By Kimball Cariou, Vancouver
Vancouver's marathon civic and library workers strikes are over, but Mayor Sam Sullivan has vowed to continue his anti-labour campaign into the next municipal election.
The strikes by the city's three large CUPE locals began in July, carrying on long after other municipalities in the region reached settlements with their employees. Negotiators for the city stubbornly refused to give way on such issues as pay equity for library workers, contracting-out, and "whistle-blower" protection. Sullivan fanned the flames early in the strike, sending a clear signal to the city's negotiators that his right-wing NPA majority on city council would not accept agreements similar to those signed by other municipalities.
As "Sam's strike" dragged on, Sullivan was increasingly seen as a major stumbling block to any fair resolution of the dispute. The logjam was finally broken by the appointment of mediator Brian Foley, whose recommendations were accepted, first by the inside workers (CUPE Local 15), and then after some "tweaking", by outside workers (Local 1004). The last to settle were the 800 library workers (Local 391), whose courageous first-ever strike was marked by a militant and creative approach to winning public support.
Sullivan's response was an ominous warning that the strike would not really be settled until the November 2008 civic election, which he told the media would be a vote between himself and a "CUPE candidate." On the face of it, this was dismissed by some observers as unnecessary blustering, since it appears highly unlikely that the NPA's rivals will campaign solely on this issue.
But Sullivan's real sub-text is that the big business forces which have backed the NPA for seventy years will not tolerate a significant challenge by any candidate who does not give full support to their agenda: lower business taxes, a free hand for developers, more attacks on labour and anti-poverty groups, and unlimited spending of taxpayer's dollars on preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics hosted by Vancouver and Whistler.
Unfortunately, there is little sign of progress towards a united opposition slate in the 2008 election. Several names have been floated as potential mayoralty candidates, but there is still no unified approach by the centrist VISION group and the left-labour Coalition of Progressive Electors. And a wild card was thrown onto the table recently, when popular environmental crusader Betty Krawczyk used a rally celebrating her release from a six-month prison term to announce that she will run for mayor. This was no doubt the best news Sullivan has heard in some time, since Krawczyk could easily win five to ten thousand votes, enough to guarantee the NPA yet another term in the mayor's office.