After rejecting the mediator’s report and voting to hold a strike vote, members of CUPE 1169, representing workers at the Calgary Public Library, have reached a tentative agreement. Members vote on the agreement on February 11.
The local’s strike aversion campaign included members handing out information to library patrons, lobbying and print and radio ads. “The key to our campaign,” said local president Gloria Dingwall, “was our ability to ensure that members had all the information in a very timely fashion.”
This was important as management on several occasions wrote directly to members suggesting the union was sending out misleading information. The Local’s quick reaction to these memos made sure that members had all the facts, preventing disinformation from lingering in the workplace.
In the new tentative agreement, the Local has secured benefit plans for part-timers administered by the employer. Sunday work remains voluntary and volunteers will not do the work of staff.