Date:	September 28, 2012
To:	Employees in the USW Staff-Appointed Unit, Local 1998
From:	Angela Hildyard, Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity
Re:	USW Job Evaluation Process Update – September 28, 2012

Earlier this week a memo was issued by the United Steelworkers Union Local 1998 to its members regarding the Joint Job Evaluation process. We wish to provide you with an update from the University’s perspective.

Background

We began implementing the new USW job evaluation system in July 2011. All positions that had been rated so far (referred to as Waves 1-6) were moved to the new job classes and pay bands. Since then, we have worked diligently and collaboratively with the Union to complete the evaluation of the remaining positions; specifically, those that have been newly-created or reclassified between August 2007 and May 2011 (referred to as ‘Wave 7′). Originally it was our hope that we would be in a position to implement Wave 7 by spring of 2012.

Where we are today

While significant progress has been made, there are still a large number of job class ratings in dispute. In an effort to implement Wave 7 positions sooner, we have been working toward an alternate solution to implement ratings and develop a process to deal with any of the outstanding or remaining disputes. We had targeted an October date for such an implementation.

Implementation involves bringing together position and job evaluation records from both the University and the Union. In a project of this size and complexity, when reconciling information from different sources, issues and differences are inevitable. Sourcing and addressing these issues have contributed to delays in the project’s progress and, regrettably, an October implementation is not possible.

Next steps

The University remains fully committed to working collaboratively and positively with the Union to reach agreement on outstanding ratings, as well as implementing Wave 7 as soon as possible. We are aiming for a December 2012 implementation. We will do everything we can, for our part, to reach the necessary agreements in time.

We appreciate that many of you are frustrated at the slow progress – a frustration that we share. We thank you for your patience and understanding. We will keep you informed of our progress and post information here on the HR & Equity website.