Home Organizations & Associations Vancouver Island Library Board BCGEU librarians start the week with moderate job action

BCGEU librarians start the week with moderate job action

Picket lines began mid-March, and still continue | This article includes daily strike updates to April 5, 2022.

Island Social Trends

March 29, 2022

sooke library, virl, signage — VIRL signage at the new Sooke Library branch parking lot entrance. [Island Social Trends - March 2022]

ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS Holiday Season COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Tuesday March 29, 2022 | SOOKE, BC [Updated March 30 to April 6 with current strike locations]

by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends

Editor’s Note: We’re tracking the VIRL/BCGEU labour negotiations because many unions will soon be leaning to strike deals that meet the cost of living and possibly also keep up with surging inflation. Increased wages in many sectors will push up the cost of everything.

UPDATE at 7 pm March 29: As of 7 pm Wednesday March 30, all BCGEU members working as VIRL employees will be on strike. In-person and virtual services at all VIRL branches will be affected. “Some branches will be behind picket lines, other branches will be operating but will not have librarians available,” says BCGEU.

This past weekend, people might have thought to visit their local Vancouver Island Regional Library branch. But at 10 branches there were picket lines, in an escalated statement of job action by the BCGEU Local 702 librarians.

They made their point, and are now back to moderate job action at one branch per day. Yesterday that was at Nanaimo North and today at the Cowichan branch (in Duncan).

Where things are at:

On March 28 VIRL said they had offered a four-year proposal to the librarians, saying it was “within the BCGEU-specified range”. VIRL said there was “reasonable expectation that an agreement would be achieved”.

Later in the day, BCGEU told Island Social Trends that the VIRL offer was “more than the employer’s previous offers but less than our wage ask”. BCGEU said that the latest VIRL offer “did not align our members’ wages of librarians in comparable regional library systems in BC”.

virl, library, branches, map — Vancouver Island Regional Library branch locations in south Vancouver Island area. [VIRL]

The BCGEU wage ask is “modest compared to the increasing cost of living, reasonsable given the wage increases the Board approved for VIRL’s non-unionized senior management positions, and affordable — it will not require any additional tax dollars”, says BCGEU.

As of yesterday, VIRL was encouraging BCGEU to suspend its service-impacting strike and reconsider their March 22 proposal.

Strikes went back to one-branch per day yesterday, and again today, “to minimize impact on our CUPE colleagues and library users”, said a BCGEU rep.

Possibly escalation again on March 30:

“If we don’t receive a fair and respectful offer by Tuesday end of day, job action will escalate on Wednesday,” stated BCGEU on Monday evening.

Last night BCGEU told Island Social Trends that “no talks are yet planned but we are hopeful that the VIRL board — responsible for VIRL’s finances and accountable to library users — will authorize the employer to meet our wage ask”, adding: “We will pause job action as soon as we receive a fair and respectful offer.”

VIRL budget works with municipal taxes:

“The proposal exceeds historically negotiated adjustments, meets BCGEU’s stated expectation, and spares communities and residents from new taxes,” said VIRL Director of Corporate Communications, David Carson yesterday.

He adds: “The offer still stands.”

sooke library, strike — BCGEU librarians on strike, joined on the picket line by CUPE workers and other supporters, on March 18, 2022, out the front of the new Sooke Library on Wadams Way. [Mary P Brooke / Island Social Trends]

Getting to the next step:

What was becoming a quagmire of back-and-forth did seem to achieve public attention if not sympathy.

“We respect our members’ right to picket and remain hopeful that a mutually agreeable resolution will be found soon,” said Carson in the past week.

Both sides still seem set on negotiating.

“A resolution will only be found at the bargaining table and we are optimistic an agreement will surface now that discussions will recommence,” Carson told Island Social Trends on March 22.

Picket timeline:

March 2022

To start, four picket lines were held outside VIRL library branches, one day at at time: Duncan, Chemanius, Ladysmith and Sidney/North Saanich. Then:

VIRL generally posts the strike locations for the information of their patrons, usually saying that other branches will not be impacted on those days.

On March 16 there was a picket line at the Campbell River branch, and at the Port McNeill branch on March 17.

On Friday March 18 there were five locations with picket lines on that one day: Port Hardy, Comox, Qualicum Beach, Sooke, and South Cowichan.

On March 21 there were picket lines at Nanaimo North, Nanaimo Harbourfront, and Creativity Commons branches. On March 22 the picket lines are active at: Nanaimo Harbourfront and Creativity Commons, Campbell River, and Sidney/North Saanich.

Today March 24 (and tomorrow March 25) the picket lines will see five branches closed: Campbell River, Courtenay, Cowichan (in Duncan), Nanaimo North, Sidney/North Saanich, and Sooke.

Saturday March 26: Lake Cowichan, Nanaimo North, Nanaimo Harbourfront, Creativity Commons, Port Alberni, Qualicum Beach, Port McNeill, Courtenay, Cowichan, and Sooke.

Monday March 28: Nanaimo North. Tuesday March 29: Cowichan Branch (Duncan).

Wednesday March 30: Comox, Ladysmith, Parksville, and Sooke branches.

Thursday March 31: Cumberland, Nanaimo Harbourfront, Qualicum Beach, and South Cowichan branches are closed due to strike action.

April 2022

Friday April 1: several branches saw picket lines.
Saturday April 2: info to come
Sunday April 3: no picket lines / branches open for usual Sunday hours
Monday April 4: Courtenay, Cowichan, Ladysmith, and Port Alberni branches are closed due to picketing.
Tuesday April 5: Campbell River, Sooke, Gabriola Island and Qualicum Beach branches closed due to picketing.
Wednesday April 6: Cumberland, South Cowichan (Mill Bay), Chemainus, Parksville, and Qualicum Beach.

===== LINKS:

VIRL strike updates | VIRL news releases | BCGEU news updates | BCGEU librarian strike updates

===== ABOUT THE WRITER:

Mary Brooke, editor, West Shore Voice News — Mary P Brooke, Editor and Publisher, Island Social Trends.

Island Social Trends Editor Mary P Brooke has been covering the long saga of the new Sooke Library development since 2009.

News was first published in MapleLine Magazine, then Sooke Voice News, and West Shore Voice News before that publication series morphed into the region-wide online news portal at www.islandsocialtrends.ca .