Representing 1,300 Manitoba Workers

AAA Alarm Employees Ratify New Contract

CEP Local 7 members employed by AAA Alarms voted on February 20 to accept the company's offer for a revised three-year agreement which includes a number of contract improvements. A new wage scale will be introduced, retroactive to November 21, 2007, which increases the starting wage rate for Monitoring Center Attendants from $9.20 to a $9.50 per hour start rate. Even more significantly, the top rate for Monitoring Center staff will increase from $12.61 to $13.50 per hour - and to $14.05 for Training Coordinator staff.

The wage rates for all AAA Alarms workers will increase by three per cent effective November, 2008 and by another three per cent in November, 2009. That'll bring the top rate to $14.33 for the last year of the contract.

In addition, employees will proceed through the wage scales on a basis of six month increments, rather than yearly increments as in the past. This means that if existing employees currently making $10.00 an hour remain with AAA, they would see a nearly 50 per cent increase in their wages to $14.33 an hour by 2010, in accordance with their anniversary date.

New hires will also see raises sooner than under the previous agreement. The revised agreement provides for increases after each of the first two three-month intervals, instead of after six months as was the case under the previous agreement.

In addition to overall wage increases, the midnight shift premium will increase in three steps. It rises from the current 90 cents per hour to $1.05 immediately, to $1.10 effective November 21, 2008, and $1.20 on November 21, 2009.

Employees will now receive additional paid breaks when working a four, five or ten hour shift. The new AAA Alarm contract also includes important non-momentary amendments such as a 15-minute orientation period with new hires, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment language, agreement that an employee's probationary period can only be extended by mutual agreement, and other changes.