Tentative Agreement Reached with GTI, Committee Recommends YES Vote
Update:
Voting will take place Wednesday May 8. Members can vote at any location.
Retail Locations: 12-3
CPG: 11:30-12:30
Union Hall (266 Hardman Ave N, South St Paul) 10-3
Contract Highlights:
- Protection from unjust discipline or termination
- Strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment protection
- Joint labor management committee: workers will have a forum to discuss issues outside the contract with management on a regular basis to improve communication and give workers a voice
- CPG- Protections against excessive mandated overtime
- Rules around how overtime is assigned and volunteered for
- Protections around layoffs, including seniority and bumping rights
- Safety protections, including enforceable language on training and equipment standards
- Limits to the employer’s ability to contract out Union work
- Language that protects the current discount program
- Protection for breaks
Raises:
Production, Post-Harvest, and PCS will get a significant market adjustment, up to $1.50-$2/hr
Everyone is guaranteed an immediate increase, and guaranteed 3% and 3% in the next years. No one stays the same or goes backward.
When rec sales start, all retail workers at the location selling rec products will get another $0.50 increase
After over a year of bargaining, UFCW 1189 and GTI have reached a tentative agreement. This agreement would not have been possible without the hard work of the committee of GTI workers who shaped a contract for themselves and their peers that everyone should be proud of.
The contract includes protections against unjust discipline, discrimination, and harassment. It has a strong grievance procedure to protect workers’ rights and it creates a labor-management committee to give workers a voice. It provides stability for work hours and protects work-life balance, breaks, and overtime. It also has limitations on non-Union workers doing Union work and creates enforcement around safety issues. It also prevents some existing benefits from being eroded, such as the current discount.
The importance of the language and protections in the contract cannot be overstated, and the committee went back and forth with the company for a long time to get all of these things right.
This contract also provides wage increases to every employee, with no one being stuck or, worse, going backward. Anyone at or overscale will receive a 3% increase. The majority of the unit will receive market adjustments and the lowest rates will be brought up to between $1.50 and $2. This represents up to a 12% increase to people’s wages. Over the life of the contract, workers will receive a 9% increase, excluding market adjustments. In addition, once a location starts recreational sales retail workers at that location will receive a $0.50 increase.
These increases were not easy to achieve, and once again would have been impossible without the dedication of the committee and their willingness to hold out on behalf of their coworkers. The path to this was not always easy to find, but through creativity and perseverance, we got significantly more than the company was initially willing to put on the table.
For all of these reasons, the committee recommends a YES vote.
We will hold two Zoom townhall sessions to answer questions on Sunday, May 5 at 9 AM and 6:30 PM- register here!
Voting will take place onsite and at the Union Hall, 266 Hardman Ave N, South St Paul.
You can vote at the location most convenient to you.
VOTING DATES AND TIMES BEING CONFIRMED WITH GTI, COMING SOON
Read the full tentative agreement here
For questions contact Claire Van den Berghe via phone, email, or text