Where is Saanich leadership? We sent the Saanich Mayor and Council an open letter asking our elected representatives to take a leadership role in solving this library dispute. We are concerned about the minimal response number and the tone of the replies.
From the open letter we received only one reply. Councillor Judy Brownoff's e-mail said that she was helpless, it's out of her hands, can't do anything.
The Saanich News recently had an Op-Ed piece by Councillor Vic Derman. It has basically the same line. To quote Councillor Derman:
"Saanich does have one politician (Coun.Wayne Hunter) on this board and several citizen representatives but they haven’t provided council much in the way of updates on the dispute. This may be because as a council, we have no authority to become involved."
From the open letter we received only one reply. Councillor Judy Brownoff's e-mail said that she was helpless, it's out of her hands, can't do anything.
The Saanich News recently had an Op-Ed piece by Councillor Vic Derman. It has basically the same line. To quote Councillor Derman:
"Saanich does have one politician (Coun.Wayne Hunter) on this board and several citizen representatives but they haven’t provided council much in the way of updates on the dispute. This may be because as a council, we have no authority to become involved."
Is Saanich not paying for the GVLRA? If not, then why is the GVLRA negotiating for the GVPL where Saanich is the largest municipal stakeholder? If they are paying then surely Saanich has a leadership role in directing the GVLRA.
Councillor Wayne Hunter's views, expressed in a telephone inerview with It's Our Library can be summarized as follows:
1. We had to cut off all library service to improve library service.
2. Arbitration doesn't work if the parties are too far apart. News to us. That's the principal reason for arbitration.
3. The GVLRA's failure to reach a settlement in 18 months is offset by its success elsewhere. ??
4. CUPE is using library workers as a point group to get higher wage settlements elsewhere. It'll be an interesting time when other workers are trying to achieve pay equity with library workers.
5. It's all about the money. Mmm. This is about pay equity, isn't it?
If no-one on Saanich Council is accepting responsibility for solving this lockout, and Saanich is the biggest player in the GVPL, where does that leave us? If Saanich Council passes a resolution directing the GVLRA to take this mess to binding arbitration surely that would get this Gordian knot untangled. Let's have some public discussion, and hopefully some leadership from Saanich.
8 comments:
Thank the heavens for this blog. As one of the locked out library employees, I really appreciate this kind of show of support from the public. It helps off-set the occasional negative remark from annoyed and/or hostile patrons. (While those negative remarks are extremely rare, I do find them disproportionately distressing.)
Again, many thanks for this.
Doug,
Thanks for the compliment.
However we sympathize with the library patrons that were disadvantaged by some of your service shutdowns. Lots of students and seniors were using the library computers.
What we are fighting for is rapid binding arbitration AND a full service library. We are not pro-union or pro-management.
We suspect your cause is just. Binding arbitration is the best and fairest way to find out.
Saanich Council opted out of the GVLRA more than 10 years ago. Saanich Council stopped using GVLRA as a bargaining unit as they were not getting satisfactory service from GVLRA. This is a well documented fact.
Saanich is the most populus and has four libraries in it's municipal area. There are nine GVPL libraries in this library system. These nine libraries serve ten municipal areas with a reported population of 300,000.
It's important to express your voice. In spite of no representative on the GVLRA Saanich council can make its voice heard. It seems that at this time a majority of Saanich Council does not realize how concerned Saanich residents are for their library. If you live in Saanich please contact a member of the council expressing your desire that one of our valued community services is restored and functioning again. Please note this is an election year and your vote may be critical.
This long term dispute has been simmering for years. Our libraries are community resource that we currently do not have access to. Your phone call, meeting with, letter, public support of this issue will help. Let's be as vocal and visible as possible
Shutting down the computers and removing some other services was as painful for the workers as it must be for those who depend on the services. But the altarnatives were to withdraw no services and just wait for the board to come and negotiate with us, or a full shutdown that would have had the consequences you are now seeing much earlier.
This is Victoria Library workers' first extended strike action in 60 years and we were very reluctant to embark on it indeed. That is why we tried early on to get a binding arbitration process going.
But, alas, in our province unless you make a fuss you get ignored. We've been ignored for 16 years now and we just couldn't put up with it any more.
This is a lousy way to settle a dispupte - we should be able to sit down and talk reasonably and come to an understanding. That is what we sougnt and still seek.
Alas, the board chose to use the hammer and deprive us of our incomes and, more importantly, Victorians of their Library.
We are very reluctant indeed to fight for our rights, but when we are pushed to the wall as we have been, we will at long last stand up, nor shall we be defeated.
A library employee....
This is wonderful thing that your doing. Builds our morale and keeps us staying positive:)
March 25th Rally hope its big and loud in front of the Library Board.
The Library Board needs to support their employees, treat us with respect too. We are all dedicated employees, love working and helping the public. We just want the Board and GVLRA to reconize the "Letter of Understanding" thats all. Aren't we the libraries real assests too. :(
The Town Hall Meeting was a great place to meet other library lovers. Where many of Victoria's citizens voiced their concerns and want their libraries back too.
The board simply needs to resign thats all.
Thanks again for everything...
The only Saanich politician to respond to my email/letter is Nicola Wade. I have decided to send a letter to every Saanich politician and GVPL board member each week this lock-out continues.
As a Saanich resident I am sickened by their silence.
The GVPL employees are very brave.
Karen C. (ex-GVPL employee)
Oak Bay council meets tonight (March 10, so this is a chance to ask them to take some responsibility. I hope lots of you Oak Bayers turn out tonight.
I am going to call every LB member and demand that they submit to arbitration or resign. Preferably both. If nothing has been done by the next board meeting then patrons ought to show up en masse and demand resignations there.
I personally think the lock-out will drag on until the library workers have contributed about 2 million dollars toward pay equity ( they are one quarter of the way there) but we may get some satisfaction of ridding ourselves of an obviously incompetent board and getting a new, more streamlined one that isn't always tripping over itself.
By the way, I have been in touch with Chris Graham who, in my opinion, is clearly way out of his league as the Board Chair, and it is almost frightening that he his making decisions on such a powerful body as the GVLRA. I've also exchanged several emails with Ted Daly and got absolutely nothing out of him. I told him that he either didn't understand the issues or he was lying. His response was "...being disrespectful won't get you very far." Well, neither would kissing their collective posteriors because they have their agenda set out. At any rate, I told him that my disrespect was only words and that if he wanted to see real disrespect he should drive by any public library and have a look at his handiwork. He's not talking to me anymore, then again, he wasn't really talking to me in the first place.
Bill Gallaher
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