NEW WESTMINSTER—Library workers in New Westminster have voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining CUPE.

“New Westminster public library workers are a welcome addition to the growing CUPE library sector,” says Heather Inglis, CUPE BC’s library coordinator. “Library services are undergoing change at an unprecedented rate and these workers have chosen to join a union that understands the value of libraries to their community and has the resources to support them now and into the future.”

RICHMOND— Members of CUPE Local 3966, Richmond library workers, and the Richmond Public Library have ratified a new collective agreement.

“Our bargaining committee is very pleased to have reached a fair agreement which both parties view as positive for our library. This agreement provides improvements for our members but will also positively impact our community and those who depend on the important services CUPE 3966 members provide,” says Barbara Wilson, CUPE 3966 president.

VANCOUVER—CUPE BC and CUPE members from locals 15, 389, 391 and 1004 partnered together this past Sunday (Sept. 25) to celebrate reading and help advocate literacy at the 2011 “Word on the Street” event. 

The festival held downtown at Vancouver Public Library’s main branch, Library Square, and attracts over 40,000 community members.

CRESTON – Talks are off to a shaky start for a first contract at the Creston & District Public Library. After meeting with the employer for the first time this week, CUPE National Representative Lee-Anne Halifax said the two sides appear to be “miles apart.”

Halifax said the talks for a first contract were held Monday and Tuesday. The Library Association has hired the same “labour consultant” who oversaw the three-month lockout of library workers in Grand Forks.

ABBOTSFORD — Members of CUPE 1698 ratified a three-year collective agreement with the Fraser Valley Regional Library on Sunday, December 6.

The contract includes 3 per cent in each of three contract years, with the first increase retroactive to January 1, 2009. Significant improvements include an increase in shift premium for people working after 5PM, introduction of a First Aid premium, and increased flexibility around vacation scheduling.

VANCOUVER—The message at last night’s Vancouver Public Library (VPL) board meeting was loud and clear: members of the public love their libraries and don’t want to see their cherished services reduced or eliminated to meet the City of Vancouver’s budget shortfalls.

“I was extremely proud of our communities, of how they rose up to defend public libraries,” said CUPE 391 president Alex Youngberg.