Bargaining highlights:

• BCGEU members working in support services at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) have ratified their agreement.
• Members at Douglas College have a tentative agreement and are conducting their ratification vote.
• Bargaining is underway for the remaining five units; and all will receive retroactive wage increases, with wage protection adjustments, once agreements are ratified. Details below.

Important: If you haven't already done so, please provide our union with your personal contact information in the BCGEU Member Portal. This will help ensure you receive a ballot at ratification voting time.

 
Negotiation and ratification status by bargaining unit: 
Reminder: Members will now vote to ratify as soon as each local agreement is reached.

• BC Institute of Technology: Bargaining occurred over five days in January, February and March and will continue April 17-18, May 30, June 5-6 and 12. Both parties have made a significant number of proposals which have been bundled and assigned to sub-committees.
• Coast Mountain College: Bargaining occurred January 16-20, and will continue May 24-26 with focus on monetary proposals.
• Douglas College: Tentative agreement reached December 16, 2022; ratification vote is set for April 13-20 with member meetings on April 12.
• Justice Institute of BC: COMPLETE – Agreement ratified on March 22.
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University: Bargaining occurred for seven days in January and February and will continue June 6 and June 8. Nearly all non-monetary items have been tabled.
• Northern Lights College: Bargaining occurred February 6-10, and will continue April 17-18. All proposals have now been exchanged and we await the employer's response to our package offer.
• Okanagan College: Bargaining occurred March 16-17, and will continue around the end of May (dates TBD). Both parties have tabled their full packages and will bargain monetary proposals next.

Our bargaining committee – the College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA) – will be meeting June 21-23, to coordinate across all units, share ideas and strategize on common issues. 

Frequently Asked Questions: 
Q: My local table has reached a tentative agreement. When will I receive details about the settlement and information about where/how to vote?
A: When your local table reaches a tentative agreement, our union will distribute details about the settlement and information about voting by email.
 
Q: What information does my union need for me to vote on my local and common tentative agreements?
A: To participate in a ratification vote of your tentative agreements, you must provide our union with an email address – ideally, your personal email address. Please verify your email address is in our files by logging in to the BCGEU Member Portal here.
 
Q: Why does bargaining take so long?
A: Each institution operates differently, so we have 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. Furthermore, member and employer representatives charged with negotiations at each bargaining table are often charged with negotiations at multiple tables and, as you can imagine, scheduling becomes challenging.
 
Q: When will wage increases take affect?
A: Although a compensation package (under the 2022 PSEC Shared Recovery mandate that has been ratified in a number of other sectoral agreements – click here for details) 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.
 
Q: The public service recently received a wage-protection adjustment, as per their collective agreement, based on inflation figures for February 2023 and the B.C. Consumer Price Index (CPI) 12-month average increase. Will I receive this wage protection/adjustment as well?
A: Once your local and common agreement are ratified, you will be eligible for the same adjustment as public service workers received, including the additional 1.25% increase on July 1, 2023, for a total wage increase of 6.75%.
 
Important: We need your personal contact info!
 
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 – like your ratification voting ballot! 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

Update on tentative agreement ratification: Members will now vote to ratify as soon as each local agreement is reached.

Douglas College and Justice Institute of B.C. will conduct ratification voting soon; five other units are currently bargaining or will begin soon. 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. This will help ensure you receive a ballot at ratification voting time.

In September, the first-ever tentative common agreement with the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA), covering BCGEU members working in support services at seven post-secondary employers, was established.

Chairs of the seven units had planned to ratify the common agreement once all seven units had reached their respective tentative agreements and to coordinate the timing of these ratification votes.

However, due to scheduling challenges and the volume of important local issues needing to be addressed, your College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA) and the PSEA have decided to change this plan.

Now, ratification voting will take place as each table reaches a tentative local agreement. BCGEU members at each local unit will vote to ratify their new collective agreement (their respective tentative local agreement and the tentative common agreement together) in a single ratification vote.

This means that all changes will take effect immediately upon ratification, except where otherwise indicated.

This change will ensure members receive improvements outlined in their tentative agreements as soon as possible while also keeping the work going.

Negotiation and ratification status

At this time, two of the seven units have reached tentative local agreements and will soon begin their ratification voting. The five other units are currently bargaining or will begin soon.

• BC Institute of Technology: Bargaining occurred January 25 and 27, 2023, and will resume February 27-March 3, 2023.
• Coast Mountain College: Bargaining occurred January 16-20, 2023; additional bargaining dates TBD.
• Douglas College: Tentative agreement reached December 16, 2022; ratification voting dates TBD.
• Justice Institute of BC: Tentative agreement reached January 14, 2023; ratification voting dates TBD.
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University: Bargaining occurred January 10-11, January 13, and February 1-3, 2023; additional bargaining dates TBD.
• Northern Lights College: Bargaining dates set for February 6-10, 2023.
• Okanagan College: Bargaining dates set for March 16-17, 2023.

