While our Negotiating Committee has managed to get a tentative agreement that avoids the worst aspects of the two tiered agreement (new hires will eventually reach wage parity and will still be able to enjoy a defined benefit pension plan), this remains a two tiered agreement.
What makes this tentative agreement two tiered:
- The STD (Short Term Disability) plan. If we ratify the tentative agreement, those of us lucky enough to have built up our sick leave credits will be able to use the credits to “top up” when we have to use the STD plan. New hires and current temps will never have access to these credits. They will never get more than 70% pay when they need a sick day. I know that eventually no one will have credits to use, but until those credits are gone, this is a two – tiered STD.
- The Pension Plan. If we ratify the tentative agreement, all members who become regular employees after the date of signing will be eligible to participate in the pension plan under new rules that will not allow them to retire until the age of 60 (with 30 years of eligible service). The rest of us can retire at 55. This is a two tiered pension plan.
- The starting wage. This one is a little less definitively two – tiered, but it still is. While those hired after February 1, 2013 may be able to eventually reach wage parity with their co-workers, it will take a full 7 years to reach parity. The long climb up the ladder will only begin after promotion to regular employee status. Projected position losses may delay the start of this climb significantly. We will be back in negotiations before any of the newly hired members could even have reached the halfway point in their climb. Considering the path we will continue to go down if we sign this tentative agreement, we have to question whether any of them will ever reach parity unless those at the top are forced to meet them in the middle.
This IS a two tiered tentative agreement. Two tiered benefits are a tool that employers use to “divide and conquer” Unions. The members who came before us made sacrifices to gain benefits that those who came after currently enjoy. If we ratify this tentative agreement we are creating a second class of CUPW urban members. We are an aging work force and are retiring at unprecedented rates. Maybe not the next round of bargaining, but certainly the round after that the members that we relegate to the lower tier by voting yes will have significant power. Can we expect them to defend our benefits when we chose not to defend theirs? Would You? Stand up for those who come after us. Vote no.