May 16, 2025
RE: Bargaining Update, Standing Strong, Speaking Loud
Dear Friends,
Your petition demanding the reversal of the unjust $2.32 wage cut for our registered staff colleagues, and calling for a real commitment to improving working conditions received overwhelming support from all of us collectively. That petition was not just a piece of paper; it was a roaring voice that demands to be heard.
Your Bargaining Committee and Local President met with the Employer yesterday (May 15) to deliver your message loud and clear: We won’t sit back and let fairness slip through our fingers!
The delivery of the petition caught the Employer completely off guard; they were visibly shocked by your response to the call for action. They either thought you did not have it within you or thought that you would stand idle and not speak up. However, yesterday, we drew a line in the sand and showed them that we deserve and demand better. We also reminded them that were never unequivocal in our intent to deal with the wage cut separate to bargain and expect them to deliver on the promise.
We did not stop there. The petition you signed was also a demand to improve working conditions. We drove home the point that unsafe and unfair working conditions such as unmanageable workload, harassment and discrimination, workplace violence, and involuntary transfers must be addressed and reflected in our collective agreement. These are not just thorns in our side; they’re serious barriers to a healthy and respectful workplace – they are about keeping us safe, so we can adequately keep the children safe.
We also addressed Mr. Frampton’s recent letter to parents (dated May 12, 2025), and we set the record straight with them, that aside from the wage cut not being intended to be a matter for collective bargaining, that it was a promise made, and we expect it to be kept with no strings attached, that their PWEG pay they are delivering on the program’s behalf, does not form part of negotiation process, nor is it a “benefit” or “act of kindness” that LEF should take credit for nor it represent a wage improvement coming from LEF.
The ball is now in the Employer’s court. We await their response on the petition (outside of the bargaining process) and we are also aware a pass back from them on June 11, 2025 on the non-monetary proposals that we have been clear are required in our collective agreement. We will do that until the cows come!
Friends, together, we are a force to be reckoned with. When we stand united, no one can, nor will they, sweep our concerns under the rug.
Thanks, again, for your unwavering support. Let’s keep up the fight together!
In solidarity,
Your Communication Committee
Your Executive committee
Your Bargaining Committee