Multi Union Pride

2008 Marshalling Information

Please note that the parade route, and marshalling information are different than previous years!

• Multi Union Pride is marshalling group number 39 (out of 160 entries)


• marshalling spot is on Robson Street between Thurlow and Burrard.  Groups that are in close proximity to us include: COPE, BC Civil Liberties, and CAW Local III.


• The Multi Union Pride float will be setting up at 10am. (Everyone is welcome to come down to assist.)


• All Marchers should arrive between 11 and 11:30am.


• The parade starts at noon sharp.  As we are close to the front, we should be in motion shortly after 12.


• The parade is longer than previous years.  It is 3 kilometres in length, and will take about an hour to march the route.


• http://www.vancouverpride.ca/parade/parade_route.php


• At 1pm, there will be a moment of silence to remember those who are no longer with us or cannot be in the parade today.  The moment of silence will be indicated by the volunteer marshals waving white flags throughout the entire route.  Festivities will resume when the volunteer marshals wave the rainbow flag.


• Everyone from your union is welcome to join in Multi Union Pride entry!  It is going to be a FANTABULOUS day!

See CUPE BC Pride link CUPE BC Pride

Questions?  Contact Peter from CUPE 391 at peterdeg@vpl.ca or 778-840-0580

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July 24th, 2007 - CUPE 391 closes Central library and moves on to Kitsilano, Oakridge, Strathcona, Carnegie, and Renfrew for hour long study sessions.  Members want to go on the picket line that day. 

July 25th, 2007 - Paul Moist, President of CUPE National rallies the troops at Post Mount P. Solidarity is building.  The Bargaining Committee visits Firehall that afternoon. We have four main issues:

• Pay Equity


• Rights for Part-time and Auxiliary employees and their families


• Better Job Security protection and Technological Change language


• Improved benefits for our members and their families

July 26, 2007 CUPE local 391 makes good on the 97% strike vote, the highest in the region.

Taking job action was not an easy decision for Vancouver Public Library workers to make. Over the years we have determined that serving the public was more important than having our own needs met. This time our fight for pay equity served to support female-dominated workforces everywhere and our sense of dignity and quest for fairness, equaliy and respect at the bargaining table.  This is our only strike in our 78 years as a bargaining unit. We went out for a principle: equal pay for work of equal value and in the process, to end gender discrimination.

Going on strike in achieved a measure of coalition-building with other female-dominated work forces, workshops designed for library conference, and a tangible pride and solidarity is shared amongst our members and friends. We built a foundation for our struggle and will be identified forever with some of the most interesting and creative approaches to establishing participatory adult education activities around the subject of pay equity.

We have learned from other equality-seeking groups that we must also engage politically to achieve our ends.  The members we support and elect for Vancouver City Council and the provincial legislature will determine how successful our campaign will be.

Breaking new ground in the realm of ending gender discrimination is messy and takes time and continued infusion of energy, ideas and planning.  This is where CUPE 391 shines as a collective.

CUPE 391 members genuinely love serving the public.  Today continue to deliver quality public service and defend the public’s ownership of it in all areas of library service.

Meet and greet your friends today in a Wellness walk around the library. Remember what was and what is possible. Pizza and other forms of sustenance will be available between 12-2.00 p.m. today .  We will be handing out highly collectible and coveted pins.

CUPE BC slams a homer for CUPE 391 August 29th.

CUPE BC has bought 500 tickets for CUPE locals 391, 15, 1004 and 389
(District of North Vancouver) to attend the Canadians game at Nat Bailey
Stadium, August 29th.  Please send an email to Alex at
ayoungberg@members.cupe.ca by August 15 if you wish to attend.  We have
been given 75 passes but may receive more if interest is rampant.

This is a celebration of our solidarity. Sign up and join the festivities.
Prize tosses, one between inning on-field contest, hot dogs, drinks - the
pleasures are endless. We also need a game day team.  Please volunteer to
help put CUPE 391 Vancouver Public Library’s name out there.  (We get some
advertising space)

Visioning 2015 and All Staff Planning Committee
The suggestion of combining Visioning 2015 and All Staff Action Planning Committee met with resistance from CUPE 391.  We are concerned that the mandate of the All Staff Action Planning Committee will be watered down when cojoined with the 2015 Vision Committee.

Role of the ASAP committee

What fresh hell is this?  The Directors Group has resuscitated previously used ideas such as Single Service Point and Central Reorganisation to complement organisational goals of centralising ordering and flattening of subject expertise of our professional members.  The Union and Management discussed the fallout from the lack of notice of this latest reorganisation installment at our Union Management meeting on Tuesday, July 8.

We suggested that the Union and Management might interview members to find out where each felt their experience and education would be best utilised for future placements.  We conducted such a joint exercise eleven years ago the library system was hit with $5,000,000 in cuts.  A very messy period of bumping and temporary layoff ensued.  Staff morale was at an all time low.  Today, members are again in tears.  Not just because we are being moved to locations that do not reflect our subject expertise, but also because of the “dumbing down” down of our public service that we offer with such pride.  Please let the Executive know how best we can support you.  We are contemplating everything from the above mentioned suggestion of joint interviews with the intent to better place members through knowledge of skill sets, grievances, lateral transfers, and a public awareness campaign.  Do not lose your heart and spirit.  We need your ideas and support.  Please send them.

Over twenty years ago, the single service point desks at the 750 Burrard building migrated into subject specific desks to better serve the public.  Subject specialists were forced into awkward assignments eleven years ago with budget cutbacks.  Single Service Point plan begat the Single Service Point Review which begat the Staff Equalisation Working Committee.

The Union had asked for a review of SSP as it had been enacted with little planning and evaluation and was showing cracks.  Two years later Management obliged with SSPR (Single Service point Review).  The SSPR recommended that staffing levels be evaluated on each floor.  Level 6, or example had always needed more professional staff.  The Equalisation Committee finished its work very recently (after over two years of meeting) and the projected outcomes bear little resemblance to to its initial mandate or to some of the excellent work that was produced.  This has damaged the morale and teamwork of the committee and some members who will be negatively affected by implementation of this plan.

CUPE 391 has delivered two surveys on the effects of VPL’s poorly managed and evaluated planning: the Workload Survey and the Morale Survey.  The results of these surveys pointed to management’s lack of planning, leadership and poor communications.  Management responded with their own $40,000 dollar cultural audit, also known as the Employee Survey.  This item produced irrefutable evidence that VPL had some of the lowest scores possible in both public and private sectors for planning, leadership and poor communications.  Shortly after the results of this survey were made known, CUPE Local 391, went out on strike.

The union will be auditing the effects of the strike and the management’s efforts to improve communications, planning and leadership.  Some of the managers believe that there will be more accountability, assessment and better planning now that there are more managers to assist these processes.  The Union recommends more than a week’s notice for the next installment.  We hope that management demonstrates compassion to our members and gives some sense of what the positive outcomes this back to the future exercise might be. Please read the results of the Telephone Survey on the Bulletin Board.  Apparently Staff to answer questions in person and Large and diverse book collections for borrowing were the most important and appreciated items for patrons.

Criminal Records Checks Arbitration Canceled

Here is the HR Consultant’s email.  I have promised CUPE not to comment until after the grievance has been resolved.  The gist of the email from Human Resources is that you DO NOT have to have a criminal records check. 

The Criminal Record Review Act (CRRA) will now be record check used for employees.  The police review your record for histories of sexual misconduct with children, acts of physical violence and drug-dealing (for example).  Minor charges do not warrant being brought to the employer’s attention.  This is the process which the Union suggested was appropriate for libraries when we first addressed the Board in September of 2006.

Police Record Checks

In December 2006 Vancouver Public Library announced a new Employment Checks
policy which included Police Record Checks for many public service staff.
The Union disputed the application of the policy and we were set to go to
arbitration in June of 2008.

In April/May 2008 VPL was notified that the Ministry of Public Safety and
the Solicitor General changed its application of the Criminal Records
Review Act.  The VPL was advised that the Criminal Records Review Act did
in fact apply to municipal public libraries.  The Ministry confirmed this
change in writing.

As a result VPL has withdrawn its December 2006 policy. All employees
should stop getting their police record checks.  Any employees that have
already received their police record will be reimbursed when we receive the
receipt.  For employees that have already submitted a police record check,
we will be issuing a separate memorandum outlining the procedure
for picking up your police records. Please be assured that all police
records are being stored in a secure location.

In the upcoming weeks Management will be meeting with the Union to discuss
the application of the Criminal Records Review Act at VPL.  A new policy
and procedure will be announced soon.

Overtime Dining at the Taxpayers Trough
Have a gander at who’s who in O/T bonuses COV Top 500 list.  Looks like parking meters are more important than social services during a strike.
Overtime Payout During Strike

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