Tuesday, October 9, 2007

CUPE VOTE RESULTS

CUPE 15 - 73% Accept Foley Recommendations

CUPE 391 - 78% Reject Foley Recommendations

CUPE 1004 - Foley Recommendations Fail
  • 66% approval required
    • 58% of Parks Outside Workers vote to Accept
    • 57% of City Outside Workers vote to Accept
Outside and library workers reject deal from mediator Brian Foley

(NEWS1130) "But President Mike Jackson says for his members, it's not about the cash. He says there is non-monetary issues. He says they're looking for a certain language because overtime language causes a lot of grievances. He says there's not a policy that's set in place, so they're looking to have that language clarified.

Even once they get a suitable deal, there are fears many outside workers may not come back anyway. 65% have found other jobs.



QUESTIONING VANCOUVER CIVIC SERVICE BEGINS


News 1130am Listeners Poll (unscientific)NOct. 9, 20071130oll
Should the City of Vancouver consider contracting out some of its services?

Yes 78%
No 22%

--------------------

Where there's a will. . .

Column by Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun

Published: Tuesday, October 09, 2007

. . ."But the take home message so far from this summer's strike is that Vancouverites have proven surprisingly adept at making do with less city government. We haven't, despite the warnings, reached some tipping point that will shut the city down. And that undeniable fact raises other questions. When all the civic workers finally do get back on the job, should they all really go back to the same duties? Or should there be a review by the beancounters to figure out where there might be efficiencies?

Could the fact that city taxes keep rising be related to the possibility that we're perhaps paying a premium for some of the services that could really be done more efficiently outside of city hall?

Garbage removal, it seems to me, is a good place to start that debate. One of the reasons we aren't hip-deep in rotting garbage bags is that over the years, a lot of the pickup service has already been quietly contracted out by businesses, apartment buildings and the city's condominium-strata councils. Those who still get city pickup, pay for it big time. In the last tax bill, ratepayers were dinged for the fancy new garbage containers that now are gathering moss: it was $99 for that 180-litre garbage can with wheels, $47 for the 180-litre yard-trimming bucket and $20 for that blue recycling box that we all could probably have bought more cheaply if we had done the shopping ourselves. . . "


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want to say that I am not a member of any union and have supported your job action as a result of the treatment at the beginning of your strike by the City. HOWEVER!!! when I watch the 5 PM news and see a 1004 member drive up in a private disposal truck, run in and vote then jump back in the private company truck!!!

I thought this was about keeping those bad private companies out? You people are working for them! Sorry people you just lost my support I could care less about you now!!!!!

Have some guts and quit the city job and stay in the private sector!

Anonymous said...

WOW ! I didn’t see that kind of a split between the two locals. I hope CUPE manages things very carefully between Local 15 and Local 391 because with that kind of a split on both sides of the strike a pretty nasty situation could develop in hurry.

I think the only one happy about this result will be Sullivan and the NPA who are probably laughing their asses off along with Judy Rogers and the upper management crowd.

Foley said he was done if his recommendations were not taken and with the barrel burn ban in effect it is going to be a long cold nasty winter for CUPE on the picket lines.

Is it really worth it ? No other employer will give the kind of perks and guarantees that CUPE is after so what is the point to all the madness? Does CUPE really think Sullivan will give in after a mediator just walked from the table and what he termed was a fair offer? Not likely. Or are they going to wait until November 2009 and hope that Vision or COPE get in?

Either way I say CUPE is screwed.

Anonymous said...

So, now what? Will CUPE 15 go back to work? If so, when? And at which work sites?

Back to work said...

The split in votes is not that surprising. The issues of each union local are so different I doubt there will be much animosity.

Also with CUPE 15 working it allows CUPE to sustain the strike fund for 391.

As I noted in my reaction to the CUPE 391 Foley recommendation -
the lack of pay equity language or committee to work towards it
+ no auxiliary conversion language + only 300 of 700 getting raises would = a difficult sell.

It was.

There is hope. The CUPE 391 President believes that there is only a small gap between the Union and the City.

Back to work said...

CUPE 15 staff would return to work Thursday. City Council still has to ratify agreement. They vote Wednesday.

People would return to all sites unless they are behind a picket line.

Looking at past labour relations decisions - picketers will be limited to their designated work sites which may even make City Hall off limits.

At the CUPE Vote Information meeting those still locked out by pickets from CUPE 391 or 1004 would only be entitled to the $500.00 bi-weekly strike paycheque.

