The Tyee:  Endless Summer – a great in depth story about Vancouver's civic strike

Monte Paulsen has written a nice in depth story about Vancouver's civic strike.  He examines and compares each of the sides…  the City's, the Union's, the GVRD Labour Relations Bureau, and the role of the Wilcox Group – a PR firm.

Check it out:

http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/08/16/EndlessSummer/

Endless Summer (Strike)

Ten other cities have settled with civic workers. Why can't Vancouver?

By Monte Paulsen

Published: August 16, 2007

TheTyee.ca

The City of White Rock reached a tentative deal with its employees
on Wednesday, the tenth such agreement struck in the Lower Mainland in
recent weeks. But the City of Vancouver isn't even talking to the two
CUPE locals that represent most of its workers, and both sides are
warning that this summer's strike could continue well into September.

Each side has its own explanation as to why “Sam's Strike” will go
on. The union claims highly paid strike-breaking consultants have
guided employer strategy. City hall claims the union is out to deal
Mayor Sullivan a mortal blow.

But the divergent explanations do more to illustrate the chasm than to illuminate negotiations…..

Read the rest at  Endless Summer (Strike)

Also read: http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/07/27/Bottleneck/

'Bottleneck' Blamed for Strike

GVRD employers' rep overloaded, slow, says union.

By Tom Sandborn

Published: July 27, 2007

TheTyee.ca

As municipal strikes in B.C.'s Lower Mainland grind toward the end
of their first full week, questions are being raised about the role
played by a little known body of regional bureaucrats, the Greater
Vancouver Regional Labour Relations Bureau.

The bureau is an umbrella group for municipal employers that is
supposed to make labour bargaining more efficient. But the only
significant progress so far during July's escalating labour disputes
came in Richmond, a municipality that has opted out of the bureau.

Cities like Vancouver, still locked into what is portrayed by some
as a bottlenecked process, are not even back at the table negotiating…..

Read the rest at : 'Bottleneck' Blamed for Strike