CUPE 391 has called a special general meeting for November 13th.  The Municipal election is November 15th.  We want to make sure that we have done everything we can possibly as we prepare to ELECT OUR NEW BOSSES.  Encourage everyone you know who is a CUPE 391 member, to come to this meeting.  Don’t leave the job to someone else.

We have presented our platform and have found much support. We now need to develop a compatible job classifications system that will allow comparisons to a male-dominated workforce and end the gender discrimination which has dogged library workers since Melvil Dewey first created library workers job descriptions.  It is not a sacred cow.  Do not miss this opportunity to elect people that care about strong communities that are democratically represented.

General Meeting
Thursday, November 13, 6.00 p.m.
Peter Kaye Room
Central Library

SEND IN YOUR NOMINATIONS FOR THE LIBRARY BOARD!
An information session was held tonight Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 6 pm for the Library Board

The deadline to submit an application is 5 pm on Friday, November 21, 2008.

Let all your civic-minded friends and colleagues know about how important it is to represent your library community.  Library workers serve the heart and mind of the community.  We take this responsibility seriously and defend our public’s absolute right to “access for all”.  We need library board trustees who support this objective and care for our diverse communities.  Follow this link for more information and bring it to the attention of those who would see the cultural collection of our communities enriched and preserved.  Library Board Trustee nominating information

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Dear CUPE 391 members

Please join Seth Klein, member of the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives, Deborah Littman from HEU, and Adrienne Montani from First Call 12:30 pm, on Wednesday, Nov 5th at the South plaza of Library Square for a media event/press conference as they speak about the research and necessity of making Vancouver a Living Wage city.

David Cadman, Ellen Woodsworth, along with School and Park board candidates, and possibly some Vision Candidates, will announce their intention to make Vancouver a Living Wage City.

Question: What is a living wage? Is it the same as a minimum wage?

This new study was created by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and First Call who collaborated with policy experts and focus groups.  The study calls for major public and private sector employers to pay a living wage that would lift low-income families out of poverty and severe financial stress. A living wage allows lower-income families to avoid having to make impossible choices, such as whether to buy food or heat the house, feed the children or pay the rent.

Question: What is the living wage for this city? How was it determined?
The living wage calculation includes basic expenses for a two-earner family with two young children (such as housing, childcare, food and transportation), and government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies. It finds that each parent would need to work full-time at an hourly wage of $16.74 in Metro Vancouver and $16.39 in Greater Victoria in order to pay for necessities, support the healthy development of their children and participate in the social and civil life of their communities.

A living wage is not the same as a minimum wage, and is, instead, the hourly wage deemed sufficient for an average family to meet all of their basic needs while living in a particular region.

CUPE 391 needs to participate in this discussion.  With the introduction of the lower paid “shelver” position, our employer has joined the ranks of the those who do not examine what their employees need to earn in order to have a decent quality of life, not merely to survive.

But this is fixable. Come to the South concourse Wednesday November 5th and find out how you can help support this cause which has roots in your immediate community.

This presentation was given by Laura, CUPE 391 Vice President to the Vancouver Public Library Board at the October 22, 2008 Board Meeting by CUPE Vice. It was meant as a “State of the Union Address” to update the Board on how CUPE 391 members were coping one year after the strike.

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Over the past year, the biggest issue that CUPE391 members have grappled with is trying to adapt to the many changes that Management has implemented.

CUPE 391 members understand the need for change and acknowledge that much “good work” comes out of some of these initiatives. We’re proud of our accomplishments such as early childhood literacy programs, website development and the Working Together project.

However, as someone who works directly with the affected front-line staff, I am really concerned about the level of disengagement I see at all staff levels below our Managers and Directors.

It has been my experience that most of our members feel that they do not receive the training, support and leadership that they need to cope with the level of change we are experiencing.

We need time, training, support and leadership to move towards the culture that VPL Management is trying to achieve.

Our library assistants are faced with serious challenges as they are forced to take work as lower paid shelvers, lose their hours or move to unfamiliar and sometimes distant work sites. They are also worried about losing their positions in the future when RFID is implemented.

Our information assistants and library technicians are being asked to take over more and more of the work of the professional librarians and are often not supported enough or trained enough to do these jobs.

The professional front-line librarians, particularly those who provide reference service at Central, feel their work is no longer valued and that the skills they have developed over years are no longer considered relevant. They too face severe workload pressures.

Finally, many supervisors are have depleted their “goodwill” bank accounts and don