This bulletin is to provide members at Whitecliff with an update on the status of bargaining, including the reasons for the current temporary pause in negotiations.

In January 2021, the BCGEU applied to the Labour Relations Board (LRB) to have various Revera sites represented by the union declared a common employer. In May 2021, the LRB issued a consent order formalizing an agreement between the BCGEU and Revera to resolve the common employer application. Among other things, the consent order specified that the current negotiations for Whitecliff would continue at a standalone bargaining table, and that the next round of negotiations for Whitecliff would take place at a common bargaining table, together with Fleetwood Villa.

When the consent order was issued, the parties thought negotiations for Whitecliff would have concluded by fall of 2021. The order therefore specified that Whitecliff and Fleetwood Villa would begin the next round of renewal negotiations at a common table starting around December 2021.

As you know, your bargaining committee for Whitecliff and Revera reached impasse in June 2021. In July 2021, the BCGEU applied to the LRB for mediation to assist the parties in resolving the impasse. The dispute had not been resolved by November 2021, and the parties had mediation dates set for later that month. Due to the possibility of escalating job action by unionized support staff of the BCGEU, the mediation dates set for November were cancelled by the union.

The parties then found themselves in a situation not contemplated in the consent order, with the December 2021 date to go to a common table with Fleetwood Villa being reached before the current round of standalone negotiations had ended. With both the Whitecliff and Fleetwood Villa tables at impasse with their own separate lists of matters in dispute, it no longer made sense to go to a common bargaining table on the previously agreed timeline.

The BCGEU and Revera are now in the process of amending the timelines in the consent order to allow the current Whitecliff and Fleetwood Villa negotiations-including mediation with the LRB-to continue and hopefully result in renewal of the collective agreements. Negotiations for the next renewals of the collective agreements would then take place at a common table with Fleetwood Villa beginning around December 2022.

You can expect a further update once the parties have amended the consent order and made plans to continue the current round of bargaining with the assistance of an LRB mediator. Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding.

In solidarity,

Ryan Stewart
Staff Representative, Negotiations

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UWU/MoveUP