BARGAINING UPDATES
PTSU BARGAINING UPDATE - JANUARY 31ST 2020
February 3, 2020
No Progress in Conciliation
The bargaining team for the PTSU, PSAC local 60551, met with representatives of the University of New Brunswick in two days of conciliation on January 30th and 31st. The team is sorry to have to report that it made no progress during the two days of conciliation.
The union team began this conciliation session by addressing its hope that the parties continue to make progress and reach agreement on articles that were on the table during the last session and in anticipation of a four-day conciliation session to be held between February 18-21. To that end, the Union team tabled responses to UNB proposals on Pay Administration and Leave With or Without Pay for Union Business. We called attention to the fact that these counters were significant moves from our original positions, and that we were making these moves in an effort to move things forward. Unfortunately, the Employer’s responses, received on the second day of the session, indicated that they were not willing to make reasonable movement themselves in an effort to reach an agreement.
For its part, the UNB team began the conciliation session by tabling a response to a Union proposal on Overtime, along with a very slightly revised proposal on Other Leaves Without Pay. They did not table a counter to the Union proposal on Hours of Work from the last session.
The Employer’s counter on Overtime was particularly troubling for its potential impact on people in prorated positions, who could be forced to work well beyond their normal hours without any Overtime. When asked whether that was the Employer’s intent, the UNB team affirmed that it was. We indicated that the proposal was unacceptable.
While the PTSU team left this conciliation session frustrated on your behalf, we remain committed to tabling a complete monetary package at the beginning of the four-day session in February in an effort to reach an agreement. Clearly, if the Employer shows the same unwillingness to move during that session as they have in this one, the union will have to ramp up the pressure to inspire them to move. And that is where you come in!
The Union’s mobilization efforts are under way. We need to show the Employer that we want a fair contract, and that we won’t accept one with substandard working conditions that are below sector norms. And if we are going to convince the Employer to take us seriously, we need all members to be involved.
It’s time to send the Employer a strong message, and you are the key to that message. As always, you are our strength at the table.
In solidarity,
Your PTSU Bargaining Team
Bruce Miller (PTSU President)
Catherine Paulin (VP Saint John)
Chris Miller
John Hayden
Raphaëlle Valay-Nadeau (PSAC Regional Rep)
Silja Freitag (PSAC Researcher)
John Eustace (PSAC Negotiator)
PTSU BARGAINING UPDATE - OCTOBER 24 2019
October 24, 2019
Progress slows
The bargaining team for the PTSU, PSAC local 60551, met with representatives of the University of New Brunswick in four days of conciliation between October 21st and 24th. The team is disappointed to report that we made little progress during this bargaining session.
The two teams exchanged several substantial packages over the four days. We managed to come to significant agreement on seniority language without formally signing off on any clauses within the article. We engaged in protracted, respectful, and ultimately useful discussions about hours of work in an effort to understand our differences. And the union tabled a large package proposal to deal with several important issues, such as appointments and conversion of term positions to continuing positions.
In the end, the package proposal dealing with appointments and conversions was set aside, pending future discussion. And while we are disappointed that we were unable to secure fair and reasonable language on working hours during this session, we left confident that the Employer understood the importance of such provisions to our members. We are committed to advancing your interests in stable working hours during the next session.
Conciliation will resume on November 13th-15th.
We thank you for your continued support and solidarity. You are our strength at the table!
In solidarity,
Your PTSU Bargaining Team
Chris Miller (PTSU President)
John Hayden
Sharon Smith
Dawn Dignam (in absentia/on leave)
Raphaëlle Valay-Nadeau (PSAC Regional Rep)
Silja Freitag (PSAC Researcher)
John Eustace (PSAC Negotiator)
PTSU BARGAINING UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 16 2019
September 16, 2019
More progress towards first Collective Agreement with UNB
The bargaining team for the PTSU, PSAC local 60551, met with representatives of the University of New Brunswick in three days of conciliation between September 10th-12th. The team is pleased to report that conciliation was, again, very productive.
Building on the momentum of the last conciliation session (see the bargaining update from August 30th) the Union and the Employer continued to make good faith efforts to navigate our differences. The positive and respectful tone that animated the last conciliation session continued into this session. The parties were again able to engage in discussion and come to some agreement on another eight articles, concerning issues as varied as Probation, Discipline, and Call-back. By the time conciliation ended on 12 September, both sides again agreed that it had been a very productive round.
