Since our last bargaining update, the Provincial Minister of Labour, Erna Braun, has appointed Shannon Pilon as the conciliator to work with CUPE Local 500 and the City of Winnipeg. She will help identify key areas of settlement and assist both sides in working towards an agreement. The officer does not have the power to impose a settlement.
We anticipate that meetings with the Conciliation Officer will be scheduled as quickly as possible, so that the two parties can begin the conciliation process. Your negotiating committee is hopeful that this process will help take us a step closer to reaching a deal that you, our members, deserve. However, should the process fail to reach a fair and reasonable settlement, we will be asking you (as mentioned in our last update) to support a strike mandate. In view of this, you may want to put off any discretionary spending.
Communication during the conciliation process
Throughout the conciliation process, we will be able to keep you updated on the process but won’t be able to give you details of what’s happening at the table. As much as we would like to give you such information, to do so would jeopardize our negotiations.
Our goal is to make sure you are the first to know if we have reached a settlement, or if talks have broken off. We will also be going into a media blackout and continuing our pledge to not bargain in the media.
Watch for more information
You have probably heard many rumours about what’s happening in this round of bargaining. Please try and ignore these rumours and keep informed by reading the bulletins. If you have a serious concern about something you’ve heard, contact us at 204-942-1001 or send us an email to union@cupe500.mb.ca. Remember, if you have personal email access, you can also sign up to receive email updates on the home page of the Local 500 website.
We know that bargaining can be stressful and we appreciate your patience and support.
In solidarity,
Your Negotiating Committee
The negotiating committee for CUPE Local 500 is:
Mike Davidson, President
Gord Delbridge, Civic Services Unit
Barb Verschoore, Community Services Unit
Albert Allison, Public Works Unit
Walter Gretschman, Water and Waste Unit
Rebecca Scott, Member at Large
Ted Yorke, Member at Large
Alex McClurg, CUPE National Staff Representative
George Bouchard, CUPE National Staff Representative
Kevin Carswell, CUPE National Staff Representative
Bob Ripley, Local 500 Special Assignments Officer
Karen Byzuk, Local 500 Special Assignments Officer
