Billboard campaign targets management-run trains at Southern Railway
NEW WESTMINSTER—Locked out CUPE 7000 members working for Southern Railway (SRY) have sent a loud message to company president Frank Butzelaar, courtesy of a lighted billboard message on the Queensborough bridge—located within view of SRY’s main office. The 35-by-10 foot billboard ad, which went up on Wednesday morning, says: “Southern Railway has locked out its […]
BC Fed, CUPE BC support locked out Southern Railway workers
ABBOTSFORD—BC Federation of Labour President Irene Lanzinger, along with CUPE BC General Vice-President Dal Benning and Fraser Valley Regional Vice-President Paul Albrecht, brought messages of solidarity and support to locked out workers at Southern Railway’s Huntingdon property here on Sunday afternoon. Before a small, rain-soaked gathering hosted by CUPE 7000 president Bill Magri, Lanzinger pledged […]
CUPE 387 members support locked out Southern Railway workers
NEW WESTMINSTER—The picket line at the east end of the Southern Railway Trapp Yard was briefly converted to a pizza party on Wednesday afternoon, with members of New Westminster’s civic CUPE local bringing food and pop to locked out members of CUPE 7000. “They’re in our own backyard, and it’s not every day that we […]
Darcy, Faoro to SRY workers: Keep up the good fight
NEW WESTMINSTER—Southern Railway workers are not only standing strong for their own collective agreement but are also waging a larger fight for the rights of all working people, Judy Darcy and Paul Faoro told locked out CUPE 7000 members at a picket line here on Thursday. The New Westminster MLA and CUPE BC secretary-treasurer thanked […]
CUPE responds to United Church’s Naramata Centre closure
BURNABY—In the wake of yesterday’s announcement that the United Church’s Naramata Centre will close permanently, CUPE will seek renewed discussions with Church representatives. “We have had 30 employees on strike and on a picket line at the United Church’s Naramata Centre for over eight months. This dispute has always been about fair treatment of loyal […]
Fraser Institute gets it wrong—again
BURNABY—The release today of the Fraser Institute’s latest attack on wages and benefits for working people shows how out of touch with economic reality the right-wing organization is, says CUPE BC. “The Fraser Institute’s own research shows that the so-called ‘premium’ for public sector workers is nowhere near the magnitude they’ve been claiming for the […]
A reality check for the neo-con set
Municipal wages withstand negative Fraser Institute ‘spin’ In November, thousands of British Columbians put their names forward to run as city councillors, board of education trustees, or regional district representatives. Congratulations to them all. CUPE locals engaged as they always do in talking to candidates and getting involved in the political process. We are up […]
Community social services employers and unions set job classification, evaluation targets
BURNABY—Over the next 16 months, the joint union-employer committee for the community social services sector will be collecting, reviewing and updating information relative to the Joint Job Evaluation Plan in preparation for the first scheduled distribution of the negotiated Comparability and Anomaly wage increases scheduled for April 1, 2016. The committee will be meeting in […]
Video shows managers operating train with no lights during foggy, night-time crossing
Red flags raised about safety of Southern Railway practices during lockout, says CUPE BURNABY—A cell phone video shot earlier this week shows a Southern Railway train operated dangerously by managers attempting to replace locked-out employees. The video shows a train rolling through a crossing on Annacis Island with no headlights or front ditchlights on, despite […]
CUPE 7000 challenges Southern Rail spin: Vancouver Sun letter
BURNABY—CUPE 7000 President Bill Magri, in a letter to the Vancouver Sun published today, takes on Southern Railway for its self-description as “a small local company” and its claim to be committed to the collective bargaining process. cope491
