Summary of tentative agreement

Dear Members, 

 
Last week, we were pleased to announce that the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) reached a tentative agreement with the Community Social Services Employers Association (CSSEA) after marathon negotiations. 

The 4-year tentative agreement features significant gains in many of the priorities that you identified. Your new contract is for four years, from April 1st, 2025, to March 31st, 2029.
You can read about the agreement here.
 
Here are a few highlights of the deal, which will also apply to supportive housing, shelter and women's transition home members until April 1, 2027, if ratified:
 
Wage Increases & Security

• 3%/year for four years
• Shift premiums, beginning 2028
• Renewed funding for the targeted wage adjustments that supportive housing workers won in 2024, so that it is fixed and ongoing for the life of the agreement*

 To get a better picture of how these wage gains will affect you, use our wage calculator here.
 
More Monetary Gains 

• Health and Welfare benefits improvements
• Mileage rate increase to 65 cents
• Regular employee retention incentive of $1,100 per FTE as of January 2027, payable April 2027
• Support for gender affirming care
• Wage adjustments for Indigenous Services members

 Non-Monetary Wins 

• Improved health and safety language, including new reference to workload-related health and safety concerns

Click here to see our summary and learn more about the tentative agreement and the gains that we made. 

These are just some of the improvements we achieved thanks to your solidarity.
 
Your Committee's Recommendation  
Reaching this tentative deal was possible because of your support. Your committee believes that we made real progress in this round of negotiations and is recommending that you vote 'yes' to ratify this agreement. 

What happens next?
You will have the opportunity to vote on this tentative agreement from Thursday, May 14th until Thursday, May 21st at 2:00 pm. Voting information will come to your email from Simply Voting.

Because supportive housing workers are officially members of the community health bargaining association and already voted for the wages and working conditions that will kick in starting April 1, 2027, they will not receive a ballot. However, if the deal ratifies all of the wage increases and improvements secured will apply to these workers for the remainder of their time under the community social services agreement.

We will be holding virtual information sessions via Zoom on the following dates:

May 11^th – 6:00 pm for all members

May 12^th – 12:00 pm for Indigenous Services members

May 13^th- 12:00 pm for all members

May 13^th- 6:00 pm for all members

Over the next several days, we will be creating a comprehensive report so you can review all the proposed changes in detail. You will also receive invitations to virtual information sessions to review the report, along with clear instructions on how and when to vote on ratification. 
 

In solidarity, 
Your CSSBA Bargaining Committee 
 
*A note for supportive housing workers transferring into the community health agreement in April 2027: Our union is currently negotiating a transfer agreement for a fair and smooth transition into the community health agreement. It remains our position that your current base wage rates, inclusive of the 3% increases outlined above, should be matched with the same base wage rates in the community health agreement, so that you do not lose money. In terms of shift premiums, you should see a boost when you transfer into your new agreement in 2027.

UWU/MoveUP