The City of New Westminster is keeping an eye on collective agreements in other cities as it prepares to bargain with CUPE Local 387.
The City of Burnaby is the latest city in the region to reach an agreement with its employees, inking a new, four-year collective agreement with CUPE Local 23. That agreement, supported by more than 80 per cent of union members, included a 1.5 per cent wage increase in each of the first two years and a two per cent increase in each of the final two years.
“You always want to know what’s going on at different tables, but everybody plays their cards pretty close to their chest, too,” said Joan Burgess, director of human resources for the City of New Westminster. “It’s kind of hard to get information until they’ve gotten toward some degree of settlement. What’s interesting to watch is it does look like four year terms is a bit of a trend.”
Burgess said two- and three-year collective agreements have been the norm in the past. She said the city has held a meeting with CUPE and will “get back at it” in a few weeks, after things settle down after summer holidays.
“We have really worked on a relationship with CUPE over the years. We have got such a solid relationship,” she said. “Every round of bargaining is challenging, but there’s a lot of respect between the City of New Westminster, as an employer, and CUPE, as a union. Even outside of bargaining, we strive to solve any issues that arise. By the time we get to the table, there’s really good, solid dialogue. I think we can always reach a fair and reasonable settlement.”
An August update posted on CUPE Local 387’s website states that the bargaining process has begun with the exchange of proposals and clarification of points.
“Due to vacation schedules, negotiations will begin in earnest in the fall,” stated the update. “A special meeting will be scheduled to update the membership about negotiations.”
With files from Jeremy Deutsch
