Workers at Belleville Super "C" Achieve First Agreement

Members at Belleville's Super "C" ratified their first collective agreement in early 2003. Contract highlights include:

• Designation of 40 per cent of all regular hours as full-time.

• Improved benefits for part- and full-time employees including UFCW Trusteed Dental Plan and the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP).

• Increased contributions to the vision care benefits to $50 over the life of the contract.

• Lump sum payment for 'red-circled' employees in each year until negotiated rates match current rates.

• Increase of $1.40 to the end rates over the life of the contract.

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Workers at Belmont Meats ratify

Members at Belmont Meats ratified a new three-year contract on March 25, 2003. Highlights of the contract include:

• Retroactive wage increase of 20 cents per hour.

• Five per cent increase in current shift premiums.

• Fifteen per cent increase in afternoon shift premiums.

• Increased contributions to the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP) to $31.38 per month per year of future credited service in the last year of the contract.

• Increased contributions to the UFCW Benefit Trust Fund.

• Improved language covering written lay-off notices; job postings; canvassing for overtime; changes to posted work schedules; and vacation entitlement.

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Members at Beta Brands ratify new contract

Members at Hamilton-based Beta Brands ratified a three-year collective agreement on February 9, 2003. Contract highlights include:

• General wage increase of 25 cents per hour over the life of the agreement.

• Change in classification for skilled trades to Licensed Skilled Trades Person.

• Improved language covering severance, benefits and seniority.

• Increased contributions to the optical benefit to $150.

• Increased contributions to orthodontic coverage to $2,500.

• Increased boot allowance to $100.

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• New language covering workplace harassment, violence and abuse.

• Increased shift premiums to 40 cents per hour effective April 1, 2003 and an additional increase of 45 cents per hour effective April 1, 2004.

• Retroactive wage increase of 3 per cent on April 1, 2003, and an additional 3 per cent increase on April 1, 2004.

• Increased uniform allowance for full-time workers to $125 per year and a subsequent increase of $100 for part-time workers.

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• Across-the-board wage gains up to 8 per cent at all steps of the wage grid.

• Signing bonuses for all part- and full-time employees.

• Guaranteed contribution to the employer's existing benefit plan for all eligible employees to 95 per cent over the term of the contract.

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• Resolution of remaining Pay Equity obligations.

• Across-the-board wage increases. Gains include an 11 per cent increase in hourly rates for Registered Nurses and increases up to 8 per cent for workers falling under the general wage grid.

• New letter of understanding citing zero-tolerance for violence or abuse.

• New clause covering short-handed shifts.

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• Increased pension contributions to $1.05 per hour in the final year of the contract.

• Across-the-board wage increases of 30 cents per hour in each year of the contract over the life of the agreement.

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• General wage gains for all employees under the pay schedule for Group 1 and 2: hourly wages increase by 30 cents in the first and second year of the contract and increase another 35 cents per hour for each year remaining in the term of the contract. Wage increases apply to the top rate only.

• New wage schedule. Starting rate for employees under the pay schedule for Group 2 starts at $7 per hour and increases to a maximum of $9.50 in the first year of the contract.

• One-time bonus of $50 for part-time employees hired before the date of ratification.

• Increased premium for employees performing the duty of lead hand on night shift.

• Increase in safety shoe allowance to $70 per year.

• Increased contributions to optical plan to $100 per employee. Optical benefits increase an additional 25 per cent by the end of the contract to $125 per employee.

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• Increase in hourly rates for all bargaining unit members dispensed in a shortened wage grid from four years to six months.

• Cumulative pay increase of $5.35 per hour over the life of the contract for mechanics.

• Increases to $2.25 per hour over the life of the contract for straight truck drivers, shunt and local tractor drivers.

• Increased insurance payouts to 20 per cent.

• New clause covering orthodontics, dentures, relining, crowns and bridges.

• Vacation bonuses up to $100 calculated on years of service.

