Ad agency crew makes
'healthy' gains in 3-year deal
Sault Ste. Marie Typographical Union | CWA Canada
Local 30746
Two days at the bargaining table achieved what two years of countless notes in the company suggestion box couldn't for employees of Brooks Marketing Resources.
The eight-member bargaining unit this week ratified a three-year contract in which the employer agrees to reimburse gym or fitness memberships up to $300 annually.
"The employees were very happy with the agreement they achieved and they were especially pleased about the health and wellness package," says Elaine Mills, president of the Sault Ste. Marie Typographical Union, which also represents workers at The Sault Star. "Sickness has been an issue there," she says, and workers have been requesting such an incentive, but to no avail.
"I wish they could all be that easy," says David Esposti of the bargaining on Tuesday and Wednesday. The CWA Canada staff representative says management of Brooks Marketing, a full-service advertising agency, did not come to the table with an agenda. "We negotiated almost exclusively from the union's viewpoint. The employer was very reasonable and recognizes the value of their employees."
Wages will increase by 2.5 per cent in each of the three years of the agreement, which runs until Feb. 1, 2014.
Mills says the employees were thrilled that they will now be entitled to four weeks of vacation after eight years of service; it was 10 years in the previous contract.
Other improvements listed by Esposti include: matching contributions to Registered Retirement Savings Plan go from $1,000 to $1,200 a year; entitlement to two days of bereavement leave for an aunt or uncle; and mileage increases from 42 to 50 cents a kilometre.