(Testimonials from CGI employees submitted to glassdoor.com and indeed.com can be found at bottom of article.)
CGI Federal employees in New York have voted overwhelmingly to join the IAMAW. This shop is the first union represented CGI facility in the U.S. and the employees have made a bold historical decision to change the culture within the company.
These workers are employed under The Service Contract Act to manage the U.S. Passport center in NYC. Their reasons for organizing were many, low wages, insufficient benefits, no backing from management when belligerent customers and even Federal Contract Managers decide to throw temper tantrums. These workers are employed by CGI and answer directly to CGI, it is not their job to take orders from unruly contract managers and they deserve protection from abusive customers.
The Service Contract Act (SCA) sets wages and fringe benefits for covered workers with a Govt mandated Area Wage Determination (AWD). These are based on the location of work and raises are only given when the government decides they deserve it. Some years, no raises are given, some stagnant AWD's go 2, 3, 4 years without an increase in wages. However, The Service Contract Act states that a Union Contract shall be recognized as the shops AWD... Meaning there are 2 ways to get a raise under the SCA... You can sit on your hands and wait for Uncle Sam to decide your area should get a bump, or you can join a union and have the negotiated raises and benefits recognized and paid for by the government.
Did you know SCA employees are paid by the government, not the contractor? You heard that right, CGI bids on a contract with the AWD included per employee/ 40 hours per week, fringe benefits included, calculates operating cost and then tacks on profits. The government pays the AWD for the workers.
Question- If you owned a company, and you could offer raises, better retirement, and better health insurance to your employees at no cost to you... wouldn't you let them join a union without interfering? Not CGI Technologies...
CGI held captive audience meetings 2-3 times a day, forcing their employees to listen to... "the evils of unions!" spouting the same talking points that have been shouted out since the 1980's and using their 1st amendment right to lie to their employees.
(The union is a dying organization that just wants your money)- The Union is YOU and your co-workers standing together in solidarity. Employees for the organization work for the membership. You're literally the boss...
(They are outsiders, we're a family) - Again, you are the union... and family should want what's best for their kin, employers are not your family.
(We are listening now; you don't need a union)- Will they be listening if the union leaves?
(If you join a union, you might get less...) - Ya... that's not actually a thing...
(What if we don't bargain? All we have to do is show up.) -Translation- What if we break the law?
(Dues are outrageous!)- Dues are between $65.00-$85.00 per month and you get way more than that when you join the IAMAW.
(The Union could cause us to lose our contract.)- Not true at all, any prospect that wishes to bid on a SCA contract must incorporate the cost of the existing union contract. All bargaining member employees keep their jobs, the only thing that could change is, who writes your paychecks.
(Initiation fees are over $300.00!)- Most Local Lodges and Districts today waive initiation fees under certain circumstances. The initiation fee is usually $0.00 for newly organized shops. The CGI, NY location will not pay initiation fees, they have been waived. In areas that do charge initiation fee's it's about 2x your monthly dues. maybe $150.00. The Southern States have also been waiving these fees for new members because in Right to Work States, workers at union shops are not required by law to pay union dues.
Let's Play a Game!!!
The fact that CGI would rather smear and lie to employee's rather than have respect for their workers and allow them to organize for raises and benefits without the corporate anti-union playbook is pretty sickening. Companies pay anti-union persuaders an average of $3,500 per day to stop their employees from joining together in a union. CGI can't legally bring these people into GSA controlled areas, but they can hire them for private consulting purposes. From the literature that was handed out in New York, we are sure they did. It's the same cut-copy-paste garbage they give to every customer that asks for their services, asking how to stop their workers from forming a union. They cause division, fear, and uncertainty.
(RLC) anti-union firm-contract below. (Example) Leaked Document from another company.
It is our belief that CGI may not understand how a union contract works under the SCA. We will not implement monetary issues until it can be submitted to the govt and implemented during the "Passthrough Date" (the only time service contracts can be altered is the annual date it was awarded), and they may think another company could outbid them on these contracts if the competition can pay workers less. This is also not true, the cost of a union contract must be considered when the govt bids the work, the union stays when a contract is awarded to another company. A Union SCA group does not hurt the employers' chances at winning contract bids. We are confident that CGI will learn the ropes and soon realize that the IAM can be extremely beneficial to both their workers and their business.
The following are reviews given by CGI employees, and it seems like most of the locations are dealing with the same issues.
