CUPE policy supports a truly public post-secondary education system - one with no economic barriers to education. Until that happens, some CUPE locals have set up bursary programs for members and their children to help them attend a college or university. You will have to check with your steward or local executive to find out if your local offers any bursaries.

CUPE BC offers bursaries to CUPE members or their children planning on entering post-secondary education are encouraged to apply for this annual bursaries. The Aubrey Burton/Reg Ford Memorial Scholarships are available every year. You can find the application form here.

Scholarship-Aubrey Burton-Reg Ford - 2012.pdf (36.8 KB)

see

http://www.cupe.bc.ca/resources/bursaries

in solidarity Alex

Also, we want the membership to
2. use the CUPE 391 e-mail system and regularly check our web site. 

Thanks to Chris Jang and Erik Stainsby, this web site is generally considered top notch and coveted by other locals.  To serve these two goals we are going to start with a Month of May poetry contest.

Any form of poetry is acceptable (except doggeral).  Subject area can be May Day , Mother’s Day or anything you chose.  You must send your masterpiece through the CUPE 391 website so that all members may peruse your literary efforts and vote accordingly.  How these items of literary largesse will be judged will be determined and posted on website and sent through e-mail.  Here is the address to which you may send your poetry so that all members may feast at the banquet.  I will send one I wrote about my Mum for Mother’s Day. It is not an entry but will be sent through the CUPE 391 e-mail to all members as an example.  Please send your offerings for sumptuous prizes (to be determined and reported) to members@cupe 391.ca.

In solidarity

Alex

Welcome to Vancouver Public Library from your librarians, library technicians and information assistants!

Unfortunately, we are outside this event tonight with bad news – Vancouver Public Library management has cut $500,000 from the operating budget.

This means the loss of frontline library services for readers.

And it means librarians, library technicians and information assistants have had their work reduced to less than 20 hours per week, meaning they no longer qualify for sick pay.

Some of those librarians and library workers have dedicated their entire careers to working for the Vancouver Public Library – over 35 years in some cases.

It’s a disrespectful way to treat librarians and VPL readers who depend on their services to use the library.

But while VPL management are cutting frontline staff hours they have also hired a very expensive veteran lawyer costing hundreds of dollars an hour to negotiate with library staff instead of having management and city officials doing the job which is how the City of Vancouver is bargaining with the inside and outside workers, face-to-face, – at no additional cost to taxpayers.

And ironically, lawyer Kim Thorne is Vice-Chair of the Vancouver International Writers Festival.  But we have no issue with Mr. Thorne or the Festival – our concern is with Vancouver Public Library management.

So that’s why we are here tonight – to ask for your support to reverse these frontline service cuts and put librarians and library workers back on the job to provide the knowledge and expertise Vancouver readers deserve.

Please let Vancouver City Council and the Vancouver Public Library Board of Directors know you don’t agree with cutting librarian services at our libraries.

Together we can put librarians back to work at the Vancouver Public Library!

To write to the Vancouver Public Library Board the e-mail address is board@vpl.ca

or

The Vancouver Public Library Board
350 West Georgia, Level 7
Vancouver, BC
V6B 6B1

City Council’s (supplies 96% of the Vancouver Public Library budget) webpage is
http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/mayorcouncil/index.htm. Also see http://vancouver.ca/contact.htm

Also you can write mayor and councillors individually, e.g.:

gregor.robertson@vancouver.ca
heather.deal@vancouver.ca
raymond.louie@vancouver.ca

Or write Mayor and Council at:

Mayor and Council
City of Vancouver
453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4

Thank you for caring about your library. Thank you for remembering who owns this public facility.

Download this entry as a leaflet

- Javier Vazquez photo

CUPE BC will be holding a Library Conference from June 21 – 23, 2012 at the Coast Plaza Hotel and Suites in Vancouver.  The theme of the conference is “Re-inventing Libraries:  Thinking Outside the Book”.

