Since we last provided an update in early November, your bargaining committee for Sunwood and the Employer have met in bargaining for one and one-half additional days. This means the parties have so far spent a total of four and one-half days attempting to negotiate your first collective agreement.

The Employer is unwilling to meet the clear mandate you gave us to make meaningful gains in wages, benefits, vacation, paid holidays and other monetary and non-monetary conditions of employment. Revera refuses to move from the status quo on vacation and paid holidays-even though all we are seeking in those areas is broadly the same vacation and paid holidays already enjoyed by Revera employees at Parkwood Manor. While Revera today offered an extremely small enhancement to one type of extended health benefit and to bereavement leave, it proposed paying for these enhancements in part by reducing another extended health benefit and by rolling back its wage proposal.

Your Bargaining Committee's position has been consistent throughout negotiations: Revera employees at Sunwood are underpaid even when compared with employees at other Revera independent living residences. You gave us a clear mandate to both close the wage gap and keep up with the rising cost of living. You also gave us a clear mandate to achieve benefit, vacation, paid holiday and other monetary and non-monetary improvements to bring you on par with other Revera independent living employees. Revera is apparently not convinced that you deserve the same as other Revera employees in the region doing the same work.

Today's bargaining session ended with your bargaining committee rejecting Revera's latest settlement proposal and advising Revera that we would now take some time to consider our options. Over the next week or so we will do just that and will get back in touch with more information about what comes next-including opportunities for you to learn more about where the parties stand and to provide input and direction to your bargaining team.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns about this bulletin or the bargaining process generally, please reach out to an elected member of your bargaining committee.

In solidarity,

Sandy Paine, Bargaining Committee Member
Linda Richardson, Bargaining Committee Member
Ryan Stewart, Staff Representative, Negotiations

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