CUPE 1004 and City successfully "tweak" Foley's recommendations: Tentative agreement
[October 12, 2007 03:28 PM]
Tentative agreement to be voted on by union on Sunday
VANCOUVER - CUPE 1004 President Mike Jackson is proud to announce that his bargaining committee and the City of Vancouver met today and reached a tentative agreement which will be voted on by union members on Sunday.
"We are pleased to announce that we had a productive session with the employer today and have successfully tweaked Foley's recommendations," says CUPE 1004 President Mike Jackson. "The result is a tentative agreement we can recommend to our members."
The parties agreed to improved benefit coverage in a number of areas: accupuncture coverage, increased vision care coverage from $300 to $450, benefit coverage to begin after first month of employment rather than after first six months.
There were a number of other adjustments to Foley's recommendations:
- A joint committee to address the assignment of overtime was established.
- The Olympic partnership agreement was adjusted to include an expedited dispute resolution process and system for assigning Olympic work.
- Areas of feasibility (horticulture, golf courses, sanitation) were identified for the compressed work week committee.
- Return to work agreement includes extention of time limit to return from 10 days to 14 days.
- grievances will no longer be deemed abandoned after 90 days
CUPE 1004 represents Vancouver's 2,000 outside workers. They have been on strike since July 19, 2007.
FOLEY'S RECOMMENDATIONS AND PREVIOUSLY AGREED TO ITEMS.
For more information, please contact:
Mike Jackson, CUPE 1004 President, 778-908-8070
Diane Kalen, CUPE Communications, 778-229-0258
After two days of discussion, the City of Vancouver and Metro Vancouver negotiators have reached a tentative agreement with CUPE 1004 representing the City’s outside workers. The agreement is consistent with the recommendations of mediator Brian Foley.
CUPE 1004 will vote on Sunday, and the executive of 1004 will recommend adoption.
Details of the agreement will be not discussed until after the vote.
The numbers are the same as inside workers and other municipalities settled for -- 17 and a half per cent over five years, but the union says the city has agreed to benefit improvements and some other contract language adjustments.
Improved benefits include acupuncture and increased vision care coverage with benefits beginning after the first month of employment.
A committee is being struck to address the issue of assigned overtime, which previously was without a system.
And the Olympic partnership agreement has been adjusted to also include a system for assigning Olympic work and an expedited dispute resolution process.
Outside workers also won't have to return to work for 14 days following a contract settlement, rather than the current 10...that's because many took other employment in the private sector and will have to give notice.
Workers will vote to ratify that tentative deal Sunday and the union will recommend adoption.
As far as Cupe 391 representing library workers goes, the library will be responding to a proposal received from the union this morning and will be looking for a response in return, so those two parties appear they may be making some headway as well.
Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, October 12, 2007It took negotiators for striking outside workers and the City of Vancouver just over an hour this afternoon to come up with a tentative agreement, which could mean garbage pickup resumes Monday or Tuesday.
"I am relieved," said Mike Jackson, president of Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1004, which represents the 2,000 people who collect garbage, maintain parks, and repair streets and sewers. They have been on strike for almost three months.
Jackson admitted the deal doesn't improve the money compensation that was set out by mediator Brian Foley in resolutions package, but it does adjust the language to provide employees with more certainty about benefits and dispute-resolution issues.
The union executive will be recommending that members accept the deal when they vote Sunday.
The outside workers had been in a bad bargaining position since their last vote Tuesday, when the 1,200 members who showed up to cast ballots were 58 per cent in favour of accepting the Foley package. But a Local 1004 bylaw says contracts have to be approved by a two-thirds majority.
The inside workers, in Local 15, had voted 73 per cent in favour of the recommendations and they went back to work Thursday.
Four community centres and two fitness centres that were supposed to be open today were closed instead, after inside workers refused to cross picket lines put up by outside workers at the centres.
With inside and outside workers appearing to have a deal, there is only one group of city workers still on strike with no sign of a settlement, the library employees.
Library negotiators met this morning, but the city's chief librarian, Paul Whitney, said librarians asked for a "major rewrite" of the Foley package that he said appeared undoable.
The major issue for library workers, who are mainly women, is getting pay equity with male-dominated categories of work at the city.
Foley had recommended boosting 300 of the 775 workers, those with the most complex jobs, up a pay grade in the ladder. But union local president Alex Youngberg said members think that's unfair and they want to see the money Foley was prepared to give to the 300 spread out equally to the 775.
