Bulletin
CMBC + TransLink – CUPE 4500 Job Action
January 3, 2024
To all MoveUP members at CMBC and TransLink
As many of you may already know, CUPE 4500 has provided the employer with the required 72-hour notice for job action. According to their media release and bargaining update to their members, they will be in the position for legal strike action at 8am Saturday January 6th, and will begin with a full overtime ban.
What does this mean for our members?
Do not cross a legal picket line. If you come across what appears to be a picket line, please contact MoveUP for further direction. Only the Labour Relations Board has the ability to determine if a picket line is illegal. Further, if there is picket line then please do not work from home. Contact MoveUP so that we can provide further direction.
Our union takes great pride in supporting our affiliated union families. Showing solidarity by respecting the picket lines of other unions, especially in workplaces with multiple unions, is part of the union fundamentals we as activists are committed to. When we are facing job action of another union, we will stand on their picket line just as we would do if it was our own job action. For more information, please follow this link;
Respecting Picket Lines – MoveUP (moveuptogether.ca)
What can members expect?
Over the next few days, your elected Executive Councillors, Union Representatives and Vice President will be meeting to create a job action committee. We will be contacting CUPE 4500 leadership to commit our support in hopes they will provide us with updates and notice should their action need to escalate. As this is their fight, we will need patience and the understanding of our members that we may not have much notice for their next steps, but we will do our best to inform and communicate out to our members as quickly as possible.
Our union does support our members for respecting the picket lines of other unions through our defence fund. Our Secretary Treasurer will work with the job action committee to establish the requirements for picket pay, our constitution currently allows for our Local to pay $250 per week from our defence fund as well our national COPE/SEPB constitution pays $300 per week. Should full strike action happen members will receive $550 per week, this amount is considered tax free as it is paid through our member dues.
Our ask of our members
Please ensure that we have updated personal email addresses, just like in our bargaining we will not use the employer email addresses.
For our part time and casual members please collect your last 3 pay stubs, as we will need that information should CUPE 4500 go on full strike.
We acknowledge that rumours and misinformation may begin to spread throughout the workplaces, therefore, we ask our members to wait until you have received official information from our office or job action committee to validate the information being shared. If you have concerns or questions, please contact your Union Representative or Vice President until we have the job action committee in place.
We know that this will be a stressful time for our members. Our union is here to support you to the best of our abilities. We sincerely hope that the employer will come back with a reasonable offer for the CUPE 4500 membership so our work and our members will not be impacted.
CUPE is required to have a strike coordinating meeting with the BC Federation of Labour prior to any job action that might require the support of members of other unions. Should CUPE’s job action escalate and should they move to a position where they require our support, we will be in a more informed position after the BC Fed meeting, and we will share that information as soon as possible with all members.
In solidarity,
Shawn Lakusta, Union Representative
Christy Slusarenko, Vice President Combined Units
