Your bargaining committee for The Dorchester is pleased to report that it has reached a tentative agreement with the employer. This agreement provides substantial gains for members and is a major step towards fairness with employees of the same employer doing the same work at different locations.

We are confident that we only got this deal because of the strong strike mandate you delivered and your willingness to go on strike for the fair deal you deserve. Your bargaining committee recommends that you vote "yes" to ratify this agreement.

Highlights include:

• Term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2026
• Total wage increases of 12% cumulative (12.41% compounded), with full retroactivity for 2023 and 2024:
  • May 1, 2023 – 2%
  • May 1, 2024
    • 7% (3% general wage increase + 4% special wage adjustment)
    • Lowest two pay steps eliminated; top rate now reached after 3900 hours (down from 7800 hours)
  • May 1, 2025 – 3% (2.5% general wage increase + 0.5% special wage adjustment)
• Health and welfare benefit improvements
  • Lower minimum hours to be eligible—30 hours biweekly (down from 18 hours weekly)
  • Paramedical maximums increased to $350 per category (up from $300)
  • Vision care glasses/lenses amount $225/24 months (used to be 36 months)
  • Eye exam amount $75/24 months (used to be 36 months)
• New voluntary matching RRSP at 1%
• Employer to pay for renewal of courses/training/licenses that are a condition of employment and time in attendance will be paid
• Eligibility for four weeks’ vacation after eight years (used to be after 10 years)
• 13 paid holidays (up from 12)
• New 8¢/hour laundry allowance
• Expanded bereavement leave
• Additional paid 15-minute break when working 10 hours or more
• Midnight housekeeper reclassified to Head Housekeeper
• Evening receptionist eligible for responsibility pay from 6pm to 12 a.m. (used to be 8:45 p.m. to 12 a.m.)
• Improved seniority-based overtime callout language
• Recall period extended to 18 months (up from 12 months)
• Job postings to be made available electronically
• Improved harassment, discrimination, and bullying language

Again, your bargaining committee encourages you to vote "yes" to ratify this tentative agreement.

We will send a complete ratification document and information on the ratification information meeting and vote within the next week or so.

In solidarity,

Lily Idler, Bargaining Committee Member
Heather McKay, Bargaining Committee Member
Ryan Stewart, Staff Representative, Negotiations Department

P.S. In case you're curious how we got here, as our previous bulletin said talks broke off and we were preparing to strike: The Union asked the Employer to agree to extend the period in which a strike could be started under the current strike mandate by three weeks, to October 19, 2024. This would have allowed essential services levels to be set on a less rushed timeline without the strike mandate expiring. The Employer agreed on the condition the Union would participate in another half-day of mediated bargaining to try to reach a contract settlement. The Union accepted this condition, the parties continued bargaining on September 24^th, and by the 26^th we had a deal.

Download PDF of bulletin here

UWU/MoveUP