BURNABY, B.C. (COAST SALISH TERRITORIES) – The BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU) served the Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) board with 72-hour strike notice on Monday, February 28. The union's move means libraries in many communities on Vancouver Island and neighbouring islands could be behind picket lines as early as 8 a.m. Thursday, March 3. The BCGEU is calling on elected representatives serving on local councils and regional districts to prevent this from happening.

"Librarians don't want job action," said BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. "What they want is a fair collective agreement that recognizes the value of their work to the communities they serve, protects their wages from sky-rocketing inflation, and gives them the safe, healthy workplaces they deserve. What they've gotten from their employer so far is unnecessary delays and proposals that can only be described as disrespectful. It's unacceptable."

VIRL is governed by a board of trustees made up of elected representatives from 28 member municipalities and 10 regional districts. The union says those trustees have a role to play in preventing job action and maintaining library services for their communities. In mid-February, the 48 librarians covered by the collective agreement voted 95 per cent in favour of job action to back their proposals after mediation between the two parties in January failed to produce an agreement.

"Trustees are responsible for guiding library operations and that includes hiring the staff who are at the table with our members bargaining this contract," said Smith. "These trustees are also responsible to the people who elected them. It's high time they got involved to help prevent the withdrawal of library services."

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The BCGEU is B.C.'s most dynamic, diverse, and fastest growing union -- representing more than 82,000 members who work in every sector of the economy and live in every community across the province including the 48 librarians who work for the Vancouver Island Regional Library.

Background:

The key issues are wages not keeping up with inflation, ongoing occupational health and safety issues including workplace violence and mental health impacts, and disrespectful working conditions.

Despite use of a mediator from the Labour Relations Board, bargaining hit impasse in mid-February 2022 when the employer refused to provide cost-of-living wages and minimizing proposals to address workplace violence.

The union has 90 days to exercise its right to strike. This means job action can occur any time after 8 a.m. March 3. A strike is only one form of job action available to librarians. This is often the last resort as it could involve the closure of some or all VIRL branches. Other forms of job action librarians could take include working to rule or rotating strikes. Library workers who are CUPE members would not cross a BCGEU picket line. 

Librarians have been without a collective agreement since December 2020.

The 48 librarians are responsible for library operations at 39 branches across Vancouver Island from parts of Greater Victoria to Port Hardy including the Gulf Islands, Haida Gwaii and Bella Coola.

The library system is governed by a board of trustees who, in accordance with B.C.'s Library Act, is made up of elected representatives from 28 member municipalities and 10 regional districts.

UWU/MoveUP