City and police association reach new collective agreement
After nearly two years of negotiating, the city and the Edmonton Police Association (EPA) have finalized a new collective agreement.
The previous agreement expired on Dec. 17, 2023.
'This agreement acknowledges the crucial work that EPA's 1,800-plus members, who are all sworn, uniformed officers, do every day to keep our communities safe,' said city manager Eddie Robar in a statement Friday.
The four-year agreement that runs until Dec. 26, 2027 will include a 3.5-per-cent wage increase for 2024, a 3.75-per-cent wage increase for 2025 and 2026 and a 3.4-per-cent increase for 2027.
'This vote is a strong affirmation of the priorities our members identified and the value they place on being heard,' said EPA president Curtis Hoople.
Other parts of the agreement include a new personal spending account, coverage for glucose monitoring devices and 'other monetary and non-monetary items,' according to a joint statement from the city and the EPA
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Tentative agreement reached between WSIB and OCEU
WSIB workers seen picketing in Windsor, Ont. on May 22, 2025. (Kate Otterbein/CTV News Windsor) The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has announced a tentative agreement has been reached with the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU). Nearly 3,600 members of OCEU/CUPE 1750, including 180 members in Windsor, have been off the job since May 21, when the labour disruption began. Contract talks began in late February, with wages and workloads sticking points in negotiations, that had been recently facilitated with the help of a mediator. 'Our number one priority has always been – and continues to be – helping the people who depend on us,' said Jeff Lang, President and CEO of the WSIB. 'We do work that makes a difference in people's lives and in our communities. I am proud of our team's work the last few weeks and am very excited for everyone to come back together so we can keep supporting Ontarians who need us.' WSIB said it looks forward to welcoming back its full team within 24 hours of a successful ratification vote. It was not immediately clear when unionized workers would vote on the tentative agreement. The WSIB provides workplace injury and illness insurance to more than 5.3 million people in more than 300,000 workplaces across Ontario. When an injury or illness happens on the job, the WSIB provides wage-loss benefits, medical coverage, and support to help people get back to work. - Written by Dustin Coffman/AM800 News.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
WSIB and Ontario Compensation Employees Union reach tentative deal
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has reached a tentative agreement with the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU), signaling a potential end to the labour disruption that began more than a month ago. The WSIB says it expects to welcome back its full team within 24 hours of a successful ratification vote. 'Our number one priority has always been—and continues to be—helping the people who depend on us,' said Jeff Lang, WSIB's president and CEO. 'I am proud of our team's work the last few weeks and am very excited for everyone to come back together so we can keep supporting Ontarians who need us.' The WSIB provides workplace injury and illness insurance to more than 5.3 million people across 300,000 Ontario businesses. During the strike, digital services on the WSIB website remained available for submitting claims, accessing benefits, and managing account information. Lang thanked Ontarians for their patience, adding the organization is committed to 'delivering better, easier, and faster service.' This is a breaking news story, more details to come...
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Why Is Everyone Talking About SoundHound AI Stock?
Key Points SoundHound provides an independent AI voice platform to customers across multiple industries. It has a total addressable market of $140 billion. The company is growing at triple-digit rates. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most significant trends of our generation, thanks to its transformative effects that will impact almost every aspect of our lives. Think of it as revolutionary as electricity and the internet. Unsurprisingly, investors have been doubling down on companies well-positioned to leverage this trend, such as Nvidia, Palantir, and Tesla. But AI will bring opportunities not only to these big tech giants but also to smaller, up-and-coming future tech giants. SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) is one of them. A leading voice AI platform Initially founded in 2005 as a music recognition company, SoundHound has evolved into a broader AI voice platform company with proprietary technology that understands and responds to human speech in real time. The company's value proposition, though complex to achieve, is relatively straightforward. It provides a voice platform that's embedded directly into products (such as cars) without requiring the use of cloud-based assistants like Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. With the help of its software, users can use voice as an interface to interact with smart devices, cars, or other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Leveraging its technology in voice recognition and natural language understanding, the company has built a proprietary offering that's independent of consumer tech companies like Microsoft and Alphabet. According to the company, its technology surpasses that of competitors in terms of speed, accuracy, and understanding of complex language. With its technology stack, it allows for the provision of best-in-class service while giving customers complete control over their brand, users, and data. Additionally, SoundHound has leveraged the latest AI technologies, including generative AI, to develop its voice AI agent. The AI agent can function on smartphones, SMS, kiosks, mobile apps, and web chats, helping customers tackle a wide range of customer service activities across multiple industries. Currently, the company's main customers are automotive and hospitality businesses, quick-service restaurants, and call centers. In return for providing its voice platform, SoundHound generates revenue primarily through three channels. First, it receives royalties on products -- cars, smart TVs, and IoT devices -- that incorporate its voice platform. Here, customers pay based on volume, usage, per device, or user. Next, it generates software-as-a-service revenue from services such as food ordering and customer service. Here, customers pay on a monthly contract or a usage basis. The last pillar of SoundHound's revenue centers around advertising and commerce, where it earns a commission by enabling sales of customer products and services. Ample opportunity to grow Although AI voice platform adoption may still be in its early stages, customers appreciate the solutions SoundHound provides, which explains its solid growth rate. In the first quarter of 2025, revenue grew 151% to $29.1 million. Better still, there are good reasons to expect the company can sustain its high growth trajectory for a while. According to the company, it has a total addressable market (TAM) of $140 billion across various industries. At an annualized revenue rate of around $120 million, it has just scratched the surface. Let's consider a few of the most apparent areas, starting with the automotive industry. SoundHound has just achieved 3%-5% penetration of its existing customers' 25 million unit sales. That's 28% of global light vehicle sales of 88 million in 2024 -- a vehicle category that may reach 95 million units in 2028. The company can increase its penetration even further by growing with existing customers or adding new client brands. To this end, the tech company's existing experience working with automakers, its leading technology, as well as its independent platform (an alternative to Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant) are some advantages it can leverage to grow its market share. The other obvious growth avenue is its subscription service in the restaurant industry. Increasing labor shortages, rising wages, and customer demand for fast service make voice automation an attractive tool for restaurant operators. Just in the U.S. alone, SoundHound has a revenue opportunity of $1 billion and a TAM of 0.8 million restaurants. Chipotle, Five Guys, and Casey's are a few examples of its growing list of customers. It is also worth noting that the SoundHound voice AI platform offers solutions in 25 languages (which can expand further over time), allowing it to provide its services to customers globally. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the company announced deals with customers in Latin America, Europe, and Japan and joined forces with Tencent Intelligent Mobility. The sky seems to be the limit. What it means for investors SoundHound AI is no longer just a niche voice assistant company -- it's evolving into a mission-critical AI platform for some of the world's largest industries. Whether it's powering intelligent voice assistants in cars, automating food orders at restaurants, or handling customer service calls with conversational AI agents, SoundHound is betting on voice recognition to be the next central interface -- and it's building a proprietary infrastructure to support its expansion. Still, investors should be mindful that the road ahead will be rocky, especially with the adoption of new technologies like AI voice platforms. It's best to monitor the company closely to build your understanding and conviction. Should you invest $1,000 in SoundHound AI right now? Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SoundHound AI wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $699,558!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $976,677!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to180%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Lawrence Nga has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, Tencent, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Casey's General Stores and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft, and short June 2025 $55 calls on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
