Visitors to Bradford’s farmers' market or library may have noticed an extra presence in recent days.
Members from CUPE Local 905 were out and about talking with residents and gathering signatures for a petition supporting workers at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library.
While the timing has yet to be determined, the union plans to present the petition to council to encourage them to support the library workers in their ongoing efforts to negotiate their first collective agreement.
Those negotiations started in September 2022, after library staff certified as a union in September 2021, and since then, have engaged in 24 days of bargaining.
While public petitions are not normally considered a part of the process, “I think things are changing very quickly, where workers are no longer willing to settle,” Katherine Grzejszczak, president of CUPE Local 905 said.
While the collective agreement would be overseen by the town’s library board, the funding for the board and approval of board decisions comes from council.
“At the end of the day, it’s council that runs during elections time speaking to constituents about the quality of the public services that are delivered, and they frequently speak about the library as part of those public services,” Grzejszczak said.
Library Board members include Licinio Miguelo, chair; Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney, vice chair; Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano; Ferguson Mobbs; Jen Turner; Diana Sheeler and Dillon McDowell.
Board members directed questions about the bargaining process to Matthew Corbett, library CEO.
In an emailed response, Corbett said he’s optimistic an agreement can be reached.
Corbett also shared a letter he sent to staff, in which he acknowledged bargaining teams for the library and the union have discussed a wide range of issues and proposals.
“We have reached a consensus on some, and others remain outstanding,” he said in the letter.
While other factors are involved in the negotiations, Grzejszczak said wages are the current focus.
“Wages in the public sector are woefully behind the increase in the cost of living and people can’t make ends meet. So they’re willing to do things like reach out to the public to seek support to get a fair collective agreement,” she added.
The union claims that 75 per cent of Bradford library staff only have access to part-time hours and that 50 per cent of all staff are earning less than a living wage, which they defined as $23.10 per hour.
The Ontario Living Wage Network currently defines a living wage in the organization's Simcoe County region (which also includes Grey-Bruce, Perth and Huron Counties) as $20.70 per hour.
“So if I tell you 23 dollars and 10 cents an hour is a living wage and that’s with full-time hours, and half of the folks in here are making less than that and on part-time hours, that’s why we’re out here with the petition,” Grzejszczak said.
Despite not having a collective agreement in place, library staff did receive a two-per-cent wage increase in January 2022, but the union calls that insufficient.
“That wage increase was no where near the rate of inflation,” Grzejszczak said.
Statistics Canada measures the rate of inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which it says “rose 6.8 per cent on an annual average basis in 2022, following gains of 3.4 per cent in 2021 and of 0.7 per cent in 2020. The increase in 2022 was a 40-year high, the largest increase since 1982 (10.9 per cent). Excluding energy, the annual average CPI rose 5.7 per cent in 2022 compared with 2.4 per cent in 2021.”
Corbett felt it was best to leave the details of specific proposals at the bargaining table, but was willing to share that “our current offer to CUPE includes a proposed three-per-cent wage increase for all unionized positions retroactive to Jan. 1, 2023.”
The union said they gathered about 300 signatures by the end of the weekend.
“The public is so supportive. It’s not difficult to get them to sign the petition. As soon as you say ‘Would you be willing to support library workers?’ people are like ‘yes,’ ” Grzejszczak said.
She added that the difficulties in signing a collective agreement for library staff are not unique to Bradford, explaining that the union is also actively bargaining on behalf of library staff in Newmarket and Whitchurch-Stoufville.
“We’re seeing very similar responses from municipal boards and councils in terms of what they’re putting forward at the bargaining table for wage increases and monetary benefits, and people can no longer afford to live on the wages that they’re making in libraries,” Grzejszczak said.
Library staff have continued working throughout negotiations, but the union warned that could change if bargaining doesn’t progress.
“If we can’t reach that deal, they are ready to walk off the job,” Grzejszczak said.
In April, library workers voted “nearly unanimously” to strike if necessary, but no deadline has been set for a deal or strike action.
As reported by NewmarketToday last week, 93 per cent of Newmarket library staff also voted to strike if they do not reach a collective agreement.
Grzejszczak emphasized that libraries are “absolutely essential to our communities,” especially in light of reductions to any social services, the housing crisis, and the general unaffordability due to the increased cost of living.
“We’re seeing people using libraries more and more simply because there’s no where for them to go a lot of the time,” she said.
In his letter to staff, Corbett praised their efforts.
“We are proud of the service our library provides to the Bradford West Gwillimbury community. ... We consistently hear about excellent customer service experiences patrons have with our library. We owe this success to all our staff; it comes through your dedication, care for the community and support of life-long learning,” he said.
The next bargaining date for the Bradford library is set for June 21, at which time the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development has appointed a conciliation officer to assist in negotiations at the request of the union.
“The parties are still far apart after 24 full days of bargaining and progress is very slow,” Grzejszczak said in an email, adding the union hopes the conciliator can help them reach an agreement in a timely manner.
“We remain optimistic that we can achieve a negotiated first collective agreement with CUPE Local 905,” Corbett said in his email.
Anyone wishing to sign the petition can do so online at cupe.on.ca/bwgplworkers
With files from Joseph Quigley
