VANCOUVER—CUPE Local 4627 and Vancouver Community College have finally reached a tentative new collective agreement after 15 months of bargaining. The tentative contract reached this afternoon is for a four-year no-concessions deal with a 4% wage increase (1-1-1-1%) over the final two years. (There were no wage increases for the first two years under the provincial government’s Net Zero Mandate). The agreement must still be ratified by CUPE members and by the College Board. A union ratification vote is scheduled for March 12.
The agreement comes after four months of strike action by the 420 CUPE members at VCC that included an overtime ban, a three-day all-out strike and department-by-department shutdowns at the college’s two campuses in Vancouver.
CUPE 4627 chief shop steward Jo Hansen says the sticking point was always government demands for concessions. “Our members understand how important it has been to stay strong and united to defend our hard won benefits, especially against proposed changes to our prescription drug plan. The agreement comes as we were preparing for a month-long withdrawal of services in continuing studies that was set to start on March 1.”
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