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Ratified contract provides significant provisions for workers at Loeb Hazeldean

Members at Loeb Hazeldean ratified a new collective agreement in 2003. Contract highlights include:

• Lump sum payment of $650 for full-time employees for the four weeks succeeding date of ratification.

• Lump sum payment of 30 cents for every hour worked over the six months preceding date of ratification for part-time employees.

• Increase in hourly premiums for employees assigned the duty of lead hand.

• Hourly premium of 75 cents for employees assigned a "Courtesy" shift.

• Sick leave up to 40 hours per calendar year. Employees with less than one year of service receive sick leave calculated on a pro-rated basis.

• Compensation for incurred losses including short-term disability.

• Individual coverage for part-time workers including access to a semi-private hospital room without deductible or time limit.

• Reimbursement for medical expenses to 80 per cent of the cost for drugs or other expenses.

• New amendments covering anti-harassment issues and articles covering temporary assignments.

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Members at retirement facility ratify collective agreement

Members at New Edinburgh Square ratified a new collective agreement in 2003. Highlights of the collective agreement include:

• Increase in hourly rates for Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurses at all steps of the wage grid.

• Wage increases to 40 cents per hour over the life of the agreement for attendants and attendant health care workers, cooks and assistant cooks.

• Statutory holiday pay at 1 1/2 times regular rate.

• New language covering leaves of absence for bereavement to include common-law or same-sex spouses.

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Workers at OMNI Facility Services achieve new contact

Members at Omni Facility Services Canada ratified a new collective agreement on May 9, 2003. Highlights of the agreement include:

• Across-the-board increases up to 30 cents per hour over the life of the agreement.

• Increase in paid sick days up to three days.

• Increased vacation time for senior employees with ten years of service to four weeks and vacation pay up to 8 per cent of their total earnings.

• Complete uniforms at no cost for all employees.

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New members at funeral home ratify first contact

Members at Ostrander's Funeral Home in Tillsonburg ratified their first collective agreement in January, 2003. Contract highlights include new wage rates ranging from $12.75 per hour to $18.27 per hour, depending on job classification. By January 2005, wage rates for members with 60 months of service will range from $14.62 per hour to $21.67 per hour.

"The wage increases are significant," says Local 175 Director Teresa Magee. "For the first time, workers can count on receiving wages guaranteed in their collective agreement, which is a lot better than relying on a simple verbal statement from management."

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• Pay at 1 1/2 regular rate for work on Saturday or Sunday.

• Increased paid vacation to six weeks after 10 years of employment.

• Unpaid leave of absence after five years of service.

• Increased supplementary pay coverage up to 52 weeks for pregnancy/parental leave; 17 weeks for illness/injury; and 15 weeks for temporary layoff.

• Increased contributions to RRSP to $3,000 per member per year.

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Members at Price Chopper ratify first agreement

Members at the Mavis Road Price Chopper in Mississauga recently ratified their first collective agreement. Contract highlights include:

• Strong first contract language.

• Wage progression scale.

• Improved vacation benefits.

• Dental, health and welfare benefits for full-time employees.

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• Across-the-board pay increases to 2.5 per cent based on job classification.

• Increased wage premiums for afternoon and evening shifts.

• New Shift Preference clause.

• Strong grievance and job security clauses.

• Clauses governing equitable distribution of overtime.

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Three-year deal for Sun Parlour workers

Members at Sun Parlour Greenhouse Growers' Co-operation Limited recently ratified a new collective agreement. Contract highlights include:

• Across-the-board wage increases of 20 cents per hour in the first and second year of the contract, and an additional wage increase of 25 cents per hour in the final year of the contract.

• Signing bonus of $100 and gift certificate as a Christmas bonus in each year of the contract. Bonuses apply to all end-rated regular employees.

• New amendments covering weekly deduction of 25 cents per employee for the UFCW Charity Fund.

