The union entered our 11 September collective bargaining session with a positive attitude as NOVA, after a summer of strikes, had told us that they wanted to build a positive relationship with the union.

Our hope for reaching agreement on a number of issues, especially regarding the pandemic, was deflated almost as soon as the talks began. We had hoped that NOVA, like other employers in the language industry, would agree to a system to help prevent incidents of coronavirus infection by establishing an information sharing system with the union.

At other language school employers the union sends a weekly list of issues in the schools which are potentially hazardous in regards to coronavirus prevention. Basically the union uses the many eyes of union members to make sure the schools are doing as much as possible to keep teachers, staff, and students safe. ECC commented that they were, " not only happy that the union initiated this system, but thankful for the union's full cooperation." Keep reading and see if you can spot the difference between ECC and NOVA's response to our offer of help.

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