We (CISSBA) will be meeting April 24-26, 2023, to continue coordinating across all units, share ideas and strategize on common issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My local table has reached a tentative agreement. When will I receive details about the settlement and information about where/how to vote?

A: When your local table reaches a tentative agreement, our union will distribute within a few weeks via email details about the settlement as well as information about voting.

Q: What information does my union need from me for me to vote on my local and common tentative agreements?

A: To participate in a ratification vote of your tentative agreements, you must provide our union with an email address – ideally, your personal email address. Please verify your email address is in our files by logging in to the BCGEU Member Portal here.

Q: Why does bargaining take so 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. Furthermore, member and employer representatives charged with negotiations at each bargaining table are often charged with negotiations at multiple tables and, as you can imagine, scheduling becomes challenging.

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 the agreements (local and common as part of a single ballot) are ratified. When that happens, wage increases will be retroactively applied back to July 1, 2022.

Important: We need your personal contact info!

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 – like your ratification voting ballot! 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

The bargaining committee for BCGEU members working in support services at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) has reached a tentative agreement. This is the second of seven bargaining units within our post-secondary support staff common agreement to do so. The remaining units will commence bargaining soon. 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 established in September 2022 the first-ever tentative common agreement with the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA), covering BCGEU members working in support services at seven post-secondary employers.
 
Before ratification of the common agreement can happen, the seven units must each reach their own tentative local agreements. The following units have now done this:

• Douglas College: December 16, 2022
• Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC): January 14, 2023

Bargaining dates for the remaining five units are as follows:

• BC Institute of Technology: January 25 and 27; February 23-24; February 27-March 3
• Coast Mountain College: January 16-20
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University: January 10-11 and January 13; February 1-3
• Northern Lights College: February 6-10
• Okanagan College: TBD (March 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.
 
Important: We need your personal contact info!
 
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

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

Bargaining for local collective agreements is now underway for post-secondary support staff, details are 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
When we last wrote to you on September 23, we had reached a tentative common collective agreement – the first ever – with the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA). Highlights of the agreement are outlined in our previous bulletin. 

Once ratified, that agreement will cover BCGEU members working in support services at seven of our employers: BC Institute of Technology, Coast Mountain College, Douglas College, Justice Institute of BC, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Northern Lights College, and Okanagan College. 

Before ratification voting of the common agreement can proceed, each of the above tables must reach a tentative local agreement. Bargaining has been scheduled for the following dates:

• BC Institute of Technology: January 25 and 27; February 6-7; February 23-24; February 27-March 3
• Coast Mountain College: January 16-20
• Douglas College: November 24-25; December 8 and December 14-16
• 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.

When will ratification voting happen?
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.

Why does bargaining take this long?
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.

When will wage increases take affect?
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.

Important: We need your personal contact info!
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

We are pleased to announce that, after bargaining through the week and into the early morning hours today, we successfully established with your employer’s bargaining agent a tentative common agreement for all BCGEU members working in post-secondary support services – the first ever!
  
Why is this significant?
A common agreement enables us to standardize the collective agreements across the post-secondary sector in areas of common issues.
 
Once ratified, the agreement will cover BCGEU members working in support services at seven post-secondary institutions represented by the Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA):

• BC Institute of Technology
• Coast Mountain College
• Douglas College
• Justice Institute of BC
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University
• Northern Lights College
• Okanagan College

 
How long did this take? Why didn’t we have a common agreement before?
The parties negotiated this common agreement during bargaining dates scheduled this week. However, the groundwork for this historic achievement began many years ago. Prior to this common agreement, some BCGEU post-secondary units including BCIT and KPU only observed (did not participate) in our Multi-Employer Table (MET) negotiations. In summer 2022, all seven units agreed to join the MET, giving us the consensus needed to achieve a common agreement.
 
What’s in the common agreement?
Based on your input, we tabled proposals about wages (including meaningful wage protections), term (length) of the agreement, a job evaluation plan, common wage grid, and benefits. The tentative agreement reached is under the Province’s Shared Recovery Mandate.
 
Further details of the common agreement will be provided to members during the ratification process. Highlights include: 

• a process to establish a framework for a common job evaluation plan and a common wage grid, across the sector. This framework has been a long-time goal of the support sector because of the inequities between the institutions. We now can begin to standardize jobs and pay across our seven bargaining units. 
   
• a Joint Benefits Committee to monitor benefit carrier performance, including the tendering of contracts; comparison and analysis of contract administration, reviewing cost effectiveness and quality of service, benefits, access. Plus training on best practices, including for local Joint Early Intervention Plan (JEIP) committees.
   
