After winning the union vote, you and your coworkers win the right to negotiate a union contract called a collective agreement.  This is a legally binding document that lays out the wages, benefits, working conditions, job security and other rights of workers.  It provides you with stronger protection than employment standards.

In many ways your collective agreement is like a rule book – it gives your union reps the legal ability they need to get management to do the right thing.

The collective agreement must be agreed to by both the employer and union members.  Before a collective agreement can be in force, it must be accepted by the members through a secret vote.

The bargaining committee is made up of your coworkers elected by you to represent your interests.  They work with professional union negotiators to ensure that the solutions to the issues that affect your workplace find their way into the collective agreement.  

What the union proposes will go in your first collective agreement is based on priorities you and your co-workers wrote in the bargaining surveys. Some examples of common contract clauses BCGEU has bargained for:

• Fair wage rates
• Better scheduling that provides work-life balance and the ability to make personal plans
• Improvements to benefits (pension, dental, extended health, group life, etc.)
• Job security
• Fair overtime pay and procedures
• Improvements to vacation allocations and procedures
• Sick leave with pay
• Protection from workplace harassment
• Protection against unjust discipline or firing without just cause
• Seniority rights
• Enforcement of safety regulations on the job
• Grievance procedures or complaints procedure if your employer violates your contract
• Improvements to special leaves of absence such as for elder/child care, parental leave, or bereavement leave.

To view BCGEU casino collective agreements, please visit: http://www.bcgeu.ca/collective-agreements

Bargaining your first collective agreement will take some time.  It can take a few months and sometimes up to a year.   It is a give-and-take process with the bargaining committee working at all times to gain and/or maintain as much as possible for its members.

You pay union dues when your collective agreement is in place. Union dues are 1.85% of your gross pay and it’s tax deductible.  

No. You and your co-workers are the only ones who have the power to decide if you go on strike as part of collective bargaining. Before that happens you and your co-workers have to vote by secret ballot on whether you think strike action is necessary. This is called a strike vote and is necessary before legal strike action is possible.  An ideal collective agreement negotiation avoids full strike action.