Christmas in July Fundraiser

Christmas

CUPE Local 798 will be holding the fourth annual Christmas in July fundraiser on Saturday July 18, 2015 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm outside Quality Foods.  There will be a food drive and hot dog sale to help fill the shelves at the Powell River Action Centre Food Bank.

Bring the whole family and enjoy a hot dog and cold drink for a cash or food donation to the food bank.

 

CUPE takes on zero spending, tax plan

On the eve of entering into mediation with the City of Powell River, CUPE 798 President Danielle Craigen cautioned Mayor and Council against continuing the previous council’s proposal for zero spending and tax increases to 2019.

“It always sounds like a good idea to tell people their taxes won’t be going up. But there is a high cost to a zero tax policy,” said Craigen.

Craigen said the experience in the very few other communities that have implemented tax and spending freezes was negative. Rainy day funds and financial reserves were raided, services were cut, and city services and amenities declined. She also warned that the planned tax freeze will largely come on the backs of CUPE city workers.

“City managers salaries have increased, fire and police costs are decided elsewhere, beyond the control of council, and will likely increase. This leaves CUPE members who end up paying the price not only financially, but also with declining service quality, increasing workload and more stress from a frustrated public.”

“When council talked to the citizens of Powell River about a zero tax, we were told that there would be no significant impact of this plan. We weren’t asked what services we are prepared to see cut or how quickly our reserve funds should be drained. We were told that we can have our cake and eat it too. And that simply is not the case.”

Craigen discussed tax and spending freeze experiences in Penticton and Abbottsford with council, noting that both communities acknowledged that the policy had done damage to services and financial stability.

CUPE 798 represents close to 150 members who work for the City of Powell River and provide a wide range of services to the city’s residents and businesses. The collective agreement expired in December 2012. The union took a 98 per cent strike vote on March 25. Mediation with the employer begins on May 14.

For information:

Danielle Craigen, President, CUPE Local 798: 604-578-8560

David Fleming, CUPE National Representative: 778-928-7542
Roseanne Moran, CUPE Communications Representative: 778-835-7537

What’s at stake in this round of bargaining?

CUPE 798 Powell River city workers have been without a contract for two and a half years. Despite many days of bargaining we have not been able to move the City off a very aggressive package of concessions or to get agreement on some of our key proposals.

We believe that we should be able to reach agreement. The city is in good financial health – with its financial assets and total reserve accounts growing, and its debt decreasing. City spending has been below inflation, growing slowly over time. From 2009 – 2013 Powell River had a 6.5% increase in expenditures, less than inflation for that time period.

Major stumbling blocks in bargaining

The city and CUPE began bargaining in February 2014, but despite having had more than 25 days of bargaining, we still remain far apart. The employer tabled a very aggressive package of concessions. The union has demonstrated that we are prepared to explore issues and to look for solutions, but we need to see the employer get into a settlement zone around key issues, including removing the aggressive concessions package.

Key issues for CUPE members are:

Respect for part-time workers. We believe that qualified workers who have provided service to the city on a part-time basis should be able to move into full time jobs when those jobs become available. So far, the city is not willing to recognize years of service and commitment in their hiring process.

Job security and service levels. The City is proposing to cut the minimum service levels in the collective agreement by almost 10 per cent. Given that the actual service levels provided have always been well above the minimum levels CUPE is concerned that the proposed cut may mean the employer is looking to cancel or cut back services in the future, resulting in significant job loss for city workers.

Recognition and value for jobs. Almost a decade ago, the City and CUPE agreed to engage in job, evaluation in recognition that many jobs have historically been undervalued. We are now in the process of reviewing jobs and beginning to address fair value and recognition for work. CUPE is prepared to be flexible as to how this process works but the City must be prepared to address this and other issues fairly.

A fair wage settlement. Like workers in other communities, we are looking to keep up with rising costs. Workers in cities all around us have achieved modest wage settlements as part of recent bargaining and Powell River employees are seeking similar terms. For example, Parksville workers achieved a wage increase of 2.5% in 2013 and 2% in each of the next four years. Workers in Nanaimo achieved a 2% increase in each of five years beginning in 2013. And right here in our region, Regional District workers achieved a five-year agreement that included increases of 2% in 2013 and 2.5% in 2014 (1.75% in 2015; 1.5% in 2016 & 17; 2.5% in 2018)

We also know that senior managers in Powell River have had very substantial salary increases, far in excess of anything unionized workers have achieved.

What can you do? Our Mayor and Council need to hear that you think Powell River City workers should get a fair deal. Find contact information for them here: http://www.powellriver.ca/content/contact-council

Bargaining update – Union requests mediation

Powell River city workers have requested mediation in an effort to reach an agreement with the city and avoid service disruption.

“We know that the city is in good financial health and that other similar and neighbouring communities have reached agreements with their workers along the same terms that CUPE is seeking.  Given this, we are hopeful that mediation scheduled for May 14 and 15 will allow us to reach a fair agreement,” said Danielle Craigen, CUPE 798 president.

Craigen noted that CUPE has had a bargaining relationship with the city for 55 years and has been able to reach agreements without strike or lockout every round of bargaining, except one.

“The city and CUPE began bargaining in February 2014, but despite having had more than 25 days of bargaining, we still remain far apart. The union has demonstrated that we are prepared to explore issues and to look for solutions, but we need to see the employer get into a settlement zone and step back from an incredibly aggressive concessions package, particularly on key issues of fairness for part-time staff, job evaluation, and job security.”

“We are hopeful that this new council will be prepared to take its own path on bargaining, as it did on deciding not to pursue private sewage treatment which was under discussion by the previous council.”

CUPE 798 represents close to 150 members who work for the City of Powell River and provide a wide range of services to the city’s residents and businesses. The collective agreement expired in December 2012. The union took a 98 per cent strike vote on March 25.

 

Bargaining Update

Your Bargaining Committee is heading back into bargaining next week. As you know the local took a strike vote and the membership voted 98% voted in favour of the strike. We wanted to provide you with information about bargaining dates and some information about what happens if we are forced to go on strike.

We are also making sure that we are communicating with the public about the work that we do and the situation we are facing. To that end we will be placing ads in the local paper and we have started a Facebook group that we encourage all members, friends and family to join.  We will also have T-shirts available for members to wear to raise the profile of our local.

Bargaining:

We have three days of Bargaining Scheduled for April 22nd – 24th. We are hoping to make progress at the table but if we are not able to reach an agreement or at least make progress we will likely consider taking job action.

Job Action Prep and Finances:

On Thursday April 16th the Local put over 30 members through strike/picket captain training with our CUPE Education Rep. We did this so that we will be prepared and well organized should job action occur.

In the event that job action becomes necessary it will have a financial impact that we are advising members to plan for. Please consider

  • saving money as best you can, until we get a contract, to ease the impact of your lost wages
  • contacting any financial institution you have a mortgage or loan with to arrange deferring payments in the event that you are on strike or you’re locked out (the Local has a sample letter to assist with this)

Strike Pay:

After 10 days on strike – CUPE National pays strike pay through the National Strike Fund to a maximum of $300/week.

After 3 days on strike – CUPE BC pays strike pay through the CUPE BC Defence Fund to a maximum of $75/week.

In order to qualify for strike pay, members are required to participate in strike support activity, picketing and/or administrative tasks.

Benefits:

CUPE National’s Strike Fund pays for the continuance of benefits and under the Labour Relations Code the employer is required to maintain benefits if the Union pays the premiums.

 

If you have questions about this please contact:

Danielle Craigen
CUPE 798 President
cupe798@me.com or 604-578-8560