The conference will open on the evening of June 21, 2012 at 7:00 pm with keynote speaker followed by a reception.  The following two days will be filled with an exciting panel discussion and workshops.  We are very pleased to advise that we have confirmed well known Radio and TV host and author, Vicki Gaberau, as our keynote speaker.

Registration will open at 3:00 pm on June 21st.

Attached please find the registration form and descriptions for the workshops that are being offered.  You are asked to choose three of the five workshops and one alternative.  We will do our very best to ensure that you are able to take the workshops that you select.

The deadline for the registration and booking your room is Monday, May 14, 2012.  The registration cost is $100.00.

This is going to be a very good conference and we will look forward to your participation.  Please do not hesitate to contact CUPE BC at 604 – 291-9119 if any additional information is required at this time.

See CUPE BC Library Conference

Our annual general meeting had much to celebrate.  The numbers showed that Vancouver Public Library Workers are passionate about a number of changes currently underway at the library..  The entire executive has been confirmed to office tonight.
CUPE 391 had the pleasure of having our Staff Representative, Heather Inglis,, preside over our elections. Heather has already been helpful with grievances. She was gracious and efficient in her role tonight.  The members gave her a warm welcome as Heather worked at Vancouver Public Library for twenty-three years.  You could say the former Library Assistant VII knows the culture.. 

Here are the results of last night’s election:

Recording Secretary: Mike DePaoli

Four members-at-large:

Renee Chalut
Jane Curry
Laurin Shadforth
Mark Whittam

President: Alex Youngberg

Second Vice-President: Gerard Batty was elected to a two year term.

The Secretary-Treasurer and two Vice-President positions are two year terms. Two VP positions are staggered.  Gary is now First Vice-President. Steven begins his first year as Secretary-Treasurer in a two year term.

Our three trustees soldier on, keeping Steven accountable (not that he needs it):

Trustees:
Todd Wong begins a three year term as trustee.
Maureen Bubis and Aili Meutzner continue their terms

Our trustee positions are also 3 years each and staggered; so that currently one trustee has one year left to serve of a 3 year term, one trustee is filling two years of a position that was vacated after one year and the third trustee is beginning to fill a 3 year term.

Thank you to the talented, smart and creative people that are on our committees.  Your support keeps public service thriving as a public good.

Please become more familiar with your CUPE 391 website.  It has been winning the best website for unions over 500 members for many years. We won again this year at the CUPE BC convention. Thank you, Chris. Thank you, Eric, for our excellent and comprehensive CUPE 391 e-email service. (see http://www.cupe391.ca, top left hand corner of web page for log in).  All members now have an address.  Union contacts should email info@cupe391.ca for instructions on how to initially log in, then share the information with their respective worksites.

Some of our committees reported tonight.: Bargaining, Classifcations, Nominating, Job-share and Wellness.  All chairs spoke to the committees current affair and accomplishments and were received with genuine interest by the membership..

The Union has elected an excellent group of members to protect the collective agreement and work for the public’s interest.  You can be proud that you showed up and voted in good numbers for representation.  The other candidates were also well received.  We are fortunate to have such a choice of experienced members putting their names forward.

in solidarity

Alex

Currently there is Project Management Charter for Technical Services.  This are is having its second review in two years.  There will be another review at Central shortly, for Reference Services.  The results of Haycock Report will be translated throughout the system.  These guidelines are to help members if they choose to participate or are required to participate, in any of these processes.  Without our work, there is no public service.  We support public good through our work.  Keep an eye and ear on it.

in solidarity

Alex

VANCOUVER – Nearly a dozen veteran librarians and library workers will lose their access to sick leave starting today because the Vancouver Public Library has slashed its budget and dramatically reduced their hours of work, their union says.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 391 says 11 librarians, library technicians and information assistants have had their work reduced to less than 20 hours per week, meaning they no longer qualify for sick pay.

