IMG_1234-vancouver-strike

Originally uploaded by VancouverGo.

Metroblogging Vancouver can exclusively reveal that there is a contract on the table between the city and the union that should end the strike. The CBC reported earlier today that the union had gone back to bargain with the city [cbc] and this is the fruits of their labour. Most of the hold up has centred around when the contract will end, with the union wanting it to end just before the Olympics (giving them the upper hand in the next round of bargaining) and the city wanting it to end after, and as such any compromise is going to centre around the period of the Olympics.

The Details of the New Contract

- the contract will extend beyond the Olympics, ending one month after the close of the 2010 Games

- all city employees will be given two extra paid days off during the Games in which they’ll have free admission to any of the events. Their shifts will be staffed by members of the Finnish Nordic Combined team [wp]

- the city of Vancouver promises to not allow live performances by Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk during a period running from one month before to one month after the Olympic Games

- The mayor promises to put the full weight of the city behind getting Skijöring [wp] another chance as an Olympic Demonstration Sport

- The Union agrees to trade their dental plan for a free keg of beer at all of their future meetings

- City Employees will no longer have to go through the yearly Blood Trials (or cha’Dich) in order to maintain their seniority

- The idea to house Olympic athletes in the homes of City Employees to save on the costs of building the Olympic Village has been nixed. Housing British Red Coats however is still mandatory

- City Employees will no longer have to refer to the city as “Vancouver the home of the Coca-Cola 2010 Winter Olympics” while on duty, they however still do have to refer to Mayor Sam Sullivan as “Smokey” [wp]

These are of course simply the highlights. In any negotiation such as this there is a lot of give and take, and by the time the ink is dry and the press are alerted some small details here may have been changed. Keeping checking back here for more updates as we have news.

It’s just over a week after jihadi jerks in Britain forced airline passengers around the world to endure the strictest security protocols ever. Meanwhile, what are security guards at Vancouver International Airport up to? Why, contemplating going on strike, of course.

The security guard’s union voted 98 per cent in favor of strike action to get better working conditions, according to one CBC News report. It could effectively shut down the airport.

One could argue that the union had already been looking at strike action long before the latest terrorist plot was foiled, and that labor contracts shouldn’t be negotiated according to the unpredictable rise and fall of the threat level.

But the optics and timing on this don’t look good.
Read more

Photo: Hendrik Kueck

For various reasons, I got interested in what was happening at the local institutions of higher education. This is easier to find out at some places than others. Because I am lazy, I did the easy places. Good gossip from other schools may be addressed to the comments.

The easy places? UBC (crisis among the Young Liberals), SFU (I’m not sure what the IBT is, but it must be important), Douglas College (the DCSU has a little fiscal catching up to do), and Langara (shocker: the relationship between the student society executive and its employees is strained).
Read more