Strike vote is a potential as members prepare to mobilize

On Nov. 3, the members of the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) of healthcare unions, including UFCW 1518, met with your employer, the HEABC, along with a representative from the Public Sector Employers’ Council (PSEC) Secretariat. We impressed upon the PSEC that the employer’s last monetary offer is not enough to meet your core bargaining demands. In particular, we emphasized the dramatic differences in compensation between CBA and FBA workers and the impact it has had, and will continue to have, on recruitment and retention in the CBA.   Although we tried to clearly demonstrate the disparity, we have received no indication that the monetary offer from the Province of BC will change.   We are deeply disappointed and feel there is no purpose meeting anymore with HEABC until we talk with you – the membership. We will be scheduling a meeting with the UFCW Healthcare Bargaining Advisory Committee and on Dec. 6, your UFCW 1518 leadership is hosting a telephone townhall, where we will share this bargaining update with the entire membership, along with a plan to connect with your coworkers and an important update on the strong financial position of our Member Action Reserve Fund (formerly called the strike fund).   In the coming weeks, stay tuned for more opportunities to learn about what the employer’s current offer means, what essential services are and how they work, and what a potential strike vote and resulting job action would look like. Please continue to check your email for more information about the townhall. Encourage your coworkers to join!   Our goal is to do outreach until mid January. Then the constituent unions of the CBA will meet with each other to strategize.