Canadian Blood Services banner

Bloodletters Special Edition: Bargaining Bulletin #1

Back to the table December 4

The rejection of the employer’s tentative offer by a vote of 75 per cent on September 26 certainly resonated with the bargaining team and hopefully the employer. Your bargaining team heads back to the table with the employer on December 4, along with a mediator to assist with the negotiations. The team has a clear mandate to gain overall improvements to the collective agreement.

The right contract should include but are not limited to the following:

  1. NO concessions
  2. Job security
  3. No erosion of work hours

The right contract, right now

The CBS management continues to hammer the drum of overall cost reduction to meet suspicious targets but with a clear aim to reduce full time jobs to part-time, and its workers working for less.

Those targets may be related to wage bonuses for those of the top ten CBS executives.

If the CEO, Graham Sher’s earnings this year is the same as last years, he will receive a base salary plus benefits of *$578,000; he may earn upwards of another $140,000 in bonuses while seeking concessions from your collective agreement.”

The top ten CBS executives’ 2013 compensation package, not including their pension earnings, was 3.9 million.

Canadian Blood Services is listed as a nonprofit charity but owns assets worth 820 million.  Since 2010, assets (profits) have grown at a rate of 19 million dollars per year.  It appears that money is not a problem at CBS.

The bargaining team believes the problem is a matter of CBS priorities. It’s time for this employer offer the right contract, right now.

*Canadian Blood Services Annual Report 2013-2014

Preparing for action

Plans are underway to get mobilizers on the ground to help with communications and coordination of strategic actions required to motivate CBS to deliver the right contract.  In the meantime make sure we have your current contact information by calling 1-416-443-8888 or 1-800-268-7376.  We want to ensure you receive information about bargaining as events unfold.

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team:

Local 477 – Wendy Lapointe (Chair)
Local 160 – Katherine Zan-Payne
Local 200 – Keith Davies
Local 210 – Leigh Anne Siebert
Local 5103 – Audrey Smith
Staff Negotiator: David Loney