NANAIMO — After a long bargaining process that included sessions with a mediator, CUPE 401 reached a tentative agreement with the Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) yesterday evening.

Details of the tentative agreement will not be released publicly until both parties review and ratify the agreement.

CUPE 401 President Blaine Gurrie said, “We were able to come to this agreement after serious and thoughtful discussions on issues that were important to our members, who care deeply about the library and the communities they serve.”

For many workers and their families, the character of work continues to change for the worse. As inequality deepens, workers are conditioned to expect less, and more of us live with chronic uncertainty as the ranks of precarious workers swell. 

Precarious work is paid employment characterized by,

NEW WESTMINSTER—CUPE 4500 (Coast Mountain Bus Company and BC Transit workers) today launched a series of videos aimed at raising public awareness of the important role that transit supervisors, maintenance supervisors, and transit communications supervisors and coordinators play in maintaining a safe and efficient transit system in Metro Vancouver and Victoria.

NANAIMO – Members of the public will meet CUPE 401 members who work in libraries through an ad campaign launching today. The campaign draws attention to the public library services provided by more than 200 workers at Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL).

“Our members care about the communities they serve," said CUPE 401 President Blaine Gurrie. “This is an opportunity for the public, and the library board, to get to know them.”

GRAND FORKS - CUPE has reached an agreement with the City of Grand Forks, protecting jobs and avoiding staff layoffs initially announced in September.

CUPE local 4728 President Sukie Lawrence said that the agreement is based on a proposal developed by the union identifying measures that help address the employer’s financial shortfall, while at the same time treating workers with dignity.

NEW WESTMINSTER – Last week CUPE 409 President Marcel Marsolais, joined by members who work as custodians, spoke to School District 40's Operations Policy & Planning Committee about the detrimental effect of custodial service cuts and underfunding.

The local called on the board to immediately restore the full-day custodian position at New Westminster Secondary School (NWSS), noting that underfunding has led to staff shortages throughout the district.

NANAIMO – CUPE Local 401 members who work at Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) have given their bargaining committee a strong strike mandate in a vote that was counted on December 14.

“These workers are just asking to be treated fairly,” said CUPE 401 President Blaine Gurrie. “Hopefully the employer will rethink their demands and will instead value the important services our members provide to more than 3 dozen coastal communities.”

LANGFORD – CUPE Local 50, representing 18 RCMP support workers, ratified a collective agreement with the City of Langford on Monday, December 14.

“This first collective agreement sets rights for our members in place,” said CUPE 50 president John Burrows. “We see this as the foundation to build on over the coming years.”

The two-year contract goes into effect on January 1, 2016 and continues until December 31, 2017. It includes wage increases of 1.5 per cent in the first year and 2 per cent in the second. Bargaining was completed over a two-month period.

GRAND FORKS - City workers are calling on the Grand Forks Mayor and Council to start 2016 by taking another look at ways to deal with the community’s financial woes and working towards a better relationship with its staff in the wake of the city’s recent announcement about layoffs.

The call by CUPE local 4728 comes after the city twice rejected union proposals to mitigate layoffs and large-scale disruption within the city workforce related to the Grand Fork’s Asset Management Investment plan.

VANCOUVER—CUPE BC’s Executive Board today elected Paul Faoro as President and Trevor Davies as Secretary-Treasurer. In addition, the Board elected Frank Lee as General Vice President. The elections were a result of former CUPE BC President Mark Hancock’s resignation after his election last month as National President of CUPE.

“I want to thank all the members of our Executive Board for placing their confidence in me to take on this challenge,” said Faoro. “I pledge to all 85,000 members of our union that I will not let you down.