And CUPE 391 President Alexandra Youngberg says some of those librarians and other workers have been Vancouver Public Library staff members for over 35 years.

“It’s terrible that Vancouver Public Library management would mistreat librarians who have devoted their entire careers to serving readers and our city this way – to cut off their sick pay as well as reduce their work to less than half of full-time hours,” said Youngberg.

“These women are the backbone of the Vancouver Public Library and they are being completely disrespected despite years of hard work – it’s appalling,” said Youngberg.

$500,000 has been chopped out of the Vancouver Public Library budget effective May 1 – meaning hundreds of frontline service hours assisting the public will be lost, Youngberg said.

CUPE 391 is filing a policy grievance against the Vancouver Public Library for violating the workers’ collective agreement by taking away sick time they had banked prior to losing their hours of work, she added.

Library workers are further angered that VPL management hired senior lawyer Kim Thorne of Roper Greyell at several hundred dollars an hour to conduct bargaining while veteran staff are losing sick pay and library users facing service cuts, Youngberg says.

“There is a serious disconnect when Vancouver Public Library management believe hiring a high-priced lawyer is a good use of taxpayers dollars, when this money could be used to maintain quality reference services at the Central Library,” Youngberg said.

For more information: Alexandra Youngberg – CUPE Local 391 –cell 604-908-6095 or work 604-322-4879

Website: http://www.cupe391.ca/

in solidarity

Alex

Last month, our vice-president delivered a report to you on the plight of our part time staff.  For many of these employees the absence of a living wage, lack of access to hours and consequently scrambling for hours to get the rent paid is hard work. 

This week nine Librarians, five Library Technicians and five Information Assistants will be losing hours as of May first.  Management requested a meeting with the Union Executive for March 26th to discover which members were to be affected.

We were surprised by the number of employees affected, as we had been told that there were probably enough vacancies and part-time hours available to help cope with this situation.

The nine librarians have lost sixty-eight hours. Eight of these librarians have lost access to benefits as they now have less than required twenty hours to qualify.

Our contract also states that where knowledge, skills and ability are relatively equal then seniority shall prevail.  The least senior of the part-time librarians should have lost all their hours and been in a layoff position to bump the next less senior position.  In this scenario we have senior librarians on this list, six of who are in the top twenty librarians on the part-time seniority list.

There are five Library Technicians who will lose a total of forty-eight hours.  Two will lose benefits.  Again, seniority has not been consulted.  Furthermore there are available part time hours at Mount Pleasant and Terry Salman branches that are being posted as expressions of interest.  Why are these hours not being applied by seniority to the Library Technicians who have just lost hours? There is a total of forty-eight hours reduced for this category.

There are three types of technicians.  The Library Technician I can act as a Library Technician II.  The Language Collection Library Technician can act in the three categories in the library technician field and receive two pay grades more than base library technician rate and the library technician II gets three pay grades higher.  However, they all require a library technician diploma or equivalent (one has a PHD) and part-time staff do not apply for postings generally speaking.  Library technicians fill out a form expressing interest.  These part-time hours are never posted, they are always appointed.  Currently, these hours were put forward as “expressions of interest”.  The Union believes they should be made available only for those who have lost hours and they should be made available by seniority.

There are five Information Assistants losing hours at Central. Again, these are members with a good deal of seniority.  Questions: Are these the right people to lose hours and should the ones with the most seniority be losing any hours?  We think not.  Collectively this class specification is losing forty-four hours.

The Information Assistants can only apply for work at Central because of a Letter of Understanding that was signed a number of years ago. These members do not have a Library Technician diploma but have had their experience assessed and have some training.  They can only apply for Information Assistant and Library Technician jobs at Central, not the branches. We are hoping that if Library Technicians from Central get the branch hours then their hours will be available for the Info Assistants.

One of our members on this list has had their hours affected three years in a row. She describes the situation of ongoing change management initiatives and annual budget cuts as “feeling out of control”.  This person is also a single mother and will not be able to afford her rent or receive benefits.

