(The following article is from the August 1-31, 2007 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
PV Vancouver Bureau
As this issue of People's Voice went to press on July 17, thousands of civic workers in B.C.'s Lower Mainland were on the brink of walkouts. CUPE Local 1004, representing some 2,000 Vancouver outside workers, filed 72-hour strike notice with the Labour Relations Board on July 16, criticising the employer's "complete unwillingness" to address key issues. Job action was expected to begin with a ban on overtime work, and could soon escalate to near-complete work stoppages in municipalities across the Greater Vancouver Regional District.
Earlier in July, CUPE-BC President Barry O'Neill sent a strongly-worded letter to local politicians, warning of the consequences of their refusal to negotiate fair contracts.
"We are on the brink of a major labour dispute and disruption of civic services in the Lower Mainland that you can prevent," O'Neill pointed out. He noted that the municipalities are collectively paying the GVRD Labour Relations Bureau $2.7 million dollars a year to bargain with the region's 12,000 CUPE civic workers.
But instead of taking their direction from all elected officials in the Lower Mainland, O'Neill said, "the Bureau's bargaining mandate is more influenced by Vancouver and the Olympics than it is by what is good for your community, vital public services or the workers that actually make your community work. For instance, no matter how remote your community's connection to the Olympics, everywhere your bargainers are stubbornly demanding a 39-month contract, which cynically places civic workers negotiating their next contract precisely when the Olympics ends and the bills start rolling in. Of course, we are resisting this demand."
CUPE reports that while it maintains "positive relations with some employers" in the region, the Bureau bargainers are seeking takeaways such as sick leave and benefit cuts, or the reduction of seasonal workers' wages by $6 an hour. CUPE members have taken wage freezes and other cuts during previous hard times, and see the takeaway demand in the present economic climate as deeply insulting. Most CUPE locals in the GVRD have won strike votes with well over 90% support.
The union is also angered that the GVRD bargainers have hired the corporate public relations firm Wilcox Group to "sell" the Bureau's bargaining agenda.
O'Neill points out that "this PR firm prides themselves in the `Olympic media relations' they provide to their corporate clients. The Wilcox Group is also well known for their work on privatizing B.C.'s health care and cleaning services as well as for their work for Telus during the drawn out lockout. Who authorized the hiring of the Wilcox Group and how many hundreds of dollars an hour are taxpayers paying these PR consultants, rather than negotiating?"
CUPE 1004 President Mike Jackson says that as well as a fair wage increase, the union is seeking wage adjustments for trades positions, improvements for temporary full-time workers, and whistleblower protection for its members.
"There are problems recruiting new workers and retaining experienced workers, yet the employer won't deal with these issues," says Jackson. "For example, they won't talk about trades adjustments, vacation and benefit improvements, including benefits for retirees. Instead of recognizing the employees who have provided years of service to the city, by providing promotions and training opportunities, this employer is willing to hire off the street, or from other employers, and allow those new workers better opportunities for jobs and more vacation."
Meanwhile, CUPE 389, representing close to 800 workers at North Vancouver's Recreation Commission and the District of North Vancouver issued 72-hour strike notice at the same time as CUPE 1004.
But in Vancouver, the employer succeeded in convincing the Labour Relations Board to compel 2500 inside workers, members of CUPE Local 15, to vote on a "final offer." CUPE opposed the move, arguing that by emailing one-sided propaganda directly to CUPE 15 members, the city has bargained in bad faith. At the same time, CUPE 15's longstanding access to the city email system was removed, cutting members off from access to their union.
The city's application for a final offer vote came on July 9, just five minutes after the end of a meeting at which the employer tabled an "amended" offer which included concessions the city had tabled previously.
The same tactic was used by the municipality of Delta, where CUPE 454 members overwhelmingly voted down the "final offer."
In another development, CUPE has released a report proving that municipal library workers are underpaid compared to other municipal workers, and to workers in other public libraries and in other municipal libraries in the country.
The study compares wages in eight municipal library systems in the GVRD with other public sector libraries in the province - including those at schools, colleges, and universities - and across Canada. Librarians in the GVRD make $7 per hour less than librarians at the Toronto Public Library, who have received pay equity adjustments. Senior librarians at the GVRD receive between $3 and $10 per hour less than senior librarians in academic libraries. Similar wage discrepancies exist in non?librarian positions.
CUPE maintains that the discrepancies reveal wage discrimination against female workers. Municipal library workers have not received any pay equity adjustments over the last 20 years.