The bargaining committee for BCGEU members at Douglas College has reached a tentative agreement. The other six bargaining units within our post-secondary support staff common agreement will commence bargaining early in the new year. Details below. 

An important note: If you haven't already done so, please provide our union with your personal contact information in the BCGEU Member Portal. 

Negotiation status 
As you know, the BCGEU has established a tentative common agreement – the first ever – with the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA). Once ratified, that common agreement will cover BCGEU members working in support services at seven post-secondary employers. Ratification voting will proceed once each of the seven units have reached tentative local agreements with their employers.
 
On December 16, the first of our seven units – Douglas College – reached a tentative local agreement. Bargaining dates for the other six units are as follows:

• BC Institute of Technology: January 25 and 27; February 6-7; February 23-24; February 27-March 3
• Coast Mountain College: January 16-20
• Justice Institute of BC: January 3-5, January 9-13, and January 16
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University: January 10-11 and January 13; February 1-3
• Northern Lights College: February 6-10
• Okanagan College: TBD (possibly January 2023)

 
We, your College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA), will be meeting February 15-17, 2023 at the Fraser Valley BCGEU area office to continue coordinating across all units, share ideas and strategize on common issues.
 
Frequently Asked Questions 
Q: When will ratification voting happen?
A: To demonstrate our solidarity with each other and to the employers, we have agreed to coordinate the timing of our ratification voting. It will take place when all seven tables have reached their tentative local agreements. This means that ratification voting for both the common agreement and the local agreements will happen at the same time. Given scheduled bargaining dates, this will take place in 2023. For a reminder of the bargaining process, review this infographic and this explainer video.
 
Q: Why does bargaining take this long?
A: Local tables bargain local agreements that address issues specific to your institution. Many of these issues are significant and important, so they may take some time to try and resolve.
 
Q: When will wage increases take affect?
A: Although a compensation package (under the 2022 PSEC Shared Recovery mandate) has been settled in the tentative common agreement, no wage increases will take effect until both the local and common agreements are ratified. When that happens, wage increases will be retroactively applied back to July 1, 2022.
 
 
As bargaining proceeds, we will need to distribute more information to you that may not be appropriate to send through your employer-provided email address. Please ensure that we have your personal contact information by logging in to the BCGEU Member Portal here before your local table bargaining begins. Please encourage your coworkers to do the same.
 
In solidarity,
Your College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA)

UWU/MoveUP