Your bargaining committee will meet with Shaw management and federal conciliator Jennifer Webster on June 29. We have also booked June 30 and July 18-19 to continue negotiations.

As we’ve said before, we believe a deal is in reach. What separates the two sides is *less than half a million dollars* over two years in salaries and pension contributions. We note that, according to a CRTC report released yesterday, Shaw specialty channel revenue was up last year, helping pushing Shaw Media earnings to *more than $1 billion*. The two sides have also not reached agreement on our proposal to include basic job descriptions in the agreement or on the company’s proposal to replace our two paid personal days with two additional statutory holidays.

In early May, we sent a letter to Shaw Media president Paul Robertson, inviting him to meet with us in the aim of reaching a deal. Yesterday, we received a response. Robertson did not accept our invitation of a meeting, saying instead that the company is “motivated” to get a deal and that he believes their April 18 offer (the second-last offer) is fair while recognizing “the parties remain apart on a number of items.”

We really hope to see evidence of the company’s motivation on June 29.

We’ll keep you informed of the developments. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact any one of us. And don’t forget to check out our blog: http://fairnessisamazing.ca .

Your bargaining committee:
Mike Duong, Shaw Media branch president
Katy Boudreau
Sherisse White
Karen Wirsig, CMG staff
Keith Maskell, CMG staff representative