[2] Just because we bargain does not mean this results in a strike or a lockout. There's a series of events (including voting the membership does) that must transpire, over a three or four or five month period, before either of those eventualities arise.

[3] The local's Executive / Bargaining Team will be sending updates via a newsletter (either a hardcopy in your mail box and/or an electronic copy via news - tbd). This, however, does not produce itself - membership involvement (for production, layout, distribution, writing articles) is the only way that updates can happen. Email the local's Communications Officer to volunteer.

[4] There is a lot of back and forth during the bargaining process. The Bargaining Team has a package of ~125 proposals to consider and their history of developing those proposals. There will be back and forth in the negotiations they do and the communications to members about this will be just as bumpy. 

[5] So far the Bargaining Team has presented, to the membership, priorities (broad areas like "job security"). They have also presented proposals (our changes to the Collective Agreements, written in the language of the CAs, that relate back to the priority areas). The Bargaining Team takes a package of all these proposal changes to the employer. They bring one to the Bargaining Team too. Finally, the Bargaining Team will negotiate and as time goes on, the membership needs to work with them at Special General Membership Meetings to identify the pillars (things that the membership works out together that are the bottom lines, a green light for the Bargaining Team to say, "If we don't see movement on xyz, then we cannot recommend this settlement offer to the membership."

[6] Thus, because the employer also presents a package, what the Bargaining Team does in negotiations is not wholly based on our demands. The Bargaining Team has to size up what the employer presents and see how it fits (or not) into what we propose, into what we have illustrated are the bottom lines (about which the Bargaining Team has a pretty good idea because of reviewing surveys members did in the spring and consultation meetings / SGMMs... BUT AGAIN they do not fully decide the bottom line as negotiating gets intense. There will be meetings when the membership identifies these bottom lines and they become pillars for the Bargaining Team). 

[7] We cannot and do not give pillars or absolute directives to the Bargaining Team until a few months into negotiations (again, not a hard and fast rule. Perhaps a lot of good gains will be negotiated, and some losses that we can live with, will come about in the first month of meetings). If they are given an absolute bottom line [a] the employer, who pays attention to what we talk about in general meetings, will know what's coming and [b] this totally takes away the ability of the Bargaining Team to actually negotiate. 

[8] There are, of course, some ambitious items in the package, as there must be because [a] they might become reality depending on how negotiations transpire and [b] because don't you aim high when you want or need something? In other areas, we aim more in a middle ground. There is balance in the proposal, as there will be in the negotiations. Where things end up depend on input from the membership. Thus, if there is a strike or lock out, it is unlikely to be ie. because the employer will not cover 50% of transit costs (although do keep in mind we have no control over the when or why of a lock-out). Hypothetically--and do remember these are hypothetical examples because we've not yet reached this point--the membership might identify as a pillar it is unacceptable that the employer will not agree to meeting better deadlines for notice of appointment to positions (quite literally, we have members who get this after the term has started, meaning they're unprepared and, often, in a state of panic because they haven't yet foound work)... or will not agree that they need to hire from 3903 members when they're posting CLAs (contractually limited appointments, which are positions of a few years in duration. Often the employer says it cannot afford to offer job security to unit 2 members, but then departments go and post a few CLAs anyway. But our members are already here, already doing that work).

[9] What to expect in the way of updates... We need to keep members informed of progress at the table, but just like we can't divulge pillars too soon, we cannot divulge every last detail either. This is called "bargaining in public" and is generally frowned upon (and is, actually, full of grey zones so as we move though this it won't be perfect). If we have a team working on a bargaining newsletter, your updates will come via the 3903news listserv. If not, then they will be posted on this section of the 3903 website and you'll have to come look for them yourself. In either case, we will not be giving the minutia of the day's events. Updates will be things like "There was good movement today on topping up some funds, but the employer will not discuss revising the minimum entitlement. At the next GMM we will need to discuss amongst ourselves how the Bargaining Team ought to proceed."

[10] More than anything, this process depends on your involvement.