After reaching a tentative agreement earlier this month, our committee would now like to present the agreement to the membership for a vote. Full details of what was negotiated are available in the comprehensive report on the tentative agreement [here] and highlights include:

• Wage increases of up to 14.6% to 14.9% over the next 18 months for most members. (See the FBA wage calculator here).
• Renewed commitment to reversing privatization, including bringing support workers at Fraser Health P3s back in-house.
• Standby and callout compensation for members at BC Emergency Health Services IT Operations and Telecommunications.
• An additional hourly premium of 2% or 4% for members working in forensic minimum or medium security units or community settings, or maximum or multi-level security units.

This is an important decision. To make sure you have all the information you need to make an informed vote, we encourage you to attend one of the following one-hour telephone town hall meetings:

• Saturday, October 1 at 10:00 am: Ratification Information Meeting #1
• Sunday, October 2 at 1:00 pm: Ratification Information Meeting #2
• Monday, October 3 at 7:00 pm: Ratification Information Meeting #3

You will be called when the telephone town hall starts. To ensure you can participate (and to ensure your voting credentials go to the right place) our union must have your current phone number and personal email address on file. You can review and update this information now on the BCGEU Member Portal – my.bcgeu.ca – or by contacting your area office.

Component 4 vice-president and bargaining committee member Mahen Ramdharry is also available to answer questions directly until the close of voting. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. 

Your bargaining committee is unanimously recommending you vote YES to accept the terms of the tentative agreement.

Voting information

Voting will open on Monday, October 3rd, 2022 at 8:00 AM PDT and will close on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 8:00 PM PDT. On the morning of the 3rd '[email protected]' will email you a link to vote online and your unique voting credential. Please participate and vote.

The voting credential will be emailed to you from [email protected]. Please add this email address as a contact or approved sender in your email client-this will help ensure the credential is delivered to your inbox.

A member without a personal email address may request the assistance of a bargaining committee member, steward or fellow member to help set one up.

Troubleshooting

If you do not receive a voting credential, first check your email junk, spam and quarantine folders.

If you still do not have a voting credential after checking junk, spam and quarantine folders, this is likely because the BCGEU does not have a personal email address for you. If this is you, or if you experience problems casting your vote, contact [email protected] (preferred), or call 604-291-9611 or toll-free 1-800-663-1674, ASAP after voting opens and by no later than Monday, October 10, 2022 at 9:00 AM PDT. This will allow enough time for problems to be addressed before voting closes. Phone support is available only during regular BCGEU office hours.

We are pleased to present a tentative agreement that includes new provisions to address the stress you're facing at work, allow more opportunities to upgrade your skills or change health care occupations, and offer wage increases not seen in decades.

In solidarity,

Your Facilities Bargaining Association Bargaining Committee


PS. If you know of a member who did not receive this bulletin, it is likely because we do not have their personal email address. Please ask them to update their information on the BCGEU Member Portal – my.bcgeu.ca – or by contacting their area office.

UWU/MoveUP