Greetings:

The Bargaining Committee has been working with the Employer in order to get the new Collective Agreement out as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately, we have come to a disagreement with the Employer on changes that the Union believed were going to be made to the pension language in Article 19.04 when we signed off on the Pension MOA in September 2018.

The Employer’s position is that we did not bargain this language in the MOA, therefore, it cannot be changed in the Collective Agreement  As such, the language that will be in the Collective Agreement regarding the bridge benefit will still reference the 15 years instead of the 10 years, which contradicts the plan text of the pension plan. 

The Bargaining Committee has tried on several occasions to have this corrected but have been unsuccessful.  This is the reason we have not signed the Collective Agreement to date as we want to provide an accurate Collective Agreement to our members. 

As such, we are providing the draft copy of the Collective Agreement for ease of reference until a mutual agreement can be made with the Employer.  We will continue to update members on the progress. 

Please note that even though it has not been signed, all provisions of the Collective Agreement are in place and members are covered as per the signed Memorandum of Agreement. 

In solidarity,

COPE491 Bargaining Committee

We are sure that many of you are wondering about the status of our new Collective Agreement.  This process is taking longer than expected, but rest assured the bargaining committee is actively working with the Employer to finalize the document. 

In the meantime, please continue to use the last Collective Agreement in conjunction with the signed Memorandum of Settlement.  Those two documents together contain all the clauses that are in effect. 

Your new fully proofread and signed Collective Agreement will be prepared and distributed as soon as possible and we appreciate our members continued patience as we work through this process.  We are working to ensure this process continues to move forward. 

In Solidarity, 
COPE491 Bargaining Committee

We have had members asking what the status of the new Collective Agreement is.  Currently, the Bargaining Committee has the draft copy and is in the process of reviewing it to make sure there are no errors or omissions.   They are working on getting it finalized as soon as possible.

The results of the ratification vote are in.  The Memorandum of Agreement has been passed by the membership.  

Please click the link below to see the results page from Big Pulse.

Report date: Monday 24 December 2018 14:27 EST

Memorandum of Settlement – expiry – December 31, 2021

Poll ID: 148049
As at Poll close: Saturday 22 December 2018 11:59 EST
Number of voters: 185 · Group size: 257 · Percentage voted: 71.98
Vote counting method: V1 FPTP
Ranked by votes

Rank    Candidate ID    Candidate    Votes       %
1           15963747         Yes          140        75.68
2           15963748          No            45        24.32

CLICK FOR BIG PULSE RESULTS PAGE

As you should have all received the settlement document earlier today, this is a follow up with more information you need to know.

The bargaining committee will be taking questions/comments and answering questions as soon as possible as the emails come in to them.  Please try to get your questions in quickly, to ensure there is time for the committee to respond.

Starting on December 15, 2018, the vote to ratify the settlement will commence.  Please ensure your RVP has your correct email address.  According to our bylaws, the ratification vote will be open for 7 days.  The vote is currently scheduled to run from December 15 to December 22, 2018. 

If you do not receive your election ballot from Big Pulse on December 15th, please contact your RVP as soon as possible. 

If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to the bargaining committee directly at: cope_bargaining_committee@hotmail.com

In Solidarity,

YOUR COPE491 BARGAINING COMMITTEE
Abigail Managan, Colette Calvelli, Lindsay Mills, Karri Patterson, Trish Sinclair

As you have all heard by now, we have reached a tentative settlement with our Employer.  The Bargaining Committee is pleased to present the settlement to you all for your review.  Please click the link below to access the document.

Memorandum of Settlement – November 2018

If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to the bargaining committee directly at: cope_bargaining_committee@hotmail.com

In Solidarity,

YOUR COPE491 BARGAINING COMMITTEE
Abigail Managan, Colette Calvelli, Lindsay Mills, Karri Patterson, Trish Sinclair

After a full day of negotiations your bargaining committee is pleased to report that we have reached a tentative agreement with the employer.  Details will follow shortly.