The Globe and Mail: CUPE walks out in solidarity with teachers
Forty thousand unionized workers will walk away from their jobs en masse today in support of B.C.’s teachers, throwing services offered by Lower Mainland cities, universities and some colleges into disarray.
The Powell River Peak: Unions walk out to support striking teachers
Striking teachers are enjoying almost unanimous support in Powell River and across much of BC. Union members, students and teachers were all on picket lines on Monday, October 17, as much of Powell River slowed or came to a standstill.
CUPE workers plan solidarity walkout
By JONATHAN WOODWARD
Friday, October 21, 2005 Page S1
VANCOUVER — Forty thousand unionized workers will walk away from their jobs en masse today in support of B.C.’s teachers, throwing services offered by Lower Mainland cities, universities and some colleges into disarray.
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees will cancel administrative work in universities and some colleges, shut down libraries and garbage pickup in most cities and slow regular municipal services to a crawl.
But unlike previous walkouts in Victoria, the Kootenays and the Okanagan, unions under the B.C. Federation of Labour won’t be off the job, said federation president Jim Sinclair.
Transit workers, provincial government employees and other workers in the federation will stay at work while the province’s 38,000 teachers consider mediator Vince Ready’s recommendations to end the illegal strike.
Police, fire department and safety staff will stay at their desks, CUPE officials said. A skeleton crew of workers will stay at municipal front desks in some cities, and in others, non-union managers will perform their staff’s duties.
Rallies for CUPE members will be held at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver today at 10 a.m., and at the Stetson Bowl in Surrey at 1 p.m.
The Health Employees Union, a CUPE affiliate, will not send health workers off the job.
Without the go-ahead from the federation, groups such as the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) — which staged massive walkouts in Victoria on Monday and the Kootenays yesterday — will not disrupt services, Mr. Sinclair said.
“This is a very fluid time in the province, and I think it’s incumbent on the government to find a solution and move forward, and it’s not over yet,” Mr. Sinclair said.
Striking Telus workers, who disrupted transit services in the recent walkouts, have given assurances that they won’t disrupt Lower Mainland bus or train services, said Andy Ross, whose union represents TransLink workers.
In Vancouver, city hall staff, parking enforcement officers, and community centre staff will be off the job, shutting down community centres and pools. Minor pickets are planned for outside staff. Workers in child care and health care, and those involved in public safety, will stay on the job. Firefighters, police and garbage pickup will be unaffected.
Workers at Richmond’s pools and community centres, and staff at city hall, will be off the job, while RCMP, fire department and some municipal staff will keep their departments operational. The union won’t disrupt day care or out-of-school programs, weddings and other one-time events will go ahead, and garbage service will be unaffected because the service is contracted out.
Support workers at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia will be off the job and protesting at entrances to both universities. Teaching assistants at UBC won’t mark papers or teach labs or discussion groups. Some teaching staff have said they will cancel classes, but campus security staff will remain on patrol.
Support staff at CUPE-unionized Langara College and Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design will be off the job, while support workers under the aegis of the BCGEU such as those at BCIT, Douglas College, and Kwantlen University College will be unaffected by the walkout. Classes are largely expected to continue as normal.
Delta, Port Coquitlam, Surrey and other municipalities expect all municipal services to be disrupted, including bylaw offices, arenas and recreation centres, but not emergency services. Union leaders are encouraging their members to skip work and attend rallies. A theatre performance at the Surrey Art Centre will go ahead as scheduled.
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