However, Whitney said that would mean the librarians at the top of the scale would end up with less money than librarians throughout the region are getting, since other municipalities are giving their highest qualified library staff pay-grade boosts. That will make it hard for Vancouver to recruit, he said.
24 comments:
That will make it hard for Vancouver to recruit, he said.
And all of a sudden there's a librarian shortage. Way to go, Paul.
Acupuncture was the the thing holding up 1004 for 12 weeks? Something tells me that Mr. Jackson and 1004 leadership smelled which way the wind was blowin' last strike vote and decided to get a deal quickly.
I am relieved. Things could have gotten very ugly at the union hall. The 2/3 mandate should be changed. It only results in the union leadership being put in a bad situation.
Re: 391. 22% voted to accept the Foley package. That's a significant number of (silent) members who disagree with their leaders. The bargaining committee will never convince the Employer or the public that the clerical staff are underpaid.
The bargaining committee will never convince the Employer or the public that the clerical staff are underpaid.
The bargaining committee has been handed an overwhelming mandate to continue to pursue our 4 key bargaining issues. I'm not sure how a 78% rejection can be viewed as anything less than a landslide, but your mileage may vary.
Spartikus the contract won't be written by this 78% of the cupe 391 membership. The bargaining committee has to negotiate a contract with the employer and respond to the employer. And all cupe 391 members have to respond to the public.
Jackson and CUPE 1004 were screwed the moment the deal they recommended against got voted yes by a majority of the workers. The 50% +1 requirement to strike and 2/3 majority to end a strike was the recipe for the perfect CUPE internal shitstorm.
Jackson and CUPE 1004 basically went crawling back to the City and asked for a bone to be tossed so they could try and save some face. As anon 7:57 pointed out if acupuncture is a deal breaker that is a friggin’joke; as is the extra $ 150 bucks for those who need vision care. The City would have saved that in wages just in the hour it took to “hammer” out the face saving deal for 1004.
The Librarians will continue to get pound pavement until they wake up and realize no matter how demanding they think a library job is, being an outside laborer for the City is far more demanding; and as such will continue to pay more money. As for the “gender equity” BS any one of those female librarians are free to apply for some of those now vacant outside laborer positions if they would like to make that kind of money.
Long story short the City basically ended up with everything they wanted. CUPE ended up with all of the things they said were unacceptable and once again the worker gets screwed. CUPE is a waste of time and an embarrassment of a Union. Where was Barry O’Neill in all of this? Basically totally absent. What a joke.
Remember back in July, CUPE just couldn't wait to get on strike, in fact 1004 went out earlier than planned because of some manufactured outrage over something that Dobrovolny apparantly did or didn't say. The union leaderships were smiling and grinning when they announced that the strike was on. I think CUPE was too quick to use the strike weapon and they use it too often. The City has basically become immunized from civic strikes because of their relative frequency, CUPE is going to have to find some other way to negotiate with its employer because this method is costing the membership thousands of dollars, to no apparent Union successes.
The Librarians will continue to get pound pavement until they wake up and realize no matter how demanding they think a library job is, being an outside laborer for the City is far more demanding;
Sorry - I can`t hold back anymore. I voted to go back to work for the library, but dumbass - you do realize that a cashier for liquor store gets more per hour than a library clerk so your hourly outside wage of hard labour (boo-hoo) will not wash with me. It`s all apples and oranges.
Fair enough 10:02 but if you would like to earn those liquor store cashiers wages simply go and apply for a job at the liquor store as they too are hiring these days. That is how life works. The problem with people like you is that you would like to have your cake and eat it too. You like the cushy Library environment, but you seriously expect to earn the hard labor wages of outside city workers. Shame on you !
Like it or not jobs in the library simply pay less. Deal with it; accept it, and move on. OR continue to pound the pavement but the equity argument is a load of bull. Every job has a wage scale if you don’t like yours than move on.
The bargaining committee has to negotiate a contract with the employer and respond to the employer.
And then take it to the membership, who vote. So yes, the membership does participate in this process. And they spoke loudly on Tuesday.
CUPE is going to have to find some other way to negotiate with its employer because this method is costing the membership thousands of dollars, to no apparent Union successes.
Christy Clark disagrees with you, apparently.
