CUPE is poised for action

By Dan Hilborn
Published Oct. 19, 2005


Unionized staff of the City of Burnaby are threatening to walk off the job to support B.C. teachers in their ongoing labour dispute with the provincial government.

Rick Kotar, acting general president of CUPE local 23, said the city's estimated 2,000 unionized employees are waiting for an announcement from the B.C. Federation of Labour before they take their next step, but escalating job action could begin as early as Monday morning.

"My phone is ringing off the wall from members wanting to know when we're going to support the teachers," Kotar said. "Everywhere I go, whenever I talk to our members about the situation, there is strong support for the teachers on this. People want to do whatever it takes.

"Our members are ready to go. They just need to get the word," he said. "There's a very strong uprising of support and while I can't speak for other locals, I know they're very angry at what's happened here.

Kotar said CUPE's next step will depend largely on what B.C. Fed president Jim Sinclair announces at 3 p.m. Friday, (after Burnaby NOW deadlines) based on meetings with other labour leaders.

"I know within my own local people are very angry about what happened here, particularly the unprecedented cutting of strike pay," he said in reference to Thursday's decision by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Brenda Brown to freeze the bank accounts of the B.C. Teachers' Federation.

Kotar also said that he believes the premier deserves a large degree of personal responsibility for causing the school dispute.

"We're affectionately calling Bill 12 Gordon Campbell's happy hour - it's in keeping with his trip to Hawaii," Kotar said. "It hurts me when I hear him talking about laws being there for a reason. People can't arbitrarily choose what laws they want to follow and that includes impaired driving. And I didn't see him too worried about that then."