Another member who lost hours and benefits has cancer. She is experiencing a lot of residual health problems from the chemo and radiation. She too will not be able to afford her rent or health bills.  She is utterly demoralised.

The Library Board no longer talks of valuing our staff in the Value Statements. The Board does talk of wise use of resources. In the February meeting the Union offered several money saving options that would have delivered the necessary cuts. We know for a fact that:

• Several retirements have been announced
• Branch head positions can be brought back into scope through current review. Savings of over $100,000
• Vancouver Shared Services Review regarding Security is happening this year; savings of over $200,000 plus benefits

But here is the kicker, - Savings of $120,000 + benefits (40,000?) for a directors position. This position has sat empty for almost a year and, oddly, there is a sudden rush to fill it around the implementation of the budget cuts.  We say the library didn’t need the position then and we don’t need it now. That money needs to be put into direct public service, not behind the scenes where our simple organizational requirements are already more than met.

The other real insult to the membership is the hiring of a lawyer for negotiations. That could run the library over $200,000 in expenses. I wonder if the public will think they are getting value for their dollar at $400 per hour and charges for administrative work for a lawyer to be the talking head for labour/contract negotiations. The assumption that most people make when you hire managers and directors for a unionised organisation is that those people will have bargaining experience. If they don’t you have to wonder at the hiring process at VPL for senior management positions. 

Still, if that is how we hire senior management at the library, we could borrow some expertise from the City. The Library already uses expertise from the City for grievances and Health and Safety. The last round of bargaining we had twenty-three managers sitting around our tables during bargaining. I am sure they would be willing to oblige again.

Please do not feel that the Union disrespects the Library Board in any way. We feel fortunate with the breadth of knowledge and skills represented on our Board, working tirelessly on behalf of the public – for free, no less.  We just hope that you will demonstrate that you understand the importance of the work of our part time staff by reconsidering some monetary savings. The effects go beyond our diminishing frontline service, and loss of health and homes. Our part-time staff do not feel valued in the least!

in solidarity

Alex

It provides tips on how supervisors can carry out supervisory duties to reduce tensions with union members and how locals can ensue that tensions between those supervised don’t get in the way of the local unions activities and its abilities to fairly represent members.

April 20 - Friday
Maritime Labour Centre - 1880 Triumph St.
$35 per diem
$.52 km travel, parking or transit

in solidarity Alex

If you needed any proof that something is rotten in out current province of British Columbia, take a look at Vaughn Palmer’s column in page 3 of today’s Vancouver Sun. (Vancouver Sun, March 7, 2012:3).  I have sent the column to your CUPE 391 account.

Please try and join the BCTF and other labour groups in our demonstrations.  Today’s is at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 2.00 p.m.  See CUPE 391 web page. There is also a link to the BCTF page to help keep you informed.

in solidarity

Alex

Special Council Meetings are held to deal with emerging issues on an unscheduled basis. They may be held in the Council Chamber or at a community location. Generally, delegations may choose to pre-register or register at the door. There is a five-minute time limit.

Mail a written request to:
City Clerk’s Office
Third Floor, City Hall
453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4
Fax your request to the City Clerk’s Office at 604.873.7419
Call the City Clerk’s Office at 604.873.7191

Keep your presentation brief. Council may have to hear numerous presentations, especially on controversial issues. For everyone to be heard, and a decision to be made, Council limits speaking time to five minutes each (except at Public Hearings).  Council may ask you questions after your presentation. If you are bringing written submissions for Council, please bring at least 15 copies with you.

Here is my submission to the Board.  I paraphrased it to save time.  If I had read it, it would have taken 10 minutes.