Sparticus, 391's executive got the membership's hopes up that they would achieve pay equity by going on strike. This is our first strike, and we were naive to believe it worked that way. In the beginning, we were happy to fight for a just cause, and we had plenty of support. Since rejecting the Foley recommendations, however, people are laughing at us.
It's time for 391's Executive to tone down the rhetoric. In two emotional meetings, they strongly recommended a No vote. I find it irresponsible of them to ask us to be martyrs for pay equity.
we were naive to believe it worked that way
Please speak for yourself, thanks.
Other cities in the Metro region have implemented Pay Equity in a manner we have long indicated we would be acceptable. And in fact, Paul Whitney is now on public record as saying there's going to be a recruitment crisis.
Since rejecting the Foley recommendations, however, people are laughing at us.
Which "people"? Your personal friends?
I have not had one negative comment from a friend or member of the public since the vote. Not one. But plenty the other way.
I find it irresponsible of them to ask us to be martyrs for pay equity.
78% of your co-workers disagreed. You are free to run for the executive when their terms are up.
Apparently we should all move to Sparta and live in the bubble world you inhabit. A 78% vote doesn't justify this arrogance. This is the kind of intolerance of independent thought that turns people off regular union participation. You aren't doing the cupe 391 executive any favours here.
Many people accepted the executive's message that a strong no vote would bring the negotiations to a quicker end that we could all live with. A little "tweaking" was all that was necessary. Its not quite as heroic as everyone would like it to be, to justify nearly 3 months off work.
Once again anon at 10:11 - you didn't read my entry clearly. I wasn't complaining about a liquor store cashier wage. I SAID it was apples and oranges. I don't care. And I have moved on. READ my blog entry. I voted YES to go back. With idiots like you around, it makes me jst want more to spite you. I'll take my cake AND eat it. Don't care what you think anymore! If you can read ...
I am tired of the ridiculous association between librarians and outside workers -- that has never been made by the library union. Librarians are comparable to better-paid INSIDE workers, such as accountants who have similar degrees, which is obvious. Why is that so hard to understand?
Apparently we should all move to Sparta and live in the bubble world you inhabit.
Personal insults are not helping you make your case.
A 78% vote doesn't justify this arrogance.
I'm not entirely sure what this "arrogance" is? Is there something specific that the 391 Bargaining Committee has done you could point to that would justify that label?
And I'm not entirely sure what course of action you are advocating. Perhaps you could elaborate? It sounds like you want the Bargaining Committee to ignore the results of Tuesday's vote, but I could be wrong.
A little "tweaking" was all that was necessary.
I, for one, intend to reserve judgment until I see the results of this "tweaking".
Anon. @ 1:50: Actually, 391 did provide a pay equity fact sheet comparing the pay scales of 1004 labourers with 391 shelvers. (http://cupe391.ca/action/bargaining_2007_documents/pay_equity_july07.pdf) I'm getting a headache trying to figure out who is supposed to be compared to whom.
The issue of pay equity can get very sticky in a union which includes both clerical and professional staff. Foley believed that the professionals, Lib Techs, and supervisors deserved a higher pay grade. The Union sees this as "leaving the clericals behind." I just don't see how the Union is going to be able to save face on this one, because the City isn't going to agree to bump everybody up.
Is the union even fighting for pay equity now? Or is the Job Evaluation plan off the table in favour of everyone getting a nominal pay increase? By recommending that any gains offered to librarians be reduced to allow for everyone to get a few cents more, no one wins.
I don't want to move to Sparta...but how about Bora Bora?
does
bora Bora have pay equity ? Would I care? Pay equity with Cupe 15 inside workers would be fair
Hm... you're right, that Table comparing wages of entry-level positions in libraries are being compared to labourers. I stand corrected--but I do think there has been a prevailing attitude of mixing up these different comparables to make a convoluted point. (And looking at that table, it seems odd that VPL chooses to compare LA1 to Circ Assistants, which are different jobs. This is also convoluted. Sigh.)
What I find interesting is that Whitney didn't care about recruitment before the Foley report, back when he didn't think anyone at all deserved a raise. So now of course it is a problem if the libs don't get one!
Re: 391. 22% voted to accept the Foley package. That's a significant number of (silent) members who disagree with their leaders.
Hahahahahaha -Yeah I remember getting 22% in Physics 100 and passing with "significance" Hahahahaha - idiot.
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