The team is pleased to have made more progress during the last two sessions of conciliation than it had in many months, and is hopeful to continue to see such progress during the next round of conciliation, scheduled for October 22nd -24th. We will provide another update after that session.
We are also pleased to report that both sides have agreed to meet over three days on November 13th-15th.
We thank you for your continued support and solidarity. You are our strength at the table!
In solidarity,
Your PTSU Bargaining Team
Chris Miller (PTSU President)
John Hayden
Sharon Smith
Dawn Dignam (in absentia/on leave)
Silja Freitag (PSAC Researcher)
John Eustace (PSAC Negotiator)
Raphaëlle Valay-Nadeau (PSAC Regional Representative)
PTSU BARGAINING UPDATE - AUGUST 30TH 2019
August 30, 2019
PTSU bargaining team makes progress towards first Collective Agreement with UNB
The bargaining team for the PTSU, PSAC local 60551, met with representatives of the University of New Brunswick in four days of conciliation between August 26th-29th. The team is pleased to report that conciliation was very productive.
On August 13th, the union team held a pre-conciliation caucus in Fredericton to brief the new PSAC negotiator on the outstanding bargaining issues and to discuss strategy for conciliation. While it was clear that there are many difficult outstanding issues to address in bargaining, the team elected to focus on articles where there seemed to be some common ground with the employer in an effort to change the tone of bargaining and establish some forward momentum for future conciliation meetings.
The strategy worked. While this round of conciliation began slowly with both sides tabling language on less contentious issues, negotiations gained momentum throughout the week as both sides made good faith efforts to navigate differences. When conciliation ended on August 29th, the Union and Employer teams had engaged and come to some agreement on eight articles, including issues as varied as Management Rights, Legal Representation, and Sick Leave. On parting ways, both sides agreed that the round was very productive.
Whatever factor or factors are animating the improved tone at the bargaining table, the team hopes that the more positive tone continues into the next round of conciliation, scheduled for September 10th-12th. We will provide another update after that session.
In the meantime, your bargaining team thanks you for your continued support and solidarity. You are our strength at the table!
In solidarity,
Your PTSU Bargaining Team
Chris Miller (PTSU President)
John Hayden
Sharon Smith
Dawn Dignam (in absentia/on leave)
Silja Freitag (PSAC Researcher)
John Eustace (PSAC Negotiator)
Raphaëlle Valay-Nadeau (PSAC Regional Representative)
APRIL CONCILIATION MEETINGS
April 23, 2019
We returned to concilliation again with UNB on April 4th and 5th where we continued to represent our members. During these meetings we made proposals on 'Staffing', 'Vacation Leave', 'Standy By' as well as others. We successfully signed off more clauses in 'Political Leave', 'Vacation Leave', 'Group Benefits', and 'Grievance and Arbitration Procedure'. We have updated our list of articles. We have almost two full weeks from April 29th to May 8th booked for concilliation. It is our intent to work as hard as possible during these two weeks to make as much progress as we can.
CONCILIATION MEETINGS
November 11, 2018
Your bargaining team will be in conciliation meetings November 12th to 19th. Please support your bargaining team by wearing a PSAC bargaining team bracelet.
BARGAINING ARTICLES AS OF FEBRUARY 2018
February 1, 2018
We have a list of articles that we are working on as of February 2018. Once again we remind members of the need to keep us informed on a continuing basis of any issues or potential issues as negotiations proceed and we also wish to take this opportunity to thank those members who have contacted us so far. Your inquiries have allowed us to investigate situations further, make additional inquiries, request more information, etc. to ensure that the statutory freeze conditions are not violated to the detriment of our members. The purpose of the statutory freeze is to “ensure that collective bargaining proceeds on a level playing field where the established terms and conditions of employment cannot be unilaterally altered by one of the parties.”
MEET YOUR BARGAINING TEAM
March 10, 2014
Your PTSU Bargaining Team (Larry Gagnon (PSAC negotiator), Chris Miller (Secretary, PTSU) and Dawn Dignam (President, PTSU)) have been working for you since March 2014. We are currently in conciliation.