Port Moody "sweetheart" labour deal costs taxpayers $450,