• the Shared Recovery Negotiating Mandate (as set by the BC government) plus Flexibility Allowance (an additional 0.25 per cent of total compensation base) to be determined at the local level how they want to spend it, but the intention is to direct the money towards a new common wage grid.
   
• Retroactive to July 1, 2022.

 
What’s next?
The common agreement will proceed to ratification once each of the seven local tables have completed their local bargaining processes. Full details of the common agreement will be kept confidential until the bargaining process is complete.
 
Dates are now being scheduled for local table bargaining. We will notify you as soon as they are confirmed.
 
A couple other important notes:

• Local tables bargain local agreements that address issues specific to your institution.
• Neither a strike vote nor a ratification vote can be taken until bargaining is completed at both the Multi-Employer Table and each local table.
• For more information about your collective agreement, bargaining committee, and the bargaining process, please read this email from April 8th, 2022.

 
IMPORTANT: Do we have your contact info?
There is important information that we need to share with you and, if we don’t have your up-to-date personal email address and phone number, you could miss important updates.

We’re asking all members to make sure your contact information is up to date in the BCGEU Member Portal before local bargaining begins.

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW/UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO IN MEMBER PORTAL

If you do not yet have a BCGEU Member Portal account, click here to request one. Then watch for an email with instructions to activate it.

In solidarity,

Your College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA)

UWU/MoveUP

Negotiations for the next collective agreement for post-secondary support services begins Tuesday, September 20th. As a member of the BCGEU, please read this bulletin for important information.

What to expect next week

As your BCGEU elected representatives on the College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA), we will begin bargaining your next collective agreement on Tuesday, September 20th, 2022 (delayed a day due to the National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II) until Friday, September 23rd, 2022. 

During this time, we will meet with your employer’s bargaining agent, the Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA), which includes representatives from each of our seven employers:

• BC Institute of Technology
• Coast Mountain College
• Douglas College
• Justice Institute of BC
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University
• Northern Lights College
• Okanagan College

This structure of bargaining is called a Multi-Employer Table (or MET). Our goal is to establish a common agreement – a first for the post-secondary support sector. Having a common agreement will enable us to regulate, or standardize, collective agreements across the post-secondary sector in areas of common issues. The common agreement will cover all members of our seven bargaining units – a legendary feat! 

Based on your input, we will be tabling proposals about the following:

• Wages, including cost of living adjustment (COLA) protections
• Term (length) of the agreement
• Job evaluation plan
• A common wage grid
• Benefits and sick time

We are feeling excited to have all post-secondary employers at the table with us this round of bargaining, and positive that all parties have many common issues to address together.

Next steps

Once bargaining at the MET concludes on September 23rd, we will email you with a report on our progress. Bargaining dates will then be scheduled for local tables.

A couple other important notes:

• Local tables bargain local agreements that address issues specific to your institution
• Neither a strike vote nor a ratification vote can be taken until bargaining is completed at both the Multi-Employer Table and each local table
• For more information about your collective agreement, bargaining committee, and the bargaining process, please read this email from April 8th, 2022

IMPORTANT: Do we have your contact info?

The situation could change rapidly and, if we don’t have your up-to-date personal email address and phone number, you could miss important updates.

We’re asking all members to make sure your contact information is up to date in the BCGEU Member Portal before bargaining begins on Tuesday, September 20th.

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW/UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO IN MEMBER PORTAL

If you do not yet have a BCGEU Member Portal account, click here to request one. Then watch for an email with instructions to activate it.

In solidarity,
Your College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA)

UWU/MoveUP

Have you heard the news? Your fellow BCGEU members in the Public Service voted 94.6% in favour of striking for a fair collective agreement that includes cost-of-living-adjustments. Here’s how this affects you:
 
Members directly employed by the Government of B.C. took a strike vote to push their employer, the Public Service Agency (PSA), to improve their disappointing wage offer and come back with a fair proposal. As the vote wrapped up – before we even knew the results – their employer asked the union’s bargaining committee to return to negotiations. 
 
Just by voting, your fellow members sent a strong message to their employer. Today they amplified that message, and made it clear they’re united in their commitment to negotiate fair wages. They are now in a strong position to get a fair deal, and this is good news for you because the public service is the largest sectoral bargaining unit in the province and can set a strong precedent for other sectors like yours.
 
A win for the public service is a win for you. 
 
Am I going on strike? 
No, your bargaining unit is not going on strike. The strike vote does not apply to your bargaining unit, only to the 33,000 members in the Public Service (direct government services in Components 1, 5, 6, 12 and 20).
 
Are public service members going on strike? 
Not immediately. This will depend on their employer’s position when they return to the bargaining table. Depending on that, BCGEU public service members may have to action the strike vote. Don't worry – we will provide updates when we know more. 
 
Many of you work alongside these members, we all depend on the services they provide, so your union will tell you ahead of time if there will be any job action.
 
