Setting the Record Straight on Management’s Claims

 

Attention GVRDEU Members

As you are aware, Metro Vancouver recently circulated a message outlining its version of bargaining with the GVRDEU. Our goal is to share a truthful representation of this round of collective bargaining, free from any spin.

Fair and Reasonable: According to Whom?

While the employer claims to value GVRDEU members and our contributions, their actions at the table tell a different story. We are repeatedly reminded of “taxpayer affordability” or we must be “fiscally responsible in these economic times” when it comes to workers’ wages, yet that concern seems to disappear when it comes to:

• exempt salaries,
• expanding management ranks,
• reliance on high priced external contractors, and
• multi-million-dollar HR and consulting budgets.

Wages: On Par with Recent Settlements in the Region?

Metro Vancouver suggests that members should be satisfied, even thankful, for the wage increases proposed. This expectation reflects a troubling disconnect from the lived reality of the workforce. What they do not say is that these increases do not reflect:

• the real cost of living in our region,
• persistent difficulties in recruitment and retention of workers,
• the erosion of purchasing power workers have already absorbed, or
• the fact that senior leadership compensation has increased dramatically over the same period.

Requesting that workers settle for minimal increases, even as executives secure substantial ones, reflects a lack of respect for our membership and the economic realities confronting them.

Contracting Out and the Illusion of “New Positions”

The employer claims credit for proposing new bargaining unit positions while simultaneously reserving the right to create those positions regardless of union agreement. We were effectively told this was something we could “take back to members” as a win.

Our bargaining committee does not operate that way. We do not misrepresent the facts of the matter, nor do we package management decisions as union victories. Real job security means enforceable language with adequate pay to ensure long-term employment stability for our workers.

Safety Reality

Management asserts that Metro Vancouver’s safety record is “among the best in the province.” Many members do not recognize this description as reflective of their lived experiences over the past several years. Significant incidents, including serious worker injuries, fatalities, and workplace hazard exposures, combined with a record-setting WorkSafe BC fine, stand in contrast to this claim.

Safety is not best measured by press-ready language. It is measured by accountability, prevention, and meaningful worker involvement, particularly by listening to the people doing the work rather than dismissing their concerns.

Mediation and Essential Services

Despite management’s portrayal, the GVRDEU has not refused resolution, we have insisted on meaningful bargaining. Applying for an Essential Services order while simultaneously cancelling a scheduled bargaining meeting is not collaboration; it is contingency planning that pressures workers while management attempts to hold the cards.

This approach does not advance resolution, but it undermines it.

The Tone Matters

Perhaps most troubling is the tone underlying the employer’s message. The repeated implication is that workers should not question management’s decisions. Instead, we are expected to accept selectively chosen comparisons, even as leadership applies one set of rules to exempt staff and another to bargaining unit members.

The Union maintains good leaders invite questions and input, while poor leaders cite management rights. Talking down to the workforce while rewarding management is not leadership, but condescension.

Where We Stand

Your bargaining committee remains committed to:

• wages that reflect economic reality,
• enforceable protections against erosion of our bargaining unit work,
• genuine improvements to benefits and safety, and
• an agreement that respects the workers who keep Metro Vancouver sustainable.

Our contract expired 15 months ago and what has finally got management back to the bargaining table is a massive strike vote and public scrutiny of executive salary and benefit increases in the media.

Rest assured, we are not asking for special treatment. We are insisting on fair treatment, as our membership has repeatedly directed throughout this bargaining process.

 

In solidarity,

GVRDEU Bargaining Committee