Anonymous said...

Hey Picket Boy,

I've found your blog really useful (most information being difficult to find and irritatingly one-sided). I don't agree with you on some things, of course (I'm more pro-union than you, but then I don't have to deal with them, and we surely don't have a union at my workplace, to our detriment).

My first point has to to do with the rather odd comment from the Anonymous at the top. For pete's sake, person, you saw one worker (where does "you people" arise?) in a disposal truck, you don't even know if the disposal truck was moving stuff that is usually privately contracted, and you jump to these unsupportable conclusions? Your lack of logic makes me wince.

It's likely many people will quit their City jobs. But there's no moral imperative here against working for any private company, so long as one does not cross picket lines.

My second comment is that Local 391 obviously couldn't vote for the offer. Foley ought to have shown some restraint instead of taking that position, since he clearly does not understand what pay equity means, nor did he understand the real issues. I gonna go stand on the picket lines in Britannia if this keeps up much longer. I'm appalled that the City keeps getting away with this nonsense. And I'm taking my coins down there too!

Anonymous said...

Everybody's holding their breath for the vote tonight. My predictions: 15 votes 75% yes, 1004 votes 55% yes, 391 votes 75% no.

Well, I was fairly accurate, but I didn't realize that 1004 needed 2/3 majority to ratify. Strange though; the leadership recommended rejection and you had majority acceptance in both parks/city. That either means an acceptable deal isn't too much farther or things could get quite heated in the union hall.

Anonymous said...

I was as shocked as anonymous (7:22 pm) when I saw the same news story with the 1004 guy who voted while working garbage disposal. I had to shake my own head because, in effect, this union member is his own scab!

My guess is the City will use this opportunity, knowing so many members are working elsewhere and with no contract in place, to issue notices of termination and contract out the service. I can appreciate their anger at being issued a contract inferior to their counterparts in other municipalities but the sanitation workers may have just bargained their own jobs away.

I feel so sorry for the good-sized majority that voted to accept.

As for local 391, they have been the heart of this strike if you ask me and I find it horrible that the City and mediator Foley do not value their service enough to offer all of its members a bit more money. I want my library back! They are good people and I think the City has shown a real lack of class by treating them so harshly. I read a comment somewhere here that I can't find now that said they should accept and wait for the election next year when the government changes and then renegotiate. Why wouldn't their bargaining committee consider that as an option to a long, drawn out strike that hurts everyone? I admire the members passion and the great style and even beauty of their protest and I don't want to see them punished.

It's time for Mayor Sullivan to step in and set a new mandate, if not for the right reasons (restoring library services to the public and getting staff back on the job) then to try to save what little remains of his crumbling reputation.

Anonymous said...

the stuff 1004 wants is no more than Burnaby got and some language things
their previously agreed to items was very short, they really didn't get to talk at all.. we shouldn't be surprised

Anonymous said...

I hope 1004 leadership knows what their doing. Majority acceptance when rejection was recommended? That shows a large division among our membership. Trades adjustments is the dealbreaker. Trades workers are being hurt the least while being off work. Many of them are earning more money in lieu of benefits in the private secter(CUPE is paying their benefits) They feel no pressure to settle and are willing to throw the rest of us under the bus. Thats their right but the majority of us accept the Foley agreement! Democracy in action? not when the minority rules

And as for management, If your trades pay isn't top notch your trades people won't be top notch.

Anonymous said...

And as for management, If your trades pay isn't top notch your trades people won't be top notch.

This is a feature, not a bug. It just adds incentives to the City to contract out ALL trades work. Younger tradespeople already have left the City, only the older guys with pensions are hanging on: once those guys retire the City will totally remake how they use tradespeople. I'd agree that with such a close vote already, even with leadership rejecting the deal, the City probably has to move a relatively small step to get 1004 workers back, but they'll probably make them sit out another month just to add to the economic loss the membership is feeling. Once the city DOES get back 1004, I think 391 will just be left to whither on the vine, I'd expect very little movement on those talks.

Anonymous said...

City is already advertising on their web sight for trades and labourers. You can apply at Manitoba yards

Anonymous said...

anon at 6:47

that ad has been on the internet 24/7 for the past 2 or 3 years

Anonymous said...

the ad was updated a couple of days ago

Anonymous said...

whatever, I think I should know...you will notice it is updated every Friday and that particular ad posting will continue to be there