VANCOUVER—CUPE 391 members have ratified a new four-year collective agreement with the Vancouver Public Library Board.
CUPE 391 voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new agreement this past Sunday (March 3) while the library board met Tuesday night (March 5) and ratified the agreement.
“CUPE 391’s bargaining committee had a thoughtful and team-like approach which served us well when making the difficult decisions. This round of negotiations was respectful and productive and we were able to achieve positive gains for our members,” said Alexandra Youngberg, president of CUPE 391.
Highlights of the agreement include moderate wage increases in each year of the agreement as well as improvements for part-time employees and improvements to technological change and harassment language.
“The two parties engaged in meaning full discussions about the rapid rate of change and how that affects staff and their ability to provide the quality of public service the citizens of Vancouver have come to expect and deserve,” said Heather Inglis, chief spokesperson for the union. “The changes to the language in the collective agreement will allow CUPE 391 members to better serve library users as technology continues to change.”
CUPE 391 represents more than 800 library workers who work at the Vancouver Public Library, Sechelt Public Library and Gibsons and District Public Library. Members work as librarians, library assistants, delivery staff, maintenance workers, graphic designers, supervisors, library technicians, corporate service clerks, and printers.
