Beacon Hill Lodge - Local 80 - Bargaining Brief

Updated: Oct 04, 2022
Approx. Number of Members: 129
Current Contract Expires: March 31, 2017
MGEU Staff Negotiator: Loren Findlay
Elected Bargaining Committee Members: Shannon Bland - President; Susan Richardson - Chief Steward; Karlos Tejada - Vice-President

LATEST BARGAINING NEWS

Members of Beacon Hill Lodge - Local 80 rejected the latest offer from their employer on September 6, 2022. 

The Bargaining Committee reached out to the employer and requested that they return to the bargaining table, but they refused.

Instead, they agreed to participate in a binding mediation or, a third party process, on the following basis:

1. The mediation would take place as soon as possible;
2. It is anticipated that the mediation would be a one-day process;
3. The mediator would make a decision and write an order very soon after; and
4. The mediator’s decision would be binding – there would be no ratification vote.

The Local 80 Bargaining Committee is recommending this path to settle the agreement.

A vote will be held on Thursday, October 6 at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm, Room 2C Union Centre, 275 Broadway

There will be a presentation prior to voting. It is important that members get all the information before casting a ballot.

The vote will determine whether members want to proceed to binding mediation or to go on strike. 

Overview of Bargaining So Far

Members of Beacon Hill Lodge - Local 80 had the opportunity to share their ideas and proposals for improving their collective agreement at a bargaining proposal meeting in December 2016. 

The Bargaining Committee then reviewed these proposals and worked to pull them together into a package to submit to the employer. 

However, by the end of 2017, even though all HCSS agreements had expired and MGEU Bargaining Committees were ready and eager to get going, negotiations had not begun. Employers — including Beacon Hill, Poseidon, Golden Door, and St. Norbert — were unwilling to schedule bargaining dates.

One issue was that in 2017, the government announced they wanted HCSS workers in each health region to be covered by one union and one collective agreement — but did not proclaim the legislation (Bill 29) until May 2018. During that time, the employers at the private PCHs refused to come to the table until they knew for sure that their employees would not be involved in representation votes. Once the Bill was proclaimed, the MGEU pressured private employers to finally sit down and begin negotiations -- however, they said since public sector negotiations would be delayed due to the Bill 29 union representation votes, private sector bargaining could not begin either.

The union representation votes that delayed all health care sector bargaining wrapped up in late August 2019 and members moved to their new unions in December 2019. 

The MGEU and the Beacon Hill Lodge - Local 80 Bargaining Committee remained committed to getting on with negotiating a new contract for Local 80 as soon as possible.

After the votes concluded, the MGEU met with the Local presidents of private PCH Locals and, because so much time had passed, it was agreed to schedule new proposal meetings. A Beacon Hill Lodge - Local 80 meeting was held in March 2020, but then the pandemic hit and public health restrictions delayed meetings with the employer. 

The Beacon Hill Lodge - Local 80 Bargaining Committee once again collected bargaining proposals from members, both on-line and through the mail by October 30, 2020. The Bargaining Committee then worked to pull together these proposals into a renewed package to present to the employer.

The Bargaining Committee resumed negotiations with the employer in mid-July 2021, and continued into the fall of 2021 when the Bargaining Committee reached a tentative agreement with the employer on November 17, 2021.  

Bill 28 and its impact on Bargaining in the private PCHs

In 2017, the government also announced that they would not consider giving any public service workers any general pay increase for the first two years of their new contract. This would include all HCSS members who work in public PCHs.

The employers of the private PCHs continued to tell the MGEU that since there is no money for the public PCHs, the private PCHs will not get funding either.

This is not fair. So along with other Manitoba unions, the MGEU formed the Partnership to Defend Public Services (PDPS) to challenge the government in court they’re doing goes against Canadian laws – all workers have the right to negotiate a fair contract, including their wages. 

The trial was held over a few days in November 2019. Then MGEU President, Michelle Gawronsky took the stand as the 4^th PDPS witness. Economists, other labour leaders, labour relations experts, as well as several MGEU staff were also called to testify.
 
All of this testimony added to the body of evidence placed before the judge, which included 37 affidavits and more than 100 pages of agreed upon facts.
 
In January 2020, the PDPS and the Government filed their written arguments with the court and final arguments were heard over three days in February.

On June 11, a Court of Queen's Bench judge ruled in favour of the unions, agreeing that Bill 28 violated members' rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

As part of the trial, the parties returned to court to pursue additional remedies, such as damages and recovery of court costs. MGEU lawyers prepared for the hearings as the government advised that they were considering appealing the court ruling. 

The government had until the end of January 2021 to submit supporting documentation for its appeal and the PDPS then had 30 days to file material in response.

Then, in November of 2021, the government repealed the Public Services Sustainability Act (PSSA or ‘Bill 28’), and told unions they were providing a ‘fresh start’ and a ‘different approach’ to negotiations at the bargaining table. Negotiations between Local 80 and the employer resumed shortly thereafter and members voted to reject a offer from the employer on December 9, 2021.

The Bargaining Committee met again with the employer at the end of January 2022, before further negotiations were put on hold due to the announcement of a new operating/sale partnership between Revera and Extendicare.

Negotiations resumed June 7, 2022 and the employer provided members with a final offer that same day.

On June 23, 2022, members of Beacon Hill Lodge - Local 80 voted to reject the final offer from their employer.

In June, your Bargaining Committee brought a three-year contract offer from the employer to members for a vote. The offer was voted down.

The Bargaining Committee returned to the membership shortly afterward and secured a strong strike mandate. At the same time, we filed at the Manitoba Labour Board for conciliation.

The Labour Board appointed a conciliation officer to assist us in getting an improved offer.

After delivering a strike mandate from members and enlisting the support of a conciliator, members of Beacon Hill Lodge - Local 80 received an improved offer from the employer -- a six-year contract that includes the following general wage increases: 2017 – 2%; 2018 – 2%; 2019 – 1%; 2020 – 1%; 2021 – 1.25%; 2022 – 1.75%
 

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