I've heard that this is the first time since the early 1980's that the ATSS branch and PCS will be recommending to reject the offer from management.
Their union negotiators and BEC seem to have the right attitude to managements offer. Time will tell if their members are in the same place.
We need to bear in mind that the offer to each of the branches is not the fault of the union negotiators; they have to try to persuade management to increase their offer but if this is not forthcoming then there is little that they can do. They are doing a difficult job under difficult circumstances.
That said, I still wonder why they allowed management to dictate the course of events, forcing them into sectional talks.
However, you have to ask some questions of the ATCO BEC - the membership and the reps should be asking them why they are recommending the offer. Was it a close BEC vote to recommend the offer?
The rest is up to us - the membership. Vote to reject the pay offer.
If you are REALLY unhappy about the offer then do something about it - get involved... become a rep and take on the status quo of the existing ATCO branch (stand for a position on the BEC maybe??).