CUPE local 4500 ratification meeting with CMBC

by tbphotos | May 21, 2008 at 09:15 pm

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Vancouver, BC. May 21, 2008

By: tbphotos, NowPublic contributer

Reporting from the scene

Coast Mountain Bus Company and CUPE 4500, after seven months of negotiations, have reached a tentative agreement which was presented today to 173 members of the local. These employees comprise the Transit Supervisors, Transit Communications Coordinators, and Maintenance Supervisors for the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority.

The Union has recommended acceptance of the new tentative agreement, and voting took place following the three scheduled meetings today in Burnaby. The CUPE bargaining committee worked diligently to reach a new contract for its members, as they have now worked without a contract since Dec. 31, 2007.

A lot of new items were brought forth for negotiation, the main item of concern was over the operations of the new TMAC radio system which is currently being introduced and being brought online as we speak. The Transit Supervisors vehicles are also now equipped with laptop computers and their reports going back to the Transit Communications Centre will now have to be completed electronically via computers, rather than by verbal communication over the radio system. In order for the Transit Supervisors to use this new equipment, extensive training was required, and will be ongoing as new recruits come onboard. The company (CMBC) initially refused to compensate these employees for having to learn and use this new and sophisticated equipment, but in the tentative agreement which was reached on May 15, 2008, at least some compensation has been addressed.

UPDATE: May 22, 2008

The results of the vote are now in, and the tentative agreement for a new contract has now been accepted by 96% of the membership. This new contract will take the employees of CUPE local 4500 past the 2010 Winter Olympics.