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

 Dear Members:

As a result of poor weather and due to the concern for the safety of our members, the February 28, 2023 General Meeting will be postponed.  An update will be posted once an alternate date has been assigned.

Stay safe.

Dear Members,

Your bargaining committee resumes negotiations this week, with two days of bargaining scheduled for Wednesday, February 22 and Friday, February 24. We also have two dates secured for next week.

We have made good progress towards a new collective agreement, however we plan to discuss in detail several key bargaining priorities this week including the wage increases you deserve to receive.

As many of you may know the City of Burnaby and CUPE 23 recently ratified new collective agreements for both municipal and library workers. CUPE 23 successfully negotiated substantial wage increases (3 percent for 2022, 4.5 percent for 2023 and 4 percent for 2024), and also achieved important cost of living recognition, benefit and language changes.

We know that CUPE 387 members want to see a similar agreement in New Westminster, and we remain committed to negotiating a collective agreement that both eases the ongoing affordability crisis we face in this region and addresses the key bargaining priorities members identified for this round of negotiations.

Please monitor our CUPE 387 website (cupe387.ca) for an important update following this week’s bargaining dates.  As always, ensure CUPE 387 has your contact information by providing us your personal (non-work) email address.

In solidarity,
Your CUPE 387 Bargaining Committee

Dear Members:

Your CUPE 387 bargaining committee continues collective bargaining negotiations with the employers. We have more bargaining scheduled this month through March and, given the complexity of some of the subjects to negotiate, we have requested additional dates from the employer. Your bargaining committee is dedicated to achieving a new collective agreement which demonstrates fairness for all members of CUPE 387, is reflective of the high cost of living in our region, reflective of the inclusivity and equity values the city aspires to achieve and is reached in a timely manner.

Updates will be posted on a regular basis on our website (cupe387.ca) and more frequently as we near a tentative agreement.

We encourage members to ensure CUPE 387 has your contact information by emailing your personal (non-work) email address to Lisa Kvam at cupeoffice@telus.net.

Your CUPE 387 Bargaining Committee

Attention CUPE 387 Members,

This is a reminder that the next General Meeting is fast approaching. It will be in-person only and held on Tuesday, September 27th at 5:00 pm at Centennial Lodge.

There will be a motion to approve some small changes to the old bylaws and a discussion of the bargaining concepts. Please join us on Tuesday to stay up to date.

Hope to see you then!