BellMTS Bargaining

Bell it’s time!

Unifor Local 7 represents 735 members who work at BellMTS in clerical roles. BellMTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a Bell Canada subsidiary that used to be a provincial crown corporation, owned and run by the people of Manitoba.

Since privatization in the late 90s, then a purchase by Bell Canada in 2015, workers at BellMTS have seen the company move through a dramatic transformation. After Bell’s purchase, members at BellMTS have witnessed a sharp decline in the number of unionized jobs in Manitoba.

Jobs have been contracted out to call centers outside the province including to Ontario and India.

In this round of bargaining, Unifor Local 7 members are saying that enough is enough. Bell, it’s time to stop the contracting out, and finally ensure Manitoba workers have job security.

Campaign Update

Bulletin #5

7/16/2020 -

Sisters/brothers/colleagues,

Local 7 and BellMTS reach Tentative Agreement

Today we reached a tentative agreement with Bell. Your Unifor Local 7 bargaining committee unanimously recommends acceptance.

Details of the deal will be available once we have set up the ratification process. Bargaining was prolonged by the pandemic and was unique because of the video conferencing. That will be true of the ratification meetings and online voting we will need to do.

We are looking at a date in late August where we will have virtual meetings to explain the settlement and instructions on how to vote online.

Thank you for your support during these challenging times!

Strength Lies in Solidarity!

Patty Deschamps Laura Stranieri Shawn Scott

Jackie Prynne Marc Thaczuk Amy Harris

Paul McKie

Bulletin #4

6/10/2020 -

Sisters/brothers/colleagues,

Bargaining with Bell resumes virtually on June 16 and 17

Your bargaining committee is returning to the negotiating “table” using technology and web meetings after a three-month delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While we have had an unforeseen delay we have not forgotten the issues important to you. In our last bulletin, we noted we spoke to Bell about your concerns on job security and made it clear we needed concrete action to stop the job erosion. That will be our first priority when we resume talks with the Company on Tuesday.

While COVID-19 appears to be declining in Manitoba we still must be cautious and follow health rules set out for us by our Public Health authorities in Manitoba and Unifor. As such, large-in person gatherings continue to not be safe. As bargaining continues, membership engagement or feedback, as well as any voting will also be hosted online or through other technology. More details will come, with plenty of time to prepare, as we get closer to a deal. Rest assured all voting will be secret ballot and confidential.

If you would like to get this update by email please contact your president directly and send a personal, non-work email to president@uniforlocal7.ca

Strength Lies in Solidarity!

Patty Deschamps Laura Stranieri Shawn Scott

Jackie Prynne Marc Thaczuk Amy Harris

Paul McKie

Bulletin #3

3/13/2020 -

Sisters/brothers/colleagues,

CANCELLED

The General meeting scheduled for Wednesday March 18 has been cancelled due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. We will reschedule at a later date. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Bargaining with BellMTS resumed on March 10. Because we are dealing with Bell we did NOT get in all three scheduled days. The final day was cancelled because Bell could not get a response back to your committee.

It was fantastic to re-start the bargaining and know so many of you wore red to work on March 10. That visual support for your committee is a tremendous help at the bargaining table. It tells Bell that these are your concerns and not just concerns “made up” by the committee.

We whittled away this week at some smaller issues and made progress through most of the non-monetary issues. We had the opportunity to speak to Bell about your concerns on job security and made it clear we needed something concrete to stop the job erosion. While we had some constructive discussions, talks stopped because Bell could not get an answer to us in a timely manner. We expect to have this answer when we return to bargaining on March 24^th.

If you would like to get this update by email please contact your president directly and send a personal, non-work email to president@uniforlocal7.ca

Strength Lies in Solidarity!

Patty Deschamps Laura Stranieri Shawn Scott

Jackie Prynne Marc Thaczuk Amy Harris

Paul McKie

Bulletin #1

2/18/2020 -

Sisters/brothers/colleagues,

We opened bargaining on Feb. 11 with BellMTS. This is where we brought your concerns about job security to the table and gave our proposals to the Company.

This is a very different set of negotiations for Unifor Local 7. The first set where Bell is fully in control of the company and directs the local BellMTS company bargaining team.

Your bargaining committee saw this first hand this week when bargaining was suspended early until we meet again on our next scheduled bargaining date of March 10. The Company could not respond to your proposals and concerns until Bell had a chance to review them.

We know you have felt the effects of Bell’s ownership. Since Bell took over there has been a steady migration off good-paying jobs from Manitoba to minimum wages jobs in Ontario. The Local has seen the erosion of more than 200 jobs since the Bell acquisition.

We will address your concerns on job loss and security at the bargaining table. This bulletin is the first of many ways we will be reaching out to you during this set of negotiations.

If you would like to receive this bulletin by email please provide your personal , non-work email address to the Local at president@uniforlocal7.ca

Strength Lies in Solidarity!

Patty Deschamps	Laura Stranieri	Shawn Scott
Jackie Prynne	Marc Thaczuk	Amy Harris
Paul McKie