Written by Carmel Edmonds – Feburary 27, 2024

Last night I attended the Living Wage Conversation that was held at the Maritime Labour Union Hall.
The night air was brisk that eve as I walked down triumph into Parallel 49.
Here, I was met by a group of familiar bodies amongst a sea of faces.

I talked lightly about the thoughts others had on the living wage policy being voted to be re-instated on
Wednesday, February 27, 2024 at the a COV council meeting.

If any of you are not familiar with what this means click into this link:
https://vancouver.ca/doing-business/fair-wage-program.aspx

Basically what the C.O.V has done is take the base wage of $25.08 and cut it down to $21.08.

The meeting commenced with three distinct speakers sharing their experiences directly related to the living wage policy: a mother, a university student, an advocate for a organization that supports women impacted by sex trafficking, and lastly, an elder gentleman named Gary.

Gary Jarvis is a member of CUPE 391 – Vancouver Public Library (VPL), and has worked there since 15 years ago. When he stood at the podium, he mentioned how in 2016, the living wage was unanimously voted on Canada wide. Gary felt the direct impact of the living wage policy and its positive affects on his livelihood. He noted that the increase led to “happier workers” who afforded a better living experience in our well-known, yet still expensive city of Vancouver.

There after city council member Christine Boyle gave mention of where she stood on the living wage, but to me what stood out is the fact that –“Workers deserve to live where they work.” Which is exactly true for our members.
Ever since our last round of bargaining our membership went through a 14-16 % percent wage increase.
Which was the highest increase in HEABC history! (Yay – that is a big deal) This brought us to a living wage.

Former VDLC president and current Chair of the BC Labour Heritage Centre, Joey Hartmann, took the stage to delve deeper into the significance of a living wage and its original purpose of bridging socioeconomic disparities. Joey emphasized the enormous impact of collective efforts from different organizations, highlighting Campaign 2000 as a prime example. According to Joey, it’s within such concerted endeavours that unions thrive most effectively.

>>For more information on the amazing and groundbreaking work behind Campaign 2000 please follow the link below. This campaign was an initiative in in the early 2000’s that supported the creation of the living wage!
For more information on the Campaign 2000: https://campaign2000.ca/about-us/our-story/

Also a comprehensive report on the Living Wage:

https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/237/2023/08/FWC-Report-Living-Wage-2023-Final.pdf

For any members that struggle to remember like me what exactly those details of when our CUPE CBA Bargaining committee, and union partners reached a tentative agreement please read on.

“The Tentative Agreement represents substantial gains in key areas identified by members, including significant wage increases averaging 14% to 16% for each step of the wage grid over three years. To get a more accurate picture of what this means for you, please use our wage calculator at: www.bargainingbc.ca/CBA_ratification.  
The agreement also includes protecting workers’ benefits and providing greater control over working conditions; significant gains on wage parity with those working under the Facilities Agreement (FBA) in hospitals and care facilities; a variety of improvements to address chronic recruitment and retention issues; premium increases for weekend, evening, and night shifts; the extension of the CRA vehicle allowance to all employees covered by the CBA and much more.”

For full details, please see the Comprehensive Summary and the Tentative Agreement.

Comprehensive Summary and the tentative Agreement released January 31, 2023.> https://www.bargainingbc.ca/CBA_ratification?fbclid=IwAR3MWtF2M-ePsgfFYIjrzK16VkHhSQnEZFsUUW7rc9dxlCH-qdQY0BFgeqs 

Joey drives home the point that focuses on the notion that we are stronger together. It’s reminds me that living in Vancouver can be isolating, making it incredibly challenging to forge meaningful connections. Did you know that your interests likely align with those of your neighbours during this time that we live in? However, the reality is that we’re greatly focused on our work lives, or at least thats true for frontline workers, which sometimes leaves little time to be genuinely kind and engage in issues that matter greatly to us individually but affect us all collectively as a society.

As for myself, I certainly think I don’t have the time or at least I prefer being homebound. My collective safe space allows me to unwind, lean into the company of my pets, and fully disconnect from the day’s stresses, but here I am, sitting in the well of my thoughts thinking about inflation again, and the living wage disparity.

Maybe I should go outside.

“R.I.P Mr. Mulroney” – I’m sure Mr. Mandela would have said the same.