UFCW Canada Local 1288P members at Atlantic Superstores in New Brunswick ratify new contract

Moncton, NB – UFCW Canada Local 1288P members working at Atlantic Superstore locations in New Brunswick have achieved a new collective bargaining agreement with a number of gains and improvements.

The new contract was ratified following a majority vote delivered at ratification meetings held June 15th, 2021.

The new five-year contract covers Local 1288P members at Atlantic Superstores in Atholville, Bathurst, Kennebecasis Valley (KV) and Millidgeville, New Brunswick, and is retroactive to January 31, 2020.

The Memorandum of Settlement, recommended by the Negotiating Committee, and ratified by the membership includes the following changes and improvements to the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement:

• Five (5) year deal, back to end of previous contract on January 31st, 2020
• New Minimum Wage Plus Scale for all Part-Time employees currently not at end rate. This means that when Minimum Wage rises, so does everyone on the scale. We also secured language to ensure if Minimum Wage goes down, no reduction in wages will happen.
• Part-Time scale will also have top of scale requirement dropped to 6401+ from 8001+ hours, four less scales. Anyone currently over 6401+ will move to end rate.
• New Wage scales for all Full-Time employees currently on the scale
• Increases of seventy-five (.75¢) cents three (3) weeks following ratification for all employees at end rate, both Full-Time and Part-Time
• Retro pay for all employees at end rate of thirty (.30¢) cents for all hours worked in Year One and fifty (.50¢) cents for all hours worked in Year Two up to ratification.
• Increases to Top of Scale rates of twenty-five (.25¢) cents in Year Three, twenty-five (.25¢) cents in Year Four and twenty (.20¢) cents in Year Five
• Agreement to create six (6) new Full-Time positions within thirty (30) days of ratification, two (2) in Bathurst and four (4) in Atholville
• Ensured Seniority lists are updated every six months and provided to Stewards for posting.
• Shortened length of time needed to request time off of “five days or less” to “one" day before schedule is posted. Also, schedules will now be posted by noon on Thursday for the following two weeks so people can better plan their lives.
• Added Domestic Violence leave, Intimate Partner Violence leave, Sexual Violence leave and Compassionate Care leave to the contract
• Added language so anyone who starts within an hour closing or finish up to an hour after 9 am can have their shift considered for the Night Shift premium of $1.25.
• Anyone assigned to cover USCAN or PCX and also assigned to cover Customer Service Desk for an hour or more, will be paid the premium that time.
• Added Family Day to the list of Holidays
• Changed Funeral in Bereavement Leave to include Celebration of Life events and Commemorative events if held, as well as Funeral
• Changed Safety Footwear language so all employees required to wear Safety Footwear will be covered at up to seventy-five ($75.00) dollars once per year
• Secured language so employer has to provide gloves, jackets, frocks, raincoats or cold weather gear as required and keep it in suitable condition. This will allow is to grieve if the employer does not meet this standard
• Reduced Back Up pay requirement from “five” to “four” working days to get forty ($40.00) dollar premium
• Added language for employees to ensure if they are scheduled seven consecutive days or more, they can request a meeting with HR, the Store Manager and a Steward to resolve this issue.
• Added language that if an employee requests a Saturday off on an occasional basis and is denied, they can request a meeting with HR, the Store Manager and a Steward to question the situation
• Added a New Cross Training program that will allow Part-Time employees the opportunity to train in multiple departments to maximize their hours

The UFCW Canada Local 1288P Negotiating committee consisted of the following members (left to right): David Darling, Allen Lapointe, Irène Christie, Miriam Kennedy and UFCW Canada National Representative Craig Walsh.