*UPDATE* 11:15 a.m.
They went back to the bargaining table on Monday and by late afternoon, there was every indication the two negotiating teams were making some progress.
But the South East Cornerstone Public School Division employees who are members of the SEIU, as well as their employer, want them back on the job sooner, rather than later. A new proposal from Cornerstone is being considered by the SEIU, and members are voting today (Wednesday) on the latest contract offer.
When contract talks with a conciliator being involved broke down in mid-March, the concept of a strike was advanced with a vote and then a call to walk off the job and join picket lines, two weeks ago.
With talks stalled at a four per cent increase in wages over a two-year period, the Service Employees International Union-West determined their only recourse was to remove the services of their 261 employees who are education assistants, custodians, maintenance workers, library technicians, bus drivers, cafeteria staff members and library technicians for the Cornerstone school system.
“They were on the picket lines again today,” said SEIU-West president Barbara Cape, speaking with the Mercury at noon on Monday, May 4. “They’ll stay there until we get a deal. I understand there was a conciliator involved again. I don’t know if it was the same person they had before,” she said, referring to the previously appointed conciliator Jim Jefferies who had issued a report following the first round of negotiations, stating that he had been unable to get the two sides to come to an agreement.
Cape said she couldn’t speak to the demands being put forward by the union, since it wasn’t their intention to negotiate “though the media.” She said their lead negotiator had received the offer to get back to the bargaining process.
Whether either side was willing to compromise, was unknown, but Cornerstone’s director of education, Lynn Little, said it was, at least, a good sign that they were still at the table in the latter part of Monday afternoon, so nobody was walking away from the session.
“Really, I don’t think we’re that far apart,” said Cape. “We all know that the wage area during talks can get tense, but I firmly believe we can reach a best possible deal in this process. It’s also about job losses and job stability.”
Cape said morale on the picket lines remained good and she was on her way to visit with the picketers in the smaller centres of Fillmore, Lampman and Carlyle before heading to Estevan to meet with the local committee here.
“They are supporting one another,” she added.
“I hope, though, they can reach a compromised solution soon, the kids, the students need it,” she said.
But, if it doesn’t happen soon, Cape said the strike fund is still in place in the event the strike needs to be extended past this week.
“I don’t know what their schedule is, or what it might be or their intention to keep at the process, if they don’t come to an agreement or make progress today,” said Little,
The director said she had been called out of the region in response to an urgent, unexpected family matter this week, so wasn’t able to keep intimate tabs on the talks, but would get briefings from staff members for the next couple of days.
Cape said that SEIU had learned that school libraries had closed, several bus routes had been cancelled and cafeterias had also shut down due to lack of support staff, and parents were expressing concerns regarding health, safety and access to educational support services provided by education assistants.
The other union who has employees contracted by Cornerstone, remain in support of the SEIU actions, she said.
The SEIU-West president said the Chinook School Division on the west side of the province, has been notified that they will be expected to enter into a bargaining position soon, “so no doubt, they’ll be looking at this situation here in Cornerstone with a lot of interest.”
