Important Notice – Strike Action Update

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Hi Everyone in VantageOne Land,

It’s the holiday season and 2020 is making it a holiday season like no other. We look forward to moving into 2021.

Unfortunately, 2020 is ending with strike action including pickets and withdrawal of services to our members, without advance notice. This is forcing intermittent branch closures and a slowdown of member services. We thank you for your patience as we do our best to serve members and have this labour disruption impact you as little as possible. Here is a strike action update for all our members/shareholders:

  • We care about our Employees – We care about our employees and have very good pay which, depending on the position, currently starts at $19.90/hr and tops out at $44.91/hr. We also provide an excellent health benefits plan, an RRSP program and paid sick days. We are proud to be able to offer these benefits for both Full-Time and Part-Time employees.
  • We Have a Strong Offer on the Table – We do not like to negotiate through the press or through members; however, we will share that our offer to the union meets the average of union contracts being settled in the province. Our goal has always been to be fair and financially prudent. Like all businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on our business. Despite this, our offer includes pay-rate increases.
  • We are not Union Busting – The union has been representing employees in our organization since 1979. We have worked effectively with the union over many decades and look forward to putting this strike action behind us and continuing a positive relationship with the union.
  • We are not Management Heavy – We work to provide the proper leadership in all our areas. We have 84 staff with 16 leaders, very reasonable for an organization our size. We promote from within and our employees are encouraged to become leaders.
  • We are not Outsourcing Jobs – Our staff all work, live and contribute to the local community. Our Solutions Centre (call centre) is staffed locally and this year we added one full-time job as volumes have increased.

It’s unfortunate that our employees have chosen to strike at a time when the Pandemic has put so many people out of work and so many businesses are struggling to stay afloat. VantageOne takes a fair and financially prudent approach to bargaining. We are hopeful that the union will rethink its position so we can resume productive discussions and conclude a collective agreement so that we can return to focusing on providing you continued excellent member service. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions or concerns or for any other reason.

Thank you for choosing VantageOne, we wish all our member shareholders the best holiday season and a safe and Happy New Year!

Yours truly,

Glenn Benischek
CEO, VantageOne Credit Union

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