike notice.
“Do not think you will vote this offer down and get a better offer without pushing Richardson to a strike situation,” advised O’Halloran. “The company has told us this is all the money they have; it has been spread out through the contract providing lots of improvements.”
Richardson members are part of the National Defence Fund. As such, strike pay will be around $350.00 a week for full-time employees. Members have to picket their regular shifts each week to receive picket pay.
These are challenging times, and it is essential to make sure you have answers to all of your questions. Please reach out to Chris (587-999-6448) or Bill (403-793-5991) if you have questions or need more information.
Posted on: December 10,2021