As we head into the negotiation of our collective agreement this fall – we thought we’d post FAQs about collective bargaining between CUPE 2950 and UBC. This is subject to change – if you have any other questions to add please contact the union office at office@cupe2950.ca
Collective Bargaining FAQs
What is collective bargaining?
- Collective bargaining is the process of negotiations between the union and the employer to develop and maintain the collective agreement.
Who bargains for CUPE 2950?
- The Contract Committee was elected in March 2014. The following people were elected to the committee:
- Susanne Lester (Chair) – Humanities and Social Sciences, Library
- Jaimie Miller – Technical Services, Library
- Shehnaz Motani – Research Services
- George Pereira – Chan Centre
- Dana Fister – Law
- Karen Ranalletta – President, CUPE 2950
- Frans van de Ven – Business Agent, CUPE 2950 – spokesperson**
- Ross Idler, CUPE National Servicing Rep – resource**
- **denotes voice no vote**
Who bargains for UBC?
- The University’s bargaining committee is:
- Maynard Witvoet – Employee Relations Manager
- Beverly Babey – Human Resources
- Emily Kompauer – Library
- Cam McGill – Chan Centre
- Amy Stanley – Medicine
How and where can I get information about bargaining?
- To get information on CUPE 2950 bargaining, please follow the website. We will also send bargaining bulletins out via email.
- To follow bargaining of our sisters and brothers in other CUPE locals please visit www.universitieswork.ca
When is the union going to meet with the University?
- The following dates have been scheduled and are subject to change:
- November 3
- November 17
- November 21
- December 1
What are the proposals?
- The proposals were ratified by the membership on September 25th.
- Members are welcome to view proposals at the union office at anytime (please call ahead of time to make sure someone is in the office – 2-1494)
Our collective agreement is expired. What does that mean?
- The collective agreement stays active until the next one is negotiated.
When do we vote on the contract?
- All members of CUPE 2950 are eligible to vote on the memorandum of agreement. The committee will present their recommendation at a membership or a special meeting.
- Members who work off-site will have the option to vote at mobile polling stations.
Who is PSEC?
- The Public Sector Employer’s Council falls under the Ministry of Finance. The Public Sector Employers’ Council (PSEC) supports government in setting and coordinating strategic directions in human resource management and labour relations for the broad public sector.
- They have to approve UBC’s proposals and contract before it goes to the Board of Governors for approval.
Will we go on strike?
- The members decide whether we go on strike or not.
- A strike vote is when the membership authorizes the union to take job action. In BC, the union has to give the employer 72 hours notice of job action and we have 90 days to invoke some sort of job action after the strike vote is taken.
- Your 2014 Job Action Committee members are:
- Nancy Forhan – Applied Science
- Patricia Fraser – Sauder
- Brian Broom – Medicine – VGH
- Hollie Griffin – Financial Services
Steps for Collective Bargaining
- Election of Contract Chair (November 2013)
- Election of bargaining committee (March 2014)
- Contract committee presents and recommends concept proposals to the membership (September GMM)
- Membership votes on contract proposals – approved unanimously at September GMM
- CUPE 2950 and UBC exchange proposals
- Both parties continue to meet – this constitutes bargaining
- Once the parties agree, the memorandum of agreement is sent to government for final approval, the union then takes the agreement to the membership and it’s voted on.
