The 13 unionized staff of the Fireside Inn in Castlegar ratified a new three-year agreement with the United Steel Workers (USW) Local 1-405 last week.
The agreement came after two days of bargaining, one day prior to the expiration of the current agreement.
“The new agreement provides some good improvements for our members at Fireside,” said Jeff Bromley, lead negotiator for the USW Local 1-405. “The membership had some issues that needed to be addressed and we were able to do that in bargaining. Business has been good for the employer the past few years and the employer recognized that and the hard work of the staff at Fireside and came to the table with wage increases and benefit improvements to the collective agreement.”
Highlights of the agreement include wage increases and improvements to employer-paid benefits, health care spending, clothing allowance and scheduling language.
The owners of the Fireside Inn were also satisfied with the agreement.
“We settled above industry standards, we hope that they are happy,” said one of the owners, Teena Gillmore. “We were happy to do it.”