tracts on campus.They are I.B.E.W. local 1432 and C.U.P.Ec local 1870, rep- esenting respectively the aintenance workers, and the clerical and secret- arial workers.
The maintenance workers contract expired July 1 and there are 8 items under dispute.They arez. vacation schedule, length of probation period, strikes and lockouts. Substituting at a higher rated position, differ- ent pay clause,overtime, contracting and wages. The bargaining team for I.B.E.W. has consisted of six people.There are 4 people from the local; rancis Clinton, who is ead of the local negot— iating committee,Mr. Rod Innis,Char1es Matheson, nd Edmond Gaudet.Also on the bargaining team have been Medley LeBlanc ho was representing I. .E.W. Internationa1,and hilip Fleming who is egotiating officer for the I.B.E.W. locals on .E.I. LeBlanc has left the Island for Halifax. On the University side of he table has been Mike ennessey,the Registrar, ill Dykeman,the univer— ity engineer,with the eavy weight,being Denny laugh, the university omptroller.
.age Demand
High, But...
The most crucial item of egotiation has been wages.
IN
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' Malfllefléaflflce Negotiations Break - Workers Rejec There are two unions curr- ently negotiating their con-
LaSt-year,U.P.E.I. allot- ed $61,000 or an 18% in- crease,for the mainten- ance workers.So far,U.P.E.I. has raised their offer to $95,000 or 28Z.The Union is holding firm for an increase of $117,000 which is 342.
The Union's position may look extreme at first glance, but if one com— pares their wages to those in comparable positions in public service the increase seems justified.
Public Service Get More
In talking with Mr.Coady an employee relations off- icer with the Public Ser— vice Association, I dis- covered that the base wage for a Service worker,Class I, is currently $5,900 for a 2,000 hr. work year. 'This wage has been in'eff— ect since March I/74 and is due to increase to $6,500 as of October I/75 the contract is to be re— negotiated as of MarchI/76. The current base wage for Service Worker Class I on Campus has been $4,400/ year. If the Union suceeds in obtaining the increase of 342 this will bring the basic wage of Service Work— er ClassI to $6,900,prob— ably two increments. The first increase of 75¢ per hour would bring the Ser- vice Worker Class I up to $5,900, retroactive to July I/75 and the second increase on October I would bring him to $6,900. This would be 400/year more than a comparable P.S.A. worker on that date.
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If one takes into account the fact that the P.S.A. workers have been getting a bigger wage all along, as well as having the app- ortunity to renegotiate their contract on March I/75 the increase requested by the maintenance workers seems more than adequate— ly justified.
Arbitration
Breaks Down
The Union rejected the current U.P.E.I.offer 75¢/hr.last wednesday by a massive majority of 44-1.The negotiations now enter a 21 day cooling off period during which the conciliation officer Mr. Roger Kennedy files his report.Either side may make a fresh proposal during this time.
If, however, no settle— ment is found during this period, the union takes a strike vote the following week and can legally strike one month from the start of the fooling off period.
While speaking to Mrs. Clinton, she expressed the personal opinion that the University negotiating committee were too inflex- ible in the face of reason— able demands I can also quote from Mr. Philip Felmming, "We (the Union) are strong, and the people are together and know what they want.Un1ess the University comes
‘ to us they can expect a
strike."
Hopefully we will have Mr. Flemming and Mrs. Clinton present at the general S.U. Meeting to answer questions as to
FOKCM/G
A DM M: m4 770A! To IMPA’o v5.0
The Cadre, Sept. 23, ]975, page 3
t Contract Offer
the Unions position. Those who have a view to .express are urged to att- end on October 5/75.
Clerical Worker Neg‘o fiction:
The issue currently under dispute between U.P.E.I. and C.U.P.E. Local 1870 have hot been fully out- lined, but will probably revolve around wages, 7 fringe benefits and work- ing conditions.
The negotiating committee for C.U.P.E.Local 1870 consists of Carol Graven-
,stine, the president,
who is from the Extension Department, Paul Grey,
a Lab techincian,Russel Melanson,from Audio- Visual,and Barb Bartell from the Library. They
are receiving guidance from Bob Crockett who is the Island Represent- ative for C.U.P.E.
For the University are Mike Hennessey,Merritt Crockett,and Dennis Clough.
This is the first contract to be negotiated by the Union for the people on campus since the local has only existed since July of this year.
At this time, the neg- otiations seem to be pro- ceeding normally with dis- cussion centered on core issues.There have been regular meetings and the last one on Friday was to have revolved around wages.
I can only hope that both parties will proceed with the realization that thier actions not only affect those involved,but the whole university community.
John Jenkins
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