Unifor and Rocky Mountain Catering Company Ltd. reach a Tentative Agreement
December 18, 2013
On Tuesday evening, December 17, 2013, Unifor reached a tentative agreement with the Rocky Mountain Catering Company Ltd. on a new collective agreement for the 50 members of Unifor Local 4001 and National Council 4000. These members are employed as Chefs, Sous Chefs, Cooks, Culinary Crew Members and Kitchen personnel based in Vancouver and Kamloops, British Columbia. In addition to catering events in the B.C. Interior and Lower Mainland of the Greater Vancouver Area, Rocky Mountain Catering Co. also cook, prepare and serve meals on-board the luxury Rocky Mountaineer Tourist train that operates through the Rocky Mountains in B.C. and Alberta.
The tentative agreement is a 1 year deal with a wage increase of 1.5%, and also includes various language improvements in the collective agreement.
This was a challenging round of negotiations for the Union’s bargaining committee. For the first time since Rocky Mountain Catering Co. was first awarded the contract to prepare meals on-board the Rocky Mountaineer (April 2008), Rocky Mountain Catering Co. will have to submit a “Request for Proposal” (RFP) to continue with its catering services for Rocky Mountaineer. Since 2008, Rocky Mountain Catering Co. was retained as the official caterer without any competition.
Understandably, the Company had concerns on negotiating a longer contract without knowing how the bidding process in the RFP will materialize. Consequently, the parties agreed to suspended two articles pertaining to single room accommodations enshrined within the collective agreement for one year in order to permit time for the Company to secure a new contract with Rocky Mountaineer for the years 2015-2017. In exchange for the temporary suspension of these two articles, the Company will compensate members with a payment of $200.00 midway through the 2014 season.
Congratulations to the work of the Unifor Bargaining Committee in light of these difficult circumstance: Head Local Chairperson Melissa Rekve, Vice Local Chairperson Chyi Wu, Shop Steward Hannah May, Council 4000 Regional Representative Ron Shore and National Representative Bruce Snow.
A ratification vote will be scheduled for January 10, 2014. More details (times and location) on the ratification vote will follow once arrangements are finalized.
This was a challenging round of negotiations for the Union’s bargaining committee. For the first time since Rocky Mountain Catering Co. was first awarded the contract to prepare meals on-board the Rocky Mountaineer (April 2008), Rocky Mountain Catering Co. will have to submit a “Request for Proposal” (RFP) to continue with its catering services for Rocky Mountaineer. Since 2008, Rocky Mountain Catering Co. was retained as the official caterer without any competition.
Understandably, the Company had concerns on negotiating a longer contract without knowing how the bidding process in the RFP will materialize. Consequently, the parties agreed to suspended two articles pertaining to single room accommodations enshrined within the collective agreement for one year in order to permit time for the Company to secure a new contract with Rocky Mountaineer for the years 2015-2017. In exchange for the temporary suspension of these two articles, the Company will compensate members with a payment of $200.00 midway through the 2014 season.
Congratulations to the work of the Unifor Bargaining Committee in light of these difficult circumstance: Head Local Chairperson Melissa Rekve, Vice Local Chairperson Chyi Wu, Shop Steward Hannah May, Council 4000 Regional Representative Ron Shore and National Representative Bruce Snow.
A ratification vote will be scheduled for January 10, 2014. More details (times and location) on the ratification vote will follow once arrangements are finalized.