Make sure to keep up-to-date with updates from your bargaining committee to find out actions you can take to help them apply pressure at the bargaining table. If they’re feeling the strength of our solidarity from all sides, they cannot ignore us. 
 
In Solidarity,
 
Stephanie Smith
BCGEU President 

UWU/MoveUP

Preparations to negotiate the next common collective agreement for post-secondary support services have begun. As a member of the BCGEU, please read this bulletin for important information about your bargaining committee, progress at the bargaining table, and next steps in the bargaining process.
 
About your agreement + bargaining committee
 
Your current collective agreement took effect July 1, 2019 and expires June 30, 2022. That agreement covers 3,900 BCGEU members who work at seven institutions.
 
As your BCGEU elected representatives on the College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA), we are negotiating your next collective agreement with your employer’s bargaining agent – the Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA). The PSEA represents all public colleges, special-purpose teaching universities, and institutes in B.C. and therefore negotiates with other bargaining committees from CISSBA is made up of bargaining committees from the BCGEU and other unions whose members work at institutions represented by the PSEA.
 
We are a strong committee experienced in negotiations and ready to work on your behalf. Your BCGEU committee includes:

• Richard Schaeffer, Chairperson, BCIT
• Darryl Wong – BCIT
• Hailey Thickett, Coast Mountain College,
• Tennille Penner, Northern Lights College
• Karolynn Green, Okanagan College
• Trina Whitsitt, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
• Lorna Colasimone, Justice Institute BC
• Ryan Cousineau, Douglas College
• Linsay Buss – BCGEU Staff Negotiator
• Jitesh Mistry – BCGEU General Counsel

 
The CISSBA negotiates two kinds of agreements with the PSEA:

• The Multi-Employer Table (MET) agreement, which covers all members of the bargaining unit except those who work at BCIT and Kwantlen Polytechnic University; and 
• Local agreements, which address issues that are specific to your institution.

If you work for Coast Mountain College, Northern Lights College, Okanagan College, Douglas College, or the Justice Institute of B.C, you have both an MET agreement and a local agreement.

Negotiation preparations

Dates: Negotiation dates have not yet been set for either the MET agreement or local agreements.

Joint bargaining of Multi-Employer Table (MET) agreement: In past rounds of bargaining, the BCGEU and CUPE have often negotiated your MET agreement jointly with the PSEA. The decision to bargain jointly is carefully considered before each round of bargaining. On April 1, your committee met with CUPE representatives to compare our lists of priorities and determine whether it’s in our members’ best interests for us to bargain together this round. By the end of the meeting, we agreed that our members’ priorities and goals would be best served by bargaining at separate tables. As a result, your committee will bargain with the PSEA for BCGEU bargaining units only. We will continue to share information and strategies with CUPE throughout this round. 

Proposals: Since last fall, we’ve been hard at work preparing a comprehensive package of proposals to present to the employer. Our preparation included consideration of proposals from your BCGEU bargaining units as well as member responses to a bargaining survey.

Your input has been clear and consistent: you want a fair and equitable contract that addresses urgent issues such as cost of living adjustment (COLA) protections for wages, flexible working-from-home options, and recruitment and retention challenges, while building on the gains we achieved in the current agreement; and recognizing how critically important the post-secondary sector and workers are to the social and economic success of our province.

We also know you’ve gone above and beyond working towards lasting reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, eliminating racism and discrimination from your workplaces, and making our province’s post-secondary sector more diverse, equitable and inclusive. Through all of this, you’ve demonstrated commitment, perseverance, solidarity, and professionalism.

Our bargaining proposals are based on all of this. Addressing your demands in your next collective agreement is one way your employer can show respect for everything you’ve done.

Bargaining process explained

Bargaining a collective agreement can be a long and complex process. To help you better understand what’s involved, we’ve produced an explainer video – Collective Bargaining 101 for Post-Secondary Support Services.

The video, which features members of your committee, explains each step of the bargaining process, and is indexed by topic:

0:08 - Determining Bargaining Priorities
2:28 - At the Bargaining Table
3:43 - Reaching Impasse: Escalation and Job Action
6:10 - Voting on a tentative agreement
7:10 - A Deal is Reached

You may also find this infographic useful to visual reference as you watch the video.

IMPORTANT: Contact information – is yours up to date?

It’s critical that we’re able to communicate important bargaining information with you through your personal email and phone number. If this bulletin is reaching you at your employer-provided email address, please log in to the BCGEU Member Portal immediately to review and update your personal contact information.

If you don’t have a BCGEU Member Portal account, click here to request an account. Then watch for an email with instructions to activate it.

And please check with your coworkers to ensure they are receiving our bulletins, and that they also have provided their personal contact information through the BCGEU Member Portal.

Finally…

As your elected committee, we will continue updating you as bargaining proceeds and will keep you informed every step of the way.

In solidarity,
Your College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA)





UWU/MoveUP