VANCOUVER – Bike brigades are teams of picketers that gather in the morning, dress up their bicycles and spin by multiple picket-lines to express solidarity, keep up morale, and get the public to sign a petition to encourage the City to negotiate a fair contract and end the strike. They head out Monday to Thursday. Wednesday is “epic adventure day” with a joint CUPE 15, CUPE 391 and CUPE 1004 team meeting at Britannia at 9 a.m. Complete tour details enclosed.
“This is a member driven initiative,” says CUPE 391 president Alexandra Youngberg. “We were looking for a way to keep up morale and solidarity on the picket lines in a way that is mobile and visible but also environmentally green.”
“It’s such a pleasure to see the faces of our members light up as the bike brigade approaches. It’s like a solidarity boost.”
Bike brigade schedule:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., meet at Britannia
Wednesday, September 12, 2007: “Epic Adventure Day”, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Meet at Britannia at 9 a.m. VPL Central, then City Hall, Kitsilano, and Kerrisdale for an early-ish lunch. Suitably fuelled, we’ll visit Van Dusen gardens, Queen Elizabeth Park, Riley Park community centre (and farmers’ market to get signatures for our petition), down to Kent Avenue and the Transfer Station & Works Yard, on to Fraserview, Kensington and ending up at the Cedar Cottage pub at 4.30 p.m.
The bike brigades spend between a half hour and one hour at each site and visit different locations each day.
Contact:
Alexandra Youngberg, CUPE 391 President, 604-980-6095
Diane Kalen, CUPE Communications, 778-229-0258