TLDR; The University continues to refuse CREW members to sit in on Collective Agreement negotiation sessions. They hold the position that they want to say things to us (your Bargaining Committee) that they do not want to say to you! We are left with no choice but to hold a Special General Assembly to reaffirm our commitment to Open Bargaining the coming weeks (date TBA).

Last spring, the membership voted resoundingly to continue the open bargaining mandate we established during our last collective agreement negotiation, meaning that CREW members would be able to observe negotiation sessions. However, even after being reminded of this mandate, the university’s negotiations committee refused to cooperate. Your bargaining committee was left with no option but to agree to meet with the Employer on Monday September 28th to discuss the details of open bargaining and to schedule future sessions. Members rallied outside the GM building to show their support for union democracy, despite the University barring them from attending the bargaining session.

Among other things, University administrators said that they want to be able to say things to us but not to you. They also said that they wouldn’t be able to “build trust” with sessions open to all CREW members, and that it would be an “equity issue” for some members to be at open bargaining sessions when others aren’t there. The Bargaining Committee rejects these concerns as we believe in allowing members to see with their own eyes how their collective agreement is negotiated.

It is clear that the University does not wish to conduct transparent and open bargaining, despite CREW’s clear emphasis that Open Bargaining is the mechanism that ensures effective and efficient negotiation sessions. The Bargaining committee's earnest attempt to demonstrate the importance of Open Bargaining to your union was ignored by the Employer, thus the Bargaining Committee was left with no choice but to schedule a Special General Assembly to reaffirm our commitment to Open Bargaining. 

It is important that you attend this imminent Special General Assembly to show the employer the priority and importance of Open Bargaining for CREW! 

CREW members will be active in our negotiation sessions as soon as possible. 

If you are interested in participating in Article Committees, where we work on language related to specific demands, fill out this form.

Concordia works because we do!