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Prince George was the first of what Kevin Rose hopes will be a series of forums on public education in B.C. Rose, the provincial K-12 coordinator for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), was one of the speakers at a forum Monday evening at the College of New Caledonia. “It was a very good crowd,” he said. “It was a diverse crowd. There were school trustees, excluded staff from some of the schools. It wasn’t just a CUPE thing, it was a public gathering.” And what they heard from...

Jeff Nagel Black Press   The province has struck a tentative deal with 34,000 school support staff on the eve of B.C. teachers’ vote on staging a full-scale strike. The five-year agreement reached Saturday provides wage increases totaling 5.5 per cent, with potential for more tied to the performance of the B.C. economy – in line with the standard settlements reached with other public sector unions. It covers education assistants, school secretaries, caretakers, bus drivers and...

The city’s unionized workers and council have ratified a collective agreement reached Tuesday. Council ratified the agreement at a special meeting yesterday morning and member of CUPE locals 1048 and 399 voted 88 per cent in favour of the deal at a meeting at the Civic Centre last night. The term of the agreement is from January 1, 2013, through to December 31, 2016, with a 0.5 per cent lump sum payment for 2013; 0.75 per cent wage increase for 2014; two per cent wage increase for...

It still has to be ratified by both sides, but it appears the city and its two CUPE locals have reached an agreement in their labour dispute. After a full day of negotiating Tuesday, with some breaks for discussions among the two sides, the agreement was reached late in the afternoon. “Yesterday was a very positive day,” said Bill Gaal, superintendent operations for the city Wednesday morning. “The parties mended a lot of fences.” Gaal said until city council and the...

City of Prince George workers in CUPE locals 1048 and 399 will be in a legal strike position as of 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 14, 2013. The union has stated that picket lines will go up at city facilities normally open. The following facilities are expected to be behind picket lines, and are therefore closed for the full day. • CN Centre • Kin Centres • Prince George Coliseum • Elksentre At this time the city does not know whether other facilities may be impacted. The city has set up a...

Picket lines will be up at city facilities at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. “Every (city facility) that is open, we will have pickets up,” said CUPE local 1048 president Janet Bigelow yesterday. CUPE Locals 399 and 1048 served 72-hour strike notice on the city Wednesday following an interim ruling on essential services by the Labour Relations Board Wednesday. “Nothing is set in stone,” said Bigelow. “The ruling was put in place so we can carry on.” Under the order, the Labour Relations Board...

CUPE Locals 399 and 1048 will be in a legal position to strike at 8 a.m. Saturday, December 14, not December 12th as previously announced, according to a press release from the city. The unions originally served strike notice to the Labour Relations Board on Monday, December 9, at 1:09 p.m. However, strike notice cannot be served until an interim order for essential services has been ordered by the Labour Relations Board. That order was issued yesterday, which required the union to file a...

With CUPE members able to go on strike Saturday, the city is firing back in the labour dispute that has gone public in a big way. Following a CUPE release Monday that announcing that locals 339 and 1048 have given 72-hour strike notice and claiming the city is not willing to work with the union to reach and agreement, the city fired back yesterday. A statement from operations superintendent Bill Gaal, entitled “City of Prince George set the record straight,” was sent to media late Tuesday...

Prince George municipal workers have issued 72-hour strike notice and are gearing up for job action, according to CUPE 399 and 1048 presidents Gary Campbell and Janet Bigelow. “After months of negotiations the city is still refusing to adjust their mandate. This is our last option,” said CUPE 399 president Gary Campbell, in a press release. “Throughout this process the city has continuously disrespected front line workers while still being able to find funding for numerous...

CUPE local 399 and 1048 members have voted 82 per cent in favour of rejecting the city’s last offer package. The vote, which was conducted by the BC Labour Relations Board, was conducted late this week and was done at the request of the City. The unofficial results were announced yesterday and the Labour Board will confirm the final results Monday. “The city thought that CUPE members would be willing to accept their last offer if they forced them to vote on it. It’s a...