Catch Up, Keep Up
To catch up and keep up, we must ALL STAND UP
After several challenging years at the bargaining table, and the onset of high inflation, one thing is very clear to MGEU members: our paycheques are not going as far as they used to.
The reality is, for some time, public sector employers have been unwilling (or unable, due to lack of government funding) to agree to wage increases that keep pace with the cost of living.
Our Strength
Our union is only as strong as our members and our willingness to stand together when the time comes.
Employers take our union much more seriously at the bargaining table when they believe thousands of members are willing to fight for their proposals. And that means taking disruptive job action if and when required.
In other words, if MGEU members want to catch up and keep up with the cost of living, we must all stand up and show our strength.
The Strategy
In upcoming rounds of negotiations, MGEU Bargaining Committees will be seeking strong strike mandates to show employers that members are willing, if and when necessary, to go the distance over issues like wages. This leverage will in turn benefit other bargaining tables, as they can follow the lead of any gains achieved at the larger tables.
With this in mind, elected delegates modernized the union’s strike policies at a February 2023 Convention to allow for more strategic union-wide scenarios and make it easier for members to take job action by significantly increasing strike pay and allowing members to earn strike pay even while on rotating or targeted job actions.
3 Things you can do!
For this to work, keeping the lines of communication open will be key. Right now, we encourage all MGEU members to:
- Make sure our union has your latest contact info (including a personal email/phone number) in our MGEU database and encourage others to do the same. You can update your information online at any time.
- Talk about this issue with co-workers and become a Catch Up Keep Up workplace contact to ensure members in your Local understand why our union is doing this, what we hope to accomplish, and remain aware, when the time comes for your Local, of what we can all do to turn up the pressure.
- Run for an elected MGEU position and champion this campaign to help MGEU members catch up and keep up.