Right To a Steward

As per Article 10.3, you have the right to a steward for any meeting with your Supervisor or Manager that 'might be the basis of disciplinary action'. You have the right to know in advance that you might need a steward and to choose your own steward as long as this does not 'result in an undue delay'. If the manager tells you the meeting is 'not disciplinary' but during the course of the meeting you start to feel that is it – you have the right to request that the meeting be stopped and rescheduled so you can get a steward. However, if the Employer insists that the meeting proceed then follow the 'work now-grieve later' rule. Contact a steward after to file a grievance if you felt forced to sit through a disciplinary meeting without a steward. If you do not have a steward, Gateway will ask you to sign a form indicating that you 'waive your right'. Please do not do this without serious consideration or because you feel pressured. You have the right to representation. 

Supervisors and managers can direct your work, give you non-disciplinary feedback or instruction without a steward present. 

Excluded Managers Doing Union Work

It has been brought to our attention that excluded managers are regularly doing the work of Cooks in the kitchen. The Union has filed a grievance under Article 2.2 Bargaining Unit Work which states that management cannot 'displace or replace any member of either bargaining unit except in cases of emergency when employees are not available'. That means that management doing union work should be a rare and unexpected occurrence. We have been told that managers have been doing the work of Cooks on a daily basis and that this has become part of normal operating practice. If this is the case, it is a violation of the Collective Agreement. The Employer is obligated to give this work to union workers in the form of straight time or overtime before having management working as Cooks. 

Equitable Sharing of Overtime

Article 16.4 Sharing of Overtime states that 'overtime work will be allocated equitably'. That means that the Employer does not have to offer overtime in seniority order. It means that overtime should be offered in an equitable manner. The word equitable has a slightly different meaning from the word equal. The offers do not need to be exactly the same but the Employer needs to make every reasonable attempt to give everyone a chance to pick up overtime. If you feel you have not been offered overtime in an equitable manner compared to your coworkers – ask your manager to show you their tracking of overtime offers. If the tracking shows that you have been getting less offers of overtime – ask the Employer to remedy the situation by offering you more until it is equitable. If you have any problems with that – talk to a steward. 

Patron Abuse Committee

Patron abuse was a big topic of discussion at bargaining. Since then, a Patron Abuse Committee has been meeting regularly to review incidents of patron abuse and the Employer's response (example: warnings, bannings). If you have been mistreated by a patron and you are not satisfied with the Employer response, please talk to Alex Lee-Young, Union Rep to the Patron Abuse Committee.

Employee Parking

Some workers have expressed concerns about being required to park at Lot 4400 on Friday and Saturday nights. This has been referred to the Safety Committee for more discussion. The Employer advised that you can ask for a Security escort. The Union has responded that more Security will have to be hired to make this work. We understand it is possible to walk through the parkade, which may feel safer. 

In solidarity

Fateh Born
Staff Representative

Download PDF of notice here.

UWU/MoveUP