Your bargaining committee met with the employers for a full day of negotiations on Wednesday, May 17. Unfortunately, while we continue to meet, essentially no further progress towards a new collective agreement has been made.

Throughout bargaining the employers have introduced concessionary proposals which they refuse to back down from – we simply cannot entertain any concessions.

What does this mean? A concession, as defined by CUPE, is:

A concession occurs when a local union accepts an employer’s demand for a lesser wage. A concession also occurs when a local union accepts an employer’s demand for a lesser contract provision than previously agreed, without at least receiving a like benefit, or provision of higher value or importance in return.

A two-tier contract provision offers a lesser condition of employment for certain employees than for others performing the same work, based solely on their date of hire. Two-tier provisions are always considered a concession, regardless of what may be negotiated in return.

What’s next?

We have additional bargaining dates scheduled for June 6 and 9. We want to reiterate that we remain committed to negotiating a collective agreement that reflects the current economic climate, and the lasting impact inflation has had on the cost of living. If these meetings are unproductive, we may need to schedule meetings with you in the fall to discuss and plan the steps necessary to reach a new collective agreement.

CUPE 387 members develop and maintain our community’s infrastructure, ensure clean and well-maintained public and green spaces and help to ensure public safety. Workers play a vital role in keeping our community running for residents, businesses and visitors.

CUPE 387 members deserve a fair collective agreement that recognizes the value of their work.

Make sure you continue to receive bargaining updates 

The best way to make sure you receive all future bargaining updates is to regularly monitor the CUPE 387 website and also ensure CUPE 387 has your contact information by emailing your personal (non-work) email address to cupeoffice@telus.net.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by email at cupe387@telus.net

Your bargaining committee met with the employers for one full day of negotiations on May 5^th and we are disappointed to report that little progress was made. Instead, the employers tabled concessionary proposals.

We cannot accept concessionary proposals that would negatively impact CUPE 387 members. We have clearly communicated this to the employers and will continue to reject concessionary proposals.

We are disappointed that this round of negotiations has been so tumultuous but remain committed to settling on a collective agreement that reflects the current economic climate, and the lasting impact inflation has had on the cost of living. Other municipalities in this region have bargained fair collective agreements with CUPE locals, that recognize the value of the work CUPE members do in their communities. CUPE 387 members deserve the same.

We resume negotiations with the employers on May 17, and we will have another update for you after our meeting.

The best way to make sure you receive all future bargaining updates is to regularly monitor the CUPE 387 website and also ensure CUPE 387 has your contact information by emailing your personal (non-work) email address to cupeoffice@telus.net.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by email at cupe387@telus.net.

CUPE 387 – Bargaining Bulletin

May 3, 2023

Dear members,

Your bargaining committee met last week for a day of negotiations.  We made some progress on a small number of non-monetary and housekeeping proposals.

We are encouraged that this progress was made and that we have secured additional dates.  There are many significant issues still to be negotiated such as wage and benefit improvements, while also meaningfully addressing the recruitment and retention issue the employers face.  We anticipate these issues will be discussed at upcoming bargaining sessions this month and into June.

We remain committed to reaching a deal that is both in line with other regional settlements and reflects the current economic climate and the last impact inflation has had on the cost of living.

We will be reaching out again following each of the bargaining dates with further updates.

The best way to ensure you receive all further bargaining updates is to regularly monitor the CUPE 387 website and ensure CUPE 387 has your up-to-date email contact information by emailing your personal (non-work) email address to cupeoffice@telus.net

In solidarity,
Your CUPE 387 Bargaining Committee

Dear members,

Your bargaining committee resumes negotiations with the City, Library and Police Board this week. We have two full days of bargaining scheduled for April 26 and May 5.

We have been disappointed with the slow progress of negotiations but after recent discussions, we are hopeful that these upcoming bargaining sessions will be productive.

We are prepared to discuss members’ key issues and communicate the importance of negotiating a wage increase that reflects the current economic climate and the lasting impact inflation has had on the cost of living.

As you likely know other CUPE locals in our region, including CUPE 23 (Burnaby), CUPE 774 (Abbotsford) and CUPE 403 (Langley Township), have all recently negotiated new collective agreements. We’ve seen a pattern with the wage increases in all three deals that has helped to ease the pressure of the affordability crisis workers’ and their families face in this region.

CUPE 387 members also deserve an agreement that will help relieve the pressure of persistent high inflation.

We will be reaching out again following these bargaining dates with an update. The best way to make sure you receive all future bargaining updates is to regularly monitor the CUPE 387 website and also ensure CUPE 387 has your contact information by emailing your personal (non-work) email address to cupeoffice@telus.net.

In solidarity,
Your CUPE 387 Bargaining Committee

Your bargaining committee met with the employers and their external lead negotiator from Regional Employers Services (RES 360) Tues. March 14, 2023 for a half day of bargaining.  We’re extremely disappointed to report that no progress was made.

Under RES 360’s guidance the employers have insisted on a style of bargaining that has been unproductive and has resulted in limited discussion of your key bargaining priorities and has been oppositional towards the successful negotiation of a new collective agreement.

We continue to clearly communicate to the employer and RES 360 that our members need a new agreement that addresses the ongoing affordability challenges they face. Recently other municipalities in this region (Burnaby and Abbotsford) have negotiated fair deals directly with CUPE Locals and we deserve the same here in New Westminster.

Following this last bargaining session, we need to regroup and decide what our next steps will be.

Please continue to watch for bargaining updates from the committee. The best way to make sure you receive all future bargaining updates is to regularly monitor the CUPE 387 website (cupe387.ca) and also ensure CUPE 387 has your contact information by emailing your personal (non-work) email address to cupeoffice@telus.net.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by email at cupe387@telus.net

In solidarity,
Your CUPE 387 bargaining committee

In the last month your bargaining committee has met to bargain with the employers (the City of New Westminster, the New Westminster Public Library, and the Police Board) several times. While we were hopeful to make significant progress during these bargaining sessions, the reality is that little additional progress has been made.

We have been bargaining with the employers and their external lead negotiator from Regional Employers Services (RES 360) since October 31 and they have made little effort to seriously address your key concerns.

We have always had a collaborative working relationship with the employers, and unfortunately the involvement of an external negotiator from RES 360 has put that at risk. We believe the most effective way to negotiate this collective agreement is to work directly with the employers and we have asked that they revise their approach to bargaining.

We remain committed to addressing the key concerns members identified for this round of bargaining including:

• A wage increase that will help address the ongoing affordability crisis in this region and that is in line with neighbouring municipalities.
• Increasing the amount of stable full-time and part-time positions in our workplaces.
• Changes to our current sick leave plan.

We have an additional half day of bargaining scheduled for March 14 and will give another update following that.

The best way to make sure you receive all future bargaining updates is to regularly monitor the CUPE 387 website (cupe387.ca) and also ensure CUPE 387 has your contact information by emailing your personal (non-work) email address to cupeoffice@telus.net.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by email at cupe387@telus.net

In solidarity,
Your CUPE 387 bargaining committee