We are happy to say that – Collective action brings results!

As I am sure you have seen, on Friday, Don McTavish responded to our worker letter and the reply was positive. We're excited to build on these wins and foster a relationship of collaboration and transparency between workers and the management team.

• The anti-fatigue policy has been raised to 120 hours so workers that desire or need to work five 12-hour shifts per week have the ability to do it.
• There will be hot site shift premium of $2.00 per hour for RBL and Tally Ho for overnight shifts to encourage staff retention. This is stackable with the current night shift premium, meaning that overnight shifts at these sites will be entitled to premiums of $4.00 per hour.
• There will be a premium of $2.00 per hour for workers pulled to another site beginning as soon as they are pulled and remaining until the end of their shift.
• The duties of the "on call manager" and security were addressed.
• The policy around "pulling" was addressed and discussions are continuing.

Workers came together, identified issues, talked about solutions and from that, we got results.

Every win, (no matter how big) is a win and we need to celebrate them as they are the direct results of our organizing efforts. These outcomes were achieved with worker unity, and solidarity and we need to keep building on this to continue to fight for better outcomes.

These are temporary measures that could be removed after six (6) months, so we need to make sure we stay united. We need to keep looking at proactive solutions, not just reacting to crises as they arise. What can we improve from here?

We are inviting all union members at VCAS to attend the meetings in April so that we can talk about next steps, keeping up momentum and addressing other challenges in our work. We would like to hear from you.

We have two meetings scheduled:

Tuesday, April 11, 2023 (In person)

• When: Tuesday, April 11 (meeting starts at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 7 p.m.)
• Where: BCGEU Victoria Area Office at 588 Burnside Rd, Victoria (free parking is available)

Thursday, April 13, 2023 (Hybrid, in-person and Zoom option available)

• When: Thursday, April 13 (meeting starts at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 7 p.m.)
• Where: BCGEU Victoria Area at 588 Burnside Rd, Victoria or via Zoom
• Contact Victoria Area Office for Zoom details

For this meeting, please bring ideas and solutions to the table. Issues might need support from our OHS committee, some might need a steward, others can go to labour management.

Our next steps are about identifying the problems and looking at what tool(s) will best address it.

In Solidarity,

Kate Banky, Local 301 Chairperson and Steward
Matthew Busby O'Connor, Steward
Brian Calderwood, Local 301 First Vice Chairperson and Steward
Luis Desousa, Steward
Jaime Eaglestick, Steward
Lucas Hayes, Steward
Peter Janz, Local 301 Recording Secretary and Steward
Kenon Sugie, Steward
& allies

There is power in the factory, Power in the land
Power in the hands of the workers.
But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand
There is Power in the Union.
- Billy Bragg: There is Power in a Union

Download PDF of notice here

UWU/MoveUP