Introduction to bargaining your contract

Dear Unifor members at YVR2

It was an eventful week for the union as we all gathered for the first time in-person to discuss questions and ideas for negotiating the first collective agreement. Thanks to all those who attended and asked your questions, and also thanks to those who respectfully expressed concern about the process. It is this kind of dialogue that helps us move forward in a transparency and solidarity.

It appears that a few key items need clarification, which I will address below:

Union dues

As mentioned at the meetings, union dues are tax deductible and will only begin being collected after you vote to approve (aka ratify) your first contract. In other words, only after any new wages and benefits take affect in the new contract will you begin to pay union dues.

We are just beginning the bargaining process right now, so ideally you could be voting on a new contract in the late winter or early spring. However, if the past is a good predictor of the future, Amazon will attempt to drag out the process, so your new contract and commencement of union dues could happen later than the spring.

The ”freeze” and fair treatment of unionized employees

The “freeze” outlined in British Columbia law is intended to ensure that unionized employees cannot be punished by the employer during the negotiation of the first contract. Under the freeze, you can expect to be accorded the wages and benefits you would have enjoyed before joining a union. Hence, if Amazon singles YVR2 workers out for anything that could be interpreted as punishment, such as not granting annual raises, that would be against the law. Note: Amazon is in the habit of breaking the law during this union drive, so they could try to with-hold your raise. If this happens, Unifor will take Amazon to court immediately.

Workplace petition

Some of you may have been pressured to sign a new petition about revoking your bargaining rights. As explained at last week’s meetings, such a petition cannot trigger any change in the protections offered by the union until next summer, so it may not be wise to sign anything if the document will instead form part of a future legal challenge by Amazon (it is very unlikely to succeed but Amazon has nearly limitless resources to spend on frivolous legal challenges. Thankfully, the B.C. courts have so far been very reluctant to take Amazon’s nuisance claims seriously).

As you may know, it is prohibited by law for managers to be involved in participate in any way in union affairs so please let me know if you have been pressured by a manager.

Next steps

Despite the ongoing misinformation campaign in your workplace, I think the truth about your new rights is gaining traction! As your bargaining representative, I've taken careful notes from last week's meetings and have seen all of the emails that came in as a result. I’ve heard clearly from you about raises, safety, union dues, transfers, favouritism, and other matters that are of concern to you at work.

Together with the results of the bargaining survey, this forms a strong foundation for your bargaining committee (once elected) to get started. If you are interested in being nominated for the bargaining committee, email [email protected] no later than September 27.

I’ll be reaching out again next week with details about bargaining committee elections and how to vote.

In the meantime, don’t forget to fill out your confidential bargaining survey and email us with any question you have.

In solidarity,

Mario Santos