Breaking News!
Final Stages of Union Formation at Elbow River Casino!
Formation of a Union at Elbow River Casino has entered its final stages. Support for unionization is solid. The numbers look good!
Working with labour lawyers, organizers, and negotiators from the Casino Workers branch of the UFCW, Elbow River employees are now on the edge of advancing their dream of having a collective voice. We all know that individuals have little or no bargaining power. Elbow River employees do not have employment contracts to protect or advance their rights, instead they work at the whim of big bosses, and power tripping managers. Collective bargaining is the answer!
The legal requirements for having a Union, we believe, are being finalized with respect to gaming employees. Forty-percent as a minimum have to support the Union. If that is the case a vote will be held where we believe gaming employees, through a secret ballot vote, will endorse a positive future, where they actually have some bargaining clout to fix the problems in their workplace. Employees in other departments are ready to seize the same opportunities and don’t want to be left behind. They don’t want to see a situation where gaming employees see improvements in their wages, benefits, and rights while they are stuck in the same old rut of having to “bow to the boss.”
An ideal situation would be if all employees got on board. Alberta law says that if sixty-five percent of staff sign for a Union in an entire workplace, that entire workplace will be unionized. That is an ideal target and if that target is met, everyone gets to have a Union.
Make your decision now!
Alberta law has time limits regarding the rules of unionization, and we don’t want anyone to miss out on this important opportunity. The time to sign a confidential union membership card is here. The time to sign a confidential union membership card is now. The final formation of a Union has one clear result; Elbow River gaming employees will be on the road to a better workplace. We are already anticipating the way negotiations with your employer might look. Here is the scenario:
Elbow River employees will select their own representatives to accompany professional Union negotiators to the bargaining table. The Union will fund this process including remunerating these employee representatives for any time that they miss at work. Bargaining will take place in a neutral location, likely a hotel boardroom. Representatives of the employees will be present to ensure that professional Union negotiators fully understand their issues and demands. The employer will be required to bargain under Alberta law in “good faith.” If the employer does not do so, new Alberta labour laws can be utilized to force them into signing a contract through a mechanism called First Agreement arbitration, introduced not long ago in the Alberta legislature. Normally, agreements are reached without this process and employees get to vote on the final deal so that the new agreement clearly meets their expectations. In our Union, no one pays Union dues until the agreement is complete. At that point, Union fees are required for on-going representation. They are $9.25 per week, tax deductible. For those fees, you will receive day to day professional representation. If your contract needs to be enforced, if you are in trouble with your employer or the AGLC, if you have a worker’s compensation claim, if your rights aren’t being respected, or if you just want confidential workplace advice, we will be there for you, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.
Actual bargaining meetings will commence with the exchange of actual bargaining proposals. We will be serving the Elbow River employees for their “wish list.” However, some proposals are already starting to take shape. They include, but certainly are not limited to, some of the bargaining demands set out here:
Gaming
- More money for more experience
- Being paid for the number of high skilled games that employees are trained on
- Breaks after 45 minutes, rather than the change to breaks after 1 hour of work
- Fair rotation of skilled games
- Tips for the employees and not the managers
- A collective professional voice to deal with the AGLC
Housekeeping
- Fair workloads
- Reasonable number of breaks
- Respect from the managers
- Being treated with the dignity you deserve, for the hard work you do
Security/Guest Services
- Ability to deny patrons
- Proper training for all guards
- Decent wage for the workload
- Input when it comes to policies
- Professional recognition for your important role in the gaming industry
Food and Beverage
- Scheduled breaks if employees want them
- Fair shift selection
- Translation for policies and documents
- Fair rotation of schedules
- Being treated as a critical part of the casino operation, rather than as an afterthought.
What’s next?
In the coming days, Union organizers are going to be speaking to staff from all departments to hear their thoughts on proposals like these, and to gather their views on any additional proposals that they would like to advance. Remember, however, it is time to sign up for the Union so that the opportunity to negotiate is not lost!
As a final note, you should know that we have eyes on your employer and their behaviour. Notwithstanding anything we have said here, we are monitoring their conduct. Any unlawful behaviour that they might engage in, or might have engaged in, will be met with scrutiny and “charges” against them at the Alberta Labour Relations Board. The Alberta Labour Relations Board has clear jurisdiction to unionize your workplace automatically if your company has been found to have had an improper impact on your emerging Union. We have described our support as solid but if we discover that they have made it shaky, they will have to answer to the Labour Board. Remember, you not only have the right to participate in this process, there are laws in place now to strongly back up those rights.
