Saturday, October 6, 2007

Foley Recommendation Index

News1130 reports that "The results of Tuesday's vote are expected to be made public later that evening."

Vancouver Sun - Inside workers could return to job

Vancouver Sun
in A tale of two worlds for striking workers provides insight on how each CUPE local is thinking.

Vancouver Sun reports in Vote Begins the CUPE bargaining committees' recommendations as:
  • CUPE 15 - YES
  • CUPE 391 - NO
  • CUPE 1004 - NO
Foley Recommendations

Voting Schedule - Revised

Key Points
Foley Quote:

"For complexity, hardened positions and strained emotions, this ranks among the top five among all the mediations I've done in the public and private sector over the years," Mr. Foley said.

He said part of the problem was that the wage package had already been settled by the time his mediation began, leading to other "principled issues" becoming the focus of the strike.

"There were many complicated matters for which detailed wording had to be crafted in understandable, collective-agreement language," Mr. Foley said.

The Globe and Mail - October 6, 2007


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttTUT1maGdY&mode=related&search=

Anonymous said...

geee
I sure hope they have some people that come back

I know 3 people myself who are Ghandi

Anonymous said...

so if both CUPE 391 and 1004 vote no and if CUPE 15 votes yes, would CUPE 15 workers be able to go back to work? Or would we have to wait until they also resolve their contracts?

spartikus said...

Speaking from a 391 perspective, Foley's proposals look very much like what that are: the product of someone thrown into a situation they had little familiarity wit. It's unfortunate the city strung the mediation process along until Debbie Cameron, who was very familiar with our issues, had no more free time.

Our key issues were not dealt with in any substantive way. In the Sun article linked to in this post, Foley states about our #1 issue of Pay Equity: "They would have had a wishy-washy committee that went nowhere," he said. "I didn't give them a committee, I gave them pay equity."

No, he gave a modest bump, and by modest I mean literally a few dimes per hour, to certain positions, ignoring many other positions. How did he think this would satisfy library workers? Library management and the City claim no wage discrimination exists at VPL - yet they are terrified of an objective process that could lay the question to rest - including, quite frankly, the possibility that there is no wage discrimination. If they are so certain they would embrace it.

It's ridiculous and it's insulting. For 30 years this city's library workers have been good soldiers and have accepted promises that this issue would some day be addressed. It never was, and in my opinion it never will without continued job action.

I would be quite happy if no one got a pay raise...as long as the Job Evaluation process was followed in good faith.

Foley also ignored the concerns of 391 auxiliary staff. Perhaps he was unaware that the Library's workforce is 49% auxiliary. How else to explain a document that looks surely to be rejected?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I would be quite happy if no one got a pay raise...as long as the Job Evaluation process was followed in good faith.

Then, I'd humbly suggest you should have mentioned that to your negotiation committee, because I'm sure the City would have given you the evaluation process in lieu of 18%.

spartikus said...

I'm sure the City would have given you the evaluation process in lieu of 18%

Well they're smart people, why didn't they then? They didn't because they are terrified the process will decisively prove how comparatively little they've been paying the highly educated and capable staff of the Library.

If there's no discrimination, the City had nothing to lose.

A change in government will not change the status of this contract. Only provincial Liberals think tearing legal documents up is kosher.

Anonymous said...

For 30 years this city's library workers have been good soldiers and have accepted promises that this issue would some day be addressed. It never was, and in my opinion it never will without continued job action.

I'd be frustrated too, but you're just NOT going to redress 30 years of inequity in one contract; it just isn't going to happen.

spartikus said...

I'd be frustrated too, but you're just NOT going to redress 30 years of inequity in one contract; it just isn't going to happen.

The options on the table are a minor bump for 300 of 700 workers. Accepting this proposal, besides shafting 400 of our brothers and sisters, will be used by management in the future to claim the Pay Equity issue has been addressed.

I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, and I'm under no illusions that rejecting this deal will cause severe hardship for our membership. My family will be extremely hard done by. But I know how I'm going to vote.

Anonymous said...

When the blackbird flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles.


Wallace Stevens

Anonymous said...

I am completely with Spartikus for everything stated here on this page. Foley had no idea of the issues that 391 have valiantly upheld through this long insulting process, that much is obvious. And to everyone who has been picking apart Spartikus, you clearly have no idea either what has been going on at the library so get informed.

Anonymous said...

Well if Foley didn't know which issues were important to 391, whose fault is that? Didn't the Local meet with him? Didn't they stress their important issues? Lots of blame directed at Foley, and not enough criticism directed at your own Local leaderships' that haven't been able to cut a deal, in an environment where every other Metro local is settling.

Anonymous said...

From what I understand, Foley requested specifically for broad facts rather than background details. The facts for 391 must assume the completely different makeup from the other unions, and this does not seem to be reflected in his recommendations. For instance, 50% of 391 is auxiliary workers--and they were screwed and/or ignored. And pay equity was NOT achieved--how he came to that pompous conclusion is mystifying.

Anonymous said...

AND at least 2 metros have built-in job evaluation plans that will tackle pay equity... so ignoring this fact simply underlines how anyone outside of 391 doesn't get it.

spartikus said...

AND at least 2 metros have built-in job evaluation plans that will tackle pay equity...

Indeed. And 391 has long made it known they would accept a Job Evaluation plan (for Pay Equity) identical to that of Burnaby.

Furthermore, those Metros which settled, settled without the participation of...Metro. Yes, that's right, they ditched the Metro [formerly GVRD] Labour Relations Bureau in favour of direct negotiations (and it seems silly, at this late date, to point this well known fact out on a blog named "Vancouver on Strike").

I don't doubt Foley's integrity or good intentions. He acknowledged there was a Pay Equity problem (something which management did not). But his solution was worse than the problem, and this is very much reflected in today's vote for 391.

We are so close to solving this. I hope management realizes the very simple steps that can be done to end this.