Library patrons are hoping to see staff and the town turn the page on the strike keeping the facility closed.
On Day 5 of picketing outside the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library, CUPE Local 905 invited the community to join them for a free event featuring pizza, frozen treats, stories, songs and games outside the library Tuesday evening.
“The library workers want to connect with the community and continue giving to the community despite not working at this time. These are the types of events they provide for this community inside the library when they are working, and they wanted to continue doing that, despite the work stoppage,” Katherine Grzejszczak, president of CUPE Local 905, said.
About 60 people could be seen in the library parking lot at 6:30 p.m., including Bonnie Walker who estimated she has been coming to the library for more than 30 years.
Walker said she came to the event to stand up for the library staff and the important educational services they offer.
“Why do you have to pick on the library, what has the library done to you? If you want a bright future in your community, think about what you’re doing and give them that $1.35. It’s not going to hurt you,” she said of her message to the town.
Fouzieh Ali said she’s been using the library for about a year and had visited earlier in the day to return some books, which is how she heard about the event.
“It’s very sad because my daughter would always come and borrow books from the library. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have any access to those books now,” Ali said in reference to her eight-year-old daughter.
When asked if she had a message for the town, she said they should “do whatever is best for the employees."
“The library staff have their own families and have to support their own families, too,” she said.
Heather Breedon was visiting with her two sons and said she has been coming to the library since just after her oldest was born four years ago, and now brings her youngest as well.
“With baby time I was here twice a week. Now that all of the summer programs are here, we’ve been like everyday. He loves all of the programs that are here,” she said.
Breedon said she’s disappointed to see the library closed.
“I really needed these classes and these programs to come to every day, because this was our summer: the music ones, the books ones, the book parties and the crafts — we were going to be here every day this week,” she said.
Without those programs she said she feels like there’s nothing to do with her young children, but hang out at home.
“It’s been a very sad boring week this week,” she said.
Breedon’s message to the town was direct.
“Please open the library before the summer’s done. We need to come. We need to check out our books,” she said.
The picket was also attended by Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents about 715,000 members across Canada.
Hancock said that since the pandemic he’s seen a lot of workers across the country that are tired and frustrated, and as a result, he has seen an increase in the number of workers joining CUPE.
“There’s a lot of angst out there right now. We have five disputes going on right now across the country,” he said.
Hancock pointed out that as part of the strike in Bradford, library workers are asking for a raise not as a percentage, but as a dollar figure, which helps lower-wage earners more than the higher-wage earners.
“It’s unfortunate any time that workers need to take this type of action. It’s always a last resort. Hopefully, it’s a short strike. Hopefully, we’ll get back to the bargaining table. We weren’t far off on many items, but there’s a few items that need to be resolved,” he said.
Hancock has been working with CUPE since 1984 and serving as president since November 2015, and while some strikes can go on as long as a year, Hancock said that in his experience, most strikes see a resolution within one or two weeks.
Also in attendance was Patty Coates, the President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, which represent more than one million Ontario workers belonging to more than 1,500 locals from 54 affiliated unions.
“Picket lines are really important for workers when they need to stand up for their rights. ... It’s really important that workers are lifted up and not always having to fight and struggle to get those pay increases,” she said.
Coates said the Bradford library strike symbolized the current labour climate in Ontario, and noted that the federation currently has four groups on strike and has heard rumours that others are also preparing to strike.
“We’re seeing all across Ontario that workers have had enough. They’re fed up with what has happened over the past couple of years, they’re fed up with being disrespected in their workplace, they’re fed up with not keeping up with the cost of living, and we’re seeing more strikes. We’ve seen consistent strikes since the fall,” she said.
Coates also noted that in some instances, arbitrators have been awarding “very large” pay increases to workers, including 6.25 per cent to Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and CUPE health-care workers in June and 11 per cent for Ontario Nursing Association (ONA) hospital nurses earlier this month.
Coates started with the federation in 2015 and has been working as the president for the last four years and says the length of a strike can’t be predicted.
“There’s been some strikes that are only a couple of days, and they get back to the table and they get down to business and they get a deal. ... I know that this local is ready to go back to the table now, but they need their employer to be there and take them seriously and respect them,” she said.
Grzejszczak has been on the picket line almost every day so far as president of CUPE Local 905, which is representing the 34 library staff on strike, and says she has seen “a ton” of community support.
“Spirits are really high on the picket line,” she said. “Everything we’re hearing from the community is that they support a living wage, they support the $1.35, and they’re standing with these workers to get a fair deal to get back to work and reopen the library.”
Grzejszczak said the lines of communication remain open with the town, but that workers still want to see the $1.35-per-hour wage increase each year over two years before returning to the bargaining table.
When asked how long workers are willing to remain on the picket line, she reiterated “as long as it takes.”
Despite rumours, Grzejszczak said the union has received no indication an improved offer is coming from the town this week.
Questions about a potential new offer, the details of the previous offer and the reasons the town wouldn’t agree to health benefits for part-time employees or the $1.35-per-hour raises each year were sent to Matthew Corbett library CEO, but went unanswered.
When reached by phone Tuesday evening, Corbett said he had no further comment.
On Friday, Corbett apologized to residents for any inconvenience resulting from the work stoppage.
“We are hopeful that the strike will end quickly and we can reopen the library to our valued residents and clients,” he said via email.
Mayor James Leduc also said he could not offer any new comment on Tuesday, and on Friday said he didn’t expect the offer from the town to change significantly.
When asked on Friday if he had a message to residents who rely on the library and its services, Leduc said “I truly apologize to them.”
“I would ask the residents for some patience. Hopefully calmer heads will prevail in the near future, and we’ll be able to go back to the table and ratify a deal in the end. ... Strikes are a sensitive thing and we feel for everybody. Nobody wants these things,” he said.
Library staff officially went on strike at 9 a.m. Friday July 21, with both staff and patrons locked out of the building, after 27 bargaining days and spending 18 hours in negotiations from 9 a.m. Thursday morning until 3 a.m. Friday morning.
The parties failed to reach a consensus on the first collective agreement for library staff, after almost one year of negotiations, with the union citing wages and benefits as the major factors.
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 earn less than the GTA living wage, which the union defines as $23.10 per hour.
According to the union, the town does not want to agree to health benefits for any part-time employees, and they are also proposing that some employees’ wages remain frozen, with some having been frozen for the last five years and one as long as nine years.
Grzejszczak previously confirmed that some employees are being “red circled,” meaning they are not eligible for the three-per-cent increase previously proposed by the administration, they are not eligible for full-time hours and not eligible for health benefits.
The clock started ticking towards a strike on Tuesday, July 4, after the Ontario Ministry of Labour issued a “no-board” notice over the ongoing negotiations. The notice meant the ministry was not appointing a board of conciliation to help the parties reach an agreement and started a 17-day countdown to when workers were allowed to strike.
The no-board notice came at the union’s request after negotiations “reached an impasse leaving workers no choice but to set the clock ticking toward a work stoppage,” it said in a press release.
That came after the union requested the ministry appoint a conciliation officer on June 21 to help assist with negotiations.
Negotiations over the collective agreement began in September 2022 after library staff certified as a union in September 2021.
In the almost two years since, Grzejszczak confirmed that more than half of the library staff have left.
In April, library workers voted “nearly unanimously” to strike if necessary, but at that time, no deadline had been set.
Union members have also been circulating a petition supporting library workers, which currently has more than 600 signatures.
The timing has yet to be determined, but 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.
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.
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.
