On April 26, 2007, CUPE 15 received 93.5% support for a a strike vote from their membership. Over 50% of the membership voted - this is the an excellent result by any measure.

GVRD negotiators are proposing a wage freeze for some of the cities lowest paid inside workers, reductions in bargaining members rights, reductions to sick leave, vacation, banked time and more. This in addition to demands for a 39 month contract, special managment rights to accommodate the Olympics and ongoing contracting out of bargaining unit work.

CUPE 454 (Delta) was recently forced into mediation at an unusally early date by their employer and the GVRD. CUPE 454 had to immediately seek a strike vote from their members prior to entering mediation. An independant mediator will be brought in to manage this process. If the mediator sees that the bargaining unit does not have a strike vote, he or she will interpret that as an indication that the union does not have the support of its membership. Furthermore, the mediator will then think that the Employers demands/propsals have more weight and will rule accordingly.

When CUPE 454 received notice to proceed to mediation with the employer, this sent a big message to the other four large Lower Mainland locals. Municipal workers from CUPE 15 (Vancouver inside), 1004 (Vancouver outside) 23 (Burnaby), 454 (Delta), and North Vancouver District (389) have been bargaining with the GVRD and their respective employers and have made no meaningful progress. These bargaining units do not want to find themselves called into mediation without a strike vote. This is why CUPE 15 got their strike vote mandate.

If your bargaining unit is given notice to go into mediation with the employer and there is not a strike vote, the mediator will not take union proposals seriously. CUPE 15 saw the writing on the wall and has responded accordingly. Let us see if CUPE 15 are asked to proceed to mediation.

How does this affect our local union? CUPE Local 391 has had far fewer meetings with the employer at this point. It is still too early to know how our negotiations are going to proceed. We have three more meetings planned for June, and at that time we should have a better understanding of where its heading. We will of course inform the membership after those meetings, with a complete update.

We should not be alarmed about any CUPE Local union in our region taking a strike vote. A strong mandate will enable any bargaining committee to apply maximum pressure on the the GVRD and the employer, and should result in the best possible outcome. Bargaining updates will be made available on this blog, and at upcoming General Meetings; plan on attending.

For further CUPE bargaining information, go to http://www.fairnessforcivicworkers.ca

- the website for the “Fairness for Civic Workers” campaign.

Today, the Bargaining Committee met again with the Employer. Discussions have been going no where and there has been no significiant movement on any single issue. Therefore, the Union has cancelled next week’s meeting with the Employer, and will be filing for mediation at the Labour Relations Board.

It is hoped that a change of venue with the assistance of a neutral mediator will help get productive talks going, so a fair settlement can be achieved.

The Bargaining Committee will meet again on Tuesday to strategize and plan our next steps in the process.

More updates will be forthcoming as we know more. Please watch for them.

On behalf of the Bargaining Committee,

Ed Dickson, Bargaining Chair

Alex Youngberg, President, CUPE L391; Laura Safarian; Aliza Nevari; Doug Klohn; and Marya Gadison

Today the Bargaining Committee met with our National Representatives, Jim Gorman and Cheryl Colborne. We reviewed our current position and discussed our upcoming mediation at the Labour Relations Board with the employer. No dates are known yet, but it will not occur before July at the earliest. Debbie Cameron of the B.C. Labour Relations Board has been assigned as the mediator for our negotiations.

As a result, a Strike Vote is being organized by the Bargaining Committee. The meeting and vote will take place on Sunday June 24th at the Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, Library Square. The informational portion of the meeting will be from between 5.30 and 6.30 p.m. Questions from the membership will be welcome as we explain the currnet state of bargaining and outstanding issues. The voting will take place from 6.30 until 7.30 p.m. Results will be tabulated, and released immediately.

Peter DeGroot has been appointed as Returning Officer and will be making sure that correct protocol is followed as per the labour code. Voting must be done in person; no proxy voting is allowed. The informational portion of the meeting is not mandatory; it is possible to come and vote only. Please bring proper identification as only bona fide members of CUPE Local 391 will be permitted to cast a vote.

More information will be forthcoming prior to the meeting. Please make every effort to attend and support your union and Bargaining Committee.

On behalf of the committee: Marya Gadison, Doug Klohn, Laura Safarian, Alex Youngberg, Aliza Nevarie.

Ed Dickson Bargaining Chair CUPE Local 391