Local 56 – Shannex Incorporated, – Proposals Exchanged, Bargaining Scheduled

Your bargaining committee exchanged proposals with the employer on Friday, November 22nd and commenced negotiations on December 3rd and 4th.  Additional bargaining dates have been scheduled for January 6th, 7th, 28th and 29th.  Copies of the union’s proposals are being mailed to all members.

Negotiations have been cordial and are progressing satisfactorily.

As a result of the employer having been able to obtain funding, we have reached agreement on the inclusion of a dental plan for all members.  Although we have not concluded a tentative agreement, the employer is prepared to offer the plan to members on January 1st, 2014.  Accordingly, we will be conducting a vote to determine whether the majority of members wish to join the dental plan.  The details of the plan will be included in a voting package, which has been mailed out to the membership. You will need to return your ballot to us by December 23rd.

In addition, the employer has agreed to change the deductions of employee benefits from monthly to bi-weekly starting in January 2014. The employer has informed us they will be communicating with all employees regarding plan changes but members of Local 56 will only be impacted by the dental plan if we have a majority vote.

To ensure you receive your copy of the bargaining proposal and voting package, please be sure to contact us to advise of any recent changes in address (call 424-4063 or 1-877-556-7438).

Further updates will be issued as negotiations progress. Your committee is looking forward to negotiating a new agreement as quickly as possible and appreciates your support and patience.

If you have any questions about the bargaining process, please contact a member of your bargaining committee:

Tania Tupper  taniahatchard@hotmail.com

Heather LeBlanc  hpsj@live.ca

Margaret Lloy  mlloy@live.com

Jo-Ann Bailey, Chief Negotiator

424-4063/1-877-556-7438

jbailey@nsgeu.ca