February 22, 2012
Library Board Report – Operating Budget Cuts 2012
Alexandra Youngberg on behalf the Union, CUPE 391

Thank you for listening to our presentation this evening. I am here tonight to share CUPE 391’s insights on the 2012 operating budget report, to point out some concerns about its impact on the library’s users and staff and to suggest some constructive solutions that might reduce these impacts.
Renee Chalut and I were invited to a meeting on February 14, to hear the results of Management’s deliberations regarding the operating budget shortfall of the City of Vancouver. 

At the December 15th City Finance and Service meeting, the original shortfall from the Preliminary Budget Plan showed expenses totalling $1,100 million against Revenues of $1,048 million resulting in total budget pressures of $52 million.  Union presidents were assured by the City that this estimate was indeed “preliminary” in nature and budget pressures would no doubt be found to be lower by the time a thorough review had been done.  We presumed that the new estimate for the library portion would be about three fifths less and that appears to bear out and echo what has occurred in previous years. 

It is now February 22nd and the Union Executive has requested a delegation to comment on how Management recommends these cuts to staffing be delivered.  Usually the membership is given sufficient notice so that they may comment on the effect of cuts to public service.  In this case, the membership been given one day’s notice after I sent several e-mails to the Director of Human Resources and the Chief Librarian regarding the past precedents set in other years.  The memo regarding the distribution of the budget cuts appeared on February 21st.  This is the gist of memo.
After much discussion with the City, the following items will be put forward for the cost reduction in the City’s 2012 operating budget:
1.  Central Information and Reference Service – Staff reduction ($405,000)
2.  Technical Services Department PT/replacement Hours Reduction ($40,000)
3.  Cataloguing or Cataloguing Support Department – 1 FTE staff reduction (est. $55,000)

You can imagine the members concern.  There is a lack of transparency in a process which gives one day’s notice for concerned staff to prepare a delegation – to say nothing of the general public who pay for services. 
When the membership hears terms such as “hiring freeze” particularly during these very difficult times, we become fearful.  We worry that the work of the library positions not posted will be spread amongst the members without careful consideration of the workload. We have the Workload Survey, the Morale Survey and the Hayes Report to testify to the unfortunate results of the previous lack of planning and evaluation of distribution of work during periods of re-organisation.  We become concerned for the future of the library when vacant positions are not posted, then deconstructed without measuring the effects of that action.
Here we have not only a hiring freeze but positions that will not be returning.  There are four current scenarios now in the vacancy management pool that the Employer is currently subscribing to and they appear to hopelessly entangled.  To calm the members’ worst case scenarios and to try and quantify some possible outcomes, let us look at what a sum total of these measures might cost us.
1. Radio Frequency Identity Tagging Program (RFID) # of Positions not posted to pay for the RFID maintenance program.  When Paul Whitney applied for capital funding for the RFID program he forgot to factor in maintenance costs.  The current management has come to us with a request not to post the equivalent number of Library Assistant II positions. 
The Union agreed to not grieve LAII positions that were vacant until the cost of the maintenance program had been recovered.  We wrote a Letter of Understanding that the Employer negotiated with us in good faith.  It promises to find new positions for staff and to benchmark work to make sure that service is still adequately delivered.
2.  RFID - # of positions that might not be directly affected by RFID technology but are the same classification – positions that are not part of the circulation process.  We have library Assistant II positions at Central that do simple tasks such as data input, holds processing, REO sheets, newspaper sorting.  There has been some recent effort by the Employer to download these tasks to the Shelvers.  The tasks are not in the Shelvers’ classification nor do we believe this exercise is practical in the overall understanding of how the Letter of Understanding will operate.  We are not giving away work that still needs to be done to another classification, we are acknowledging some work might be displaced and replaced by technology. 
3.  The Hiring Freeze – the Employer asked us not to grieve any vacancies that were not posted during the recently announced hiring freeze.  The Union Executive brought this to the next General Meeting.  The Membership voted overwhelmingly in favour of grieving any position not posted during the hiring freeze.  Our Collective Agreement does not accommodate the Employer’s position and the members believe that we need to track these positions so that they are posted at a later time.
4.  Central Information and Reference Services - Current Recommendation that the Library cut $405,000 (6 to 7.5 FTE)
What concerns me is that the sum total of those four scenarios looks like a lot more than $405,000 in vacancies.  The Union has no control over the 4th recommendation but we do have some input and negotiated content on the first three.  The Union needs a lot more clarity on how this is going to play out.  We have a duty of service to our public which cannot be casually discounted. 
Our public rate their library service above police and firefighters.  They have no interest in how we are managed.  They are only interested in direct public service.  We have to remind them that their library shelves and computers are stocked by people behind the scenes.  Libraries are a very basic enterprise:  We acquire materials, pay for them, make them findable through a catalogue, help people locate the information and product, circulate the materials and keep all related databases consistent with current information.  This does not require much overhead in managing.
It is during downturns in our economy when strong public libraries and library advocacy is needed most.  It is the public library that people go to when they can no longer subscribe to their favourite magazines or newspaper, or to their Internet service.  It is from the public library that people borrow rather than buy the latest bestseller, music CD or DVD.  It is the public library that families bring their children to for free literacy-building programs.  There are opportunities to build relationships with the teen and the list goes on.
As the public’s buying power shrinks, people will be relying on their public library for:

