Local 500, city reach tentative deal

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This article was published 20/05/2015 (4125 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City hall has reached a tentative agreement with its largest union, even as talks drag on with transit drivers and bus mechanics.

Mike Davidson, president of CUPE Local 500, confirmed the deal but said details will not be released until union members are informed and vote on the package.

Local 500 represents about 4,600 civic employees, including custodians, lifeguards and swimming instructors, 311 operators, clerical and public works staff, and employees in the parks, assessment, permits and bylaw departments.

“It was a tough round of bargaining,” Davidson said, adding the union’s bargaining team is recommending acceptance of the tentative agreement reached last week.

Local 500 will hold an information session for its members June 1 at the RBC Convention Centre. Members will vote on the proposal June 2.

CUPE members have been without a contract since the last agreement expired Dec. 27, 2014.

Meanwhile, city negotiators met Tuesday with their transit union counterparts — aided by a province-appointed conciliator — for talks expected to go on for the rest of the week.

Conciliation is a cumbersome process.

Rather than face-to-face meetings, the negotiating teams meet separately with the conciliator, who delivers proposals to the opposing side and suggests where they can find agreement or compromise.

Local 1505 of the Amalgamated Transit Union launched its work-to-rule campaign April 27, with a ban on voluntary overtime.

The union, which represents 1,100 bus operators and 250 maintenance workers, claims the overtime ban has resulted in late buses and a number of vehicles sitting idle in need of repairs.

The main issue is wages for drivers and mechanics.

The last ATU contract was a four-year agreement that expired Jan. 17.

 

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca