Acadia ratifies agreement with Union representing administrative support employees
Four-year agreement secures labour stability with Acadia鈥檚 two unionized employee groups through to summer of 2021
This week, Acadia鈥檚 Board of Governors ratified a new collective agreement covering the University鈥檚 82 unionized administrative support workers. The new deal with the Service Employees International Union Local 2 takes effect on July 1, 2017 and expires at the end of June, 2021.
The agreement includes annual wage increases of 1.5% in each of the first three years with 1.6% in the fourth. The new contract also includes improvements to group insurance benefits and vacation and leave entitlements.
鈥泪 want to congratulate members of both bargaining teams for their hard work negotiating this agreement,鈥� said Dr. Peter Ricketts, Acadia鈥檚 President and Vice-Chancellor. 鈥淐ooperation and collegiality at the bargaining table were key factors guiding negotiations and we now have a second agreement that ensures labour stability on our campus for the next four years. This is important to our students, our community, and every Acadia stakeholder. With long-term labour agreements in place, we can concentrate our efforts on priorities such as our strategic plan and campus renewal projects that will strengthen our academic and community engagement character.鈥�
鈥泪t has been a year-long journey for our SEIU negotiations team since being nominated by the membership in March of 2017,鈥� said SEIU Local 2 Chief Shop Steward Jean Kelly. 鈥淭he team worked around tight schedules, bad weather, and even the flu, with patience and perseverance, and never lost sight of the goal of reaching an agreement that would benefit members. In the end, it was a win-win, from the initial survey, through lengthy deliberations, to collaborating and bargaining 鈥� finally concluding in a mutually beneficial four-year agreement. Overall, we feel a sense of accomplishment.鈥�
The ratification of the SEIU agreement complements Acadia鈥檚 agreement with the 外流影片 Faculty Association which was ratified in January, 2018 and is also in effect from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2021.