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Watson Foods workers ratify new deal

Members at Watson Foods Ltd. ratified a new collective agreement in 2003. Contract highlights include:

• Improvements to the wage grid and an increase in hourly rates for all bargaining unit members.

• Increase in starting rate for students to $11 per hour over the life of the contract.

• Hourly premium of 25 cents for all employees who work shifts between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

• Meal allowance of $10 after 2 hours of overtime.

• Increase of 20 per cent for insurance payouts.

• Reimbursement for vision care in any two-year period.

• Increase in annual maximum benefit for dental care and orthodontics.

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• Increase in hourly rates to Schedule "A" Production grid up to 40 cents per hour.

• Wage increases up to 85 cents per hour for workers under Schedule "B" grid.

• Increased dental payouts based on the 2002 Ontario Dental Association fee schedule up to $1,600 per employee and their dependants.

• Increased reimbursement for vision care to $225 per employee every two years.

• Increased maximums for Extended Health Care Pay Direct Drug Card to $25,000.

• Yearly tool allowance of $400 for Maintenance Department employees.

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• An increase in hourly rates up to 40 cents per hour for all bargaining unit members.

• Increased payouts to the dental care plan to a maximum of $1,500.

• Reimbursement for vision care to $200 per employee and $35 toward eye examinations in any calendar year.
  
• Improved benefits including an increase in life insurance payouts to a maximum of $50,000.

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In this particular grievance, a sanitation worker claims he was unfairly bumped from his night shift, for which he was the only worker. The one-day layoff was preceded by a short-day layoff. An employee with more seniority than the grievor bumped him from his night shift because the company treated it as a layoff greater than one day.

In the event of short-term layoffs like this, the agreement provides seniority-holding workers the right to bump a junior employee on the same shift if they are able to perform the work of that employee. The company claimed there was precedence for treating a short workday followed by a one-day layoff as greater than a one-day layoff, but failed to produce any evidence to support its claim. The arbitrator ruled in favour of the union and ordered the company to provide monetary compensation equivalent to all lost work hours.

It's important that this type of grievance is supported," says South West Regional Director, Teresa Magee. "Companies have to know that the terms of collective agreements are not open to just ny interpretation."

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Choice of shift upheld for two Knollcrest Lodge workers

Two grievances regarding shifts and Estoppel, or past practice, have come back in favour of workers at Milveton-based Knollcrest Lodge. Since there is no established policy against changing the schedule to rotating shifts, the company maintained the union had no claim against the changes.

The grievance arose when a new food service manager began rotating the shifts by week, disrupting the lives of two employees with seniority of 25 and 28 years respectively. The grievor on the breakfast shift arranges her farm chores and other responsibilities around her consistently scheduled shift. The other grievor prefers the mid-morning shift and has grown accustomed to scheduling her responsibilities around her work duties.

Both grievors will continue to work their regular shifts and will be exempt from shift rotation for the duration of the collective agreement.

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Union notice unfairly removed at Quality Meats

In a recent arbitration award, Quality Meat Packers Limited was found in violation of failing to post a notice from the union on the designated staff bulletin board.

The company argued the notice would cause financial strains and cause tension with one its major distributors, Fortinos. In August of 2002, UFCW members at Fortinos were on strike. Prior to their settlement on Labour Day weekend, the union sent notices to its organized facilities asking workers to boycott Fortinos.

The arbitrator ruled there was no foreseeable financial risk for asking workers at Quality Meat Packers to boycott Fortinos. The ruling was based on the assumption most employees would purchase Quality Meat products at the employee rate instead of paying retail at the grocery store and the fact the bulletin board was located in an employee-only area.

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Right to perform customary work upheld at Coca-Cola

In arbitration earlier this year, the union won a claim of lost work against Coca-Cola Bottling Limited. The grievance stemmed from a seniority-holding worker who had customarily been part of the month-end inventory team.

In 2002, the company introduced new technology to complete inventory, reducing the number of workers needed to complete inventory to a single worker - an Inventory Analyst. At issue is the use of non-bargaining unit members to complete inventory over a six-month period. The union argued this constituted non-bargaining unit workers completing bargaining unit work.

The company argued that inventory work was not covered by the contract and could assign the work as needed. Since bargaining unit members had performed similar inventory duties in the past, the arbitrator ruled the work should have been allocated to a bargaining unit worker. Compensation for the grievor will be resolved between the union and the company.

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Workers at Carriage House celebrate organizing victory

UFCW Local 175 successfully organized employees of The Carriage House Retirement Residence in Oshawa, Ontario. The campaign resulted in landslide victories at the ballot box.

On March 11, 2003, employees of The Carriage House voted almost 96 per cent in favour of organizing their workplaces and joining Local 175.

"We are very proud of our new members for demonstrating great resilience, determination and resolve in organizing their workplace," said Kevin Shimmin. "Congratulations and welcome to your union!"

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Work in progress defined for Coca-Cola workers

In May 2003, arbitration concerning the assignation of overtime work based on seniority at Hamilton's Coca-Cola Bottling Ltd. came back in favour of the union.

The arbitration concerns the differentiation of overtime and 'work in progress' as it relates to the allocation of overtime to seniority-holding members. The company treated overtime work as a continuation of a shift and did not give first opportunity to seniority-holding members. The union argued that 'work in progress' refers to a delivery started prior to the end of the work day, as outlined in the member's current contract.

The arbitrator argued in favour of the union's interpretation; a ruling that means the company must offer these shifts to workers in order of seniority.

“Seniority is earned by members through hard work and dedication,” says Union Rep, Chris Fuller. “One of the privileges that comes with that hard work is having the opportunity to perform overtime work before other workers.”

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Grievance upheld at Windsor Zehrs store

Two grievances in regards to wearing of beard nets during food preparation were upheld by an arbitration decision on March 23, 2003. Two employees accused management at the Windsor Zehrs store at Lauzon Parkway of inconsistent and improper enforcement of beard net regulations.

Problems surfaced when both grievers continued to wear their short and neatly trimmed goatees without a beard net despite being asked to wear them by management while working in the Hot Deli Department. These requests were not official and were not enforced across-the-board. The necessity of wearing beard nets was questioned particularly because T-shirts and/or rolled-up sleeves are permitted in food preparation, thereby exposing arm hair. One griever had been wearing a short goatee almost continuously for the past 5 years of his employment with Lauzon Parkway when the employer requested he wear a beard net.

Arbitration found that the criterion for wearing beard nets is not clear and was not brought to the attention of all affected employees prior to implementation. The arbitrator suggests improvements in the language of the criteria for consistent enforcement of such rules.

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Niagara Poultry - 2nd victory for Local in two weeks

UFCW Local 175 successfully organized employees of Niagara Country Fresh Poultry in Smithville, Ontario. Workers at Niagara Country Fresh Poultry voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining Local 175.

The successful organizing campaign represents the second victory for the Local in a span of two weeks. Employees at The Carriage House in Oshawa, joined the Local exactly two weeks before the Locals' second organizing victory on April 1, 2003.

Employees of Niagara Country Fresh Poultry voted over 96 per cent in favour of joining Local 175.

"While these two workplaces represent totally different industries, the basic reasons for joining our Union were the same," says UFCW Canada Local 175 Organizing Representative Kevin Shimmin.
"First, the workers wanted dignity and respect on the job. Second, they knew Local 175 was the leading union in Ontario for both the poultry industry and the retirement home sector."

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Arbitrator rules on Sobeys' grievance

On April 11, 2003, an arbitrator ruled that Sobey's Milton Distribution Centre had violated Article 3.01 of the collective agreement requiring the employer to discuss new policies with the union before implementing them to ensure all employees are aware of policy changes. The arbitration covered language regarding absenteeism and came back in favour of the union. The arbitrator ruled the company must consult the Local on new rules.

The dispute specifically regarded the use of the terms "