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This weekend’s City of Vancouver newspaper ads were so obviously filled with misrepresentations of the truth, that they barely warranted a response. As taxpayers ourselves, CUPE reflected on how many more thousands of dollars were wasted by the City on yet another PR stunt that does nothing to bring the parties closer to the bargaining table.

Mayor Sullivan escalated tensions further yesterday when he issued a Communiqué on where he stands behind the costly ads. Once again, CUPE must set the record straight.

* PAID DAYS OFF: CUPE employee benefits do NOT include 51.1 paid days off. It is unfair to include the 11 Statutory holidays which all public employees are entitled to, but it is just mean-spirited to include 19.7 days of EARNED time accumulated by working extra time at work as a “paid day off”.

* WAGE & TERM: CUPE negotiated the 17.5% over 5-years wage and term first in Richmond. This is now the regional settlement pattern and all three striking CUPE locals in Vancouver have made it clear that this is fair and reasonable and a non-issue.

* UNION ISSUES: All three CUPE locals have one primary issue and two or three key issues that the Employer needs to address, as all Lower Mainland municipalities have done with their CUPE workers. The City of Vancouver has made it clear that they WILL NOT address any of the union’s primary issues.

* SENIORITY: CUPE is asking that in order to bring a measure of fairness to the process of job placement, that where skill and ability are EQUAL, that the most senior employee gets the job.