Vancouver's long, bitter municipal strike was plunged into chaos Tuesday night, as one civic local accepted a deal to return to work, while another also voted in favour but not strongly enough to count.
At the same time, the city's 800 striking library workers strongly rejected the package recommended last week by veteran mediator Brian Foley.
The bizarre situation focused on members of Local 1004, the so-called outside workers who include garbage collectors and parks maintenance staff.
The local's parks branch voted 58 per cent in favour of Mr. Foley's recommendations. The vote by Local 1004's city branch was 57-per-cent yes. However, virtually alone among unions anywhere in Canada, Local 1004 has a by-law requiring a two-thirds vote in favour to accept a new contract. Their vote yesterday fell short.
Local leaders, who had called for a no vote on Mr. Foley's proposals, quickly called for an emergency meeting with city of Vancouver negotiators to try to resolve the matter.
Local 1004 president Mike Jackson claimed the deal didn't go through by the necessary two-thirds majority because it fell short of the deal won by outside workers in neighbouring municipalities.
"After almost three months on strike, it is an insult to be offered less than other civic workers in the region," he said.
Mr. Foley proposed a five-year wage increase of 17.5 per cent, a $1,000 signing bonus, a $1-an-hour trades adjustment, whistleblower and harassment protection, and six months' notice of any contracting out affecting members of Local 15, representing inside workers.
Members of Local 15, the largest of the three striking locals, voted 73 per cent to accept Mr. Foley's recommendations and return to work.
City council is scheduled to consider the proposed settlement terms later today.
If council accepts the deal, inside workers could be back on the job as early as tomorrow. But their leaders have said they will not cross any picket lines set up by those who remain on strike.
The results of union balloting by the more than 5,000 striking workers disclosed a huge fissure in union solidarity that has lasted until now throughout the 82-day walkout, the second largest in civic history.
The most resounding vote was the 78 per cent rejection by library workers on their first strike ever. They are demanding pay equity to overcome what they say are gender-based wage disparities. Mr. Foley tried to reduce gaps he saw in their wage rates by proposing about a 4-per-cent adjustment covering 300 of the 800 employees on strike.
The announcement of the rejection of the settlement proposals brought cheers from workers gathered at the downtown central branch of Vancouver's library system.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Foley's recommendations do not meet the needs of our workers," CUPE Local 391 vice-president Ed Dickson told reporters as library workers huddled around him.
Still, he said, the recommendations could be the basis for an eventual deal.
"More work is required," he said, referring to a need for progress on pay equity, benefits and provisions for part-time workers who make up 49 per cent of the work force.
Mr. Dickson rejected a reporter's suggestion that library workers won't get a better deal than other civic workers, insisting the union went out for its issues and will settle them.
He said the mediator's suggestion the strike could drag on to 2008 was merely an opinion and not relevant to the talks ahead.
"I don't believe Mr. Foley's crystal ball is better than ours on when we're going to go back to work, but I do know that clearly [his deal] wasn't acceptable to our members here today," he said.
Local 15 president Paul Faoro said he was proud of union members "who have stood so strong, against such odds, for a reasonable contract for themselves and future city employees. It takes courage to stand up for your principles."
