RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO:
Yukon Employees’ Union 2285-2nd Ave. Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 1C9
Yukon Government Workers’ Bargaining 2021 This set of negotiations will be affected by our collective experiences in the workplace and in the world since we were last at the bargaining table three years ago. The legacies of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement coupled with a rise in anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Indigenous racism and a global pandemic have created seismic shifts in the world as we know it.
The Local will select from submissions to establish bargainin priorities; these priority proposals will be assembled by theme and addressed at the conference with all other bargaining proposals
The impacts of climate change are affecting workers everywhere, and a shift toward a green economy creates both risk and opportunity for whole sectors of our economy. Meanwhile our increased reliance on technology has been a mixed blessing; technology is helping to connect us even while increased automation threatens some traditional work.
Locals will elect their representatives to the bargaining conference, as well as alternates. Delegate entitlement is based on the Local’s size. Locals may also nominate delegates for one of the two different bargaining teams.
Contract negotiations in this climate must reflect realities that are both close to home, and global in scale. This round of bargaining will be different, that’s for sure. Thanks to technology, we now have the capacity to invite and process individual bargaining proposals from our members, so we are changing our input process this time. Yukon Government workers were invited to complete a membership survey to kick off this round of bargaining; the anonymous results of the survey will be reviewed by Bargaining Conference delegates. We have scheduled the event to take place August 10 to 13 in Whitehorse, subject to the recommendations of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. Now that we have our survey responses, we need your specific ideas about how you would like your contract and working conditions to be improved. This is called Bargaining Input, and the input window is now open. We will be accepting member input until May 24th.
What’s Changed? Once the input period has closed, each Local must hold a Local meeting to review proposals from their membership.
Election of delegates to the bargaining teams takes place at the August Bargaining Conference. The NonMonetary team deals with mostly non-monetary items while the monetary team deals with all cost proposals, things like general wage increases, improvements to benefits or premiums
How can you get involved? Visit the YEU website for the forms, links and explanatory notes you’ll need. The Bargaining Input form is available digitally on the website, and on the back page of this mailer. You can submit your input electronically or in hard copy but submissions must be received no later than May 24, 5 p.m. The Local will assemble the proposals and vote only to rank their priority. The deadline date for the submission of ranked proposals from the Local to the union, whether electronically or on paper is June 17, 5 pm. The deadline for delegate elections and submission will be June 17, 5 pm. Any proposals or nominations submitted after the deadline dates will not be considered.
For Links & Info visit yeu.ca/yg_bargaining_2021
Who Represents You at the Table? You Decide!
___________________________________ NOMINEE Please prriint name
___________________________________ ________________________________ Nomin minee Signature
1st Nominator Please print name
2nd N Nominator Please Print Name
1st Nominator Signature
2nd Nominator Signature
YEU Local __________ _________________
YG Work Site ________ ________________
Please return completed form to your Local President, Chief Shop Steward or YEU by JUNE 17. Send it by fax to 667-6521 or email it to us; contact@yeu.ca You can also mail it to 201-2285 2nd Avenue Whitehorse YT, Y1A 1C9 or drop it off ff in person.
Each round of negotiations involves a series of tradeoffs; some excellent proposals will be advanced, and some excellent proposals will not make it to the final round. The difficult decisions made at each stage take into account likelihood of success, cost, and what may benefit the greatest number of members. Sometimes it's a critical item that may only impact a small group of members, but will do so profoundly. Generally, bargaining team members focus on supporting the decisions made at the bargaining conference. Each round of bargaining offers different challenges, and the group must weigh each proposal against the desired outcome and what happens during the course of face to face negotiations. If a round of bargaining is likely to be very focused on wage and benefit increases, the team may decide (for example) to forego pushing for other costly gains that might diminish the likelihood of the employer accepting desired wage increases. Stay engaged with the process by subscribing for email updates, attending your Local meetings and checking our bargaining updates webpage often.
Subscribe for Regular Bargaining Updates yeu.ca/subscribe
What Makes a Good Bargaining Proposal? At every round of bargaining we receive proposals asking for things that are already provided for in the collective agreement, or represent things that people would “like” to have in their collective agreements. Please make sure your idea is not already included in the collective agreement. If there is language in the collective agreement that you want to improve on, explain why in your submission.
The strongest demands come out of demonstrated workplace needs. This might include such as situations where we have filed a grievance and lost because of problems with the existing contract language or situations where normal requests are being unreasonably refused by management. Similarly, proposals could be related to significant changes in workplace conditions - the introduction of new shift schedules or a change in jobs. If you don’t have a copy of your contract you can view it anytime on you the YEU website at bit.ly/ygcontract2021 General topic areas for bargaining proposals are not limited to the following items and can include the removal of an existing article or the addition of something you think is missing from our agreement; for example, paid pandemic leave for testing or the Right to Disconnect from work issued electronics or messages. Below are some general topic areas to consider when thinking about Collective Agreement Improvements. Diversity in the Workplace A diverse workplace includes everyone, regardless of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or family status, religion, age, language, culture, background, interests, views or other dimensions. It could also include the necessary supports for training and accommodating differences in the workplace. Mental Health Mental health, like physical health is critical to the wellbeing of individual workers and by extension to their families or dependents. Things like funding for mental health advocates, Employee Assistance Program improvements and ready access to other culturally appropriate supports could be considered here. Telework or Remote Work Given the continually increasing reliance on technology, privacy and other protections for workers can be considered in this general topic. Those who work from home should be able to shut work off and disconnect electronically based on the work schedule. Work Life Balance This may include vacation leave improvements, cultural leaves and other provisions like schedule enhancements. Fair Wages This includes shift premiums, community allowances, certifications, classification levels as well as general economic increases applied to all positions.
Who Can Attend the Bargaining Conference? Any member in good standing who is elected at the Local meeting prior to June 17 can attend as a delegate. The number of delegates from each Local is determined by the Local’s size. Additionally, the President and Local Vice-Presidents will attend. There will be up to 4 representatives from the Regional Women’s Committee in attendance, along with a number of other designated PSAC Regional Committee members in attendance, subject to Regulation 15 and PSAC approvals.
Conference delegates review all submitted proposals in order of priority as assigned by the Locals. Delegates will debate each proposal's likelihood of success at the bargaining table, and select the proposals that will go forward to the negotiating table. If you wish to nominate someone as a Local delegate to the Bargaining Conference, please visit the YG Bargaining webpage for links to online or downloadable documents including nomination forms. The form is also on page 3 of this newsletter.
YEU/PSAC 2021 Bargaining Input Form Bargai a ning Unit: Government e of Yukon YEU Loc o al:
Submission Date:
Instru uctions: Please u use this form to identify areaas in your Collective Agreement you feel should be changged, improved upon n he YEU office at 201-2285 2nd Avenue in hard copy, electronically or to your or remo oved. Return this form to th d or Union rep. It must be reeceived by YEU no later than n 5 pm on May 24. If Local Prresident, Chief Shop Steward more space is needed, please attach additional pages.
Article # (if available or applicable) Subject of Article:
__________ ______ ______________ ________ _______ _______________ ________________ ___
_______________ _____ _____________ _________ ________ _____________ ____________ ________ _______ ____
Your Bargaining Proposal: Clearly explain your suggested change. Use extra sheets if necessary.
Reason for your proposal: If you are proposing a new article or suggesting a change other than clarificationof wording, please describe problems which prompted your proposal including actual examples where possible.
Submitted by: Job Title: ____ _____ ________ ________________ ________ __ Department: ____ _______ ________ _______________ __________
Signature: ______ _____ _________________ ________ _______ __________ ________ _____________ _________ ________ _______ Please submit this form to your Local President, Chief Shop Steward or Local Representative by May 24th at 5pm. You may also submit electronically to contact@yeu.ca or in hard copy to zƵŬŽŶ ŵƉůŽLJĞĞƐ͛ hŶŝŽŶ Ăƚ ϮϬϭ-285 2nd Avenue, Whitehorse YTA 1C9