• Vital information on job opportunities, career planning, small business management and computer training, book-dating clubs


• Computer skills for downloading (and downloaded) government forms, sending resumes, online applications, email, support for e-books


• Building skills for reading, writing and numeracy, manuals and meeting rooms for tutoring


• ESL, literacy, and learning languages


• Entertainment, genealogy, travel, escape literature, citizenship, and cultural networks.

I am giving a report to the Library Board this evening at 5.30 p.m. re: the 2012 Operating Budget Cuts.  Gary Jarvis. our second vice-president, will be addressing the difficulties encountered by part-timers and auxiliary members.  The Board trustees meet in The Board Room on level seven on the the fourth Wednesday every month.  You are welcome to attend.  If you wish to speak about the library cuts, you must contact Chrysalyn Tolentino at 604-331-4003 or chrysalyn.tolentino@vpl.ca.  We are supposed to apply before 2 pm for late notice to speak.  Given the extremely short notice that the members have been given, perhaps allowances will be made.  I will send my report out later tonight.  Here is a short excerpt:

It is now February 22nd and the Union Executive has requested a delegation to comment on how Management recommends these cuts to staffing be delivered.  Usually the membership is given sufficient notice so that they may comment on the effect of cuts to public service.  In this case, the membership been given one day’s notice after I sent several e-mails to the Director of Human Resources and the Chief Librarian regarding the past precedents set in other years.  The memo regarding the distribution of the budget cuts appeared on February 21st.  This is the gist of memo.
After much discussion with the City, the following items will be put forward for the cost reduction in the City’s 2012 operating budget:
1.  Central Information and Reference Service – Staff reduction ($405,000)
2.  Services Department PT/replacement Hours Reduction ($40,000)
3.  Cataloguing or Cataloguing Support Department – 1 FTE staff reduction (est. $55,000)

You can imagine the members concern.  There is a lack of transparency in a process which gives one day’s notice for concerned staff to prepare a delegation – to say nothing of the general public who pay for services. 
When the membership hears terms such as “hiring freeze” particularly during these very difficult times, we become fearful.  We worry that the work of the library positions not posted will be spread amongst the members without careful consideration of the workload. We have the Workload Survey, the Morale Survey and the Hayes Report to testify to the unfortunate results of the previous lack of planning and evaluation of distribution of work during periods of reorganisation.  We become concerned for the future of the library when vacant positions are not posted, then deconstructed without measuring the effects of that action.
Here we have not only a hiring freeze but positions that will not be returning.  There are four current scenarios now in the vacancy management pool that the Employer is currently subscribing to and they appear to hopelessly entangled.  To calm the members’ worst case scenarios and to try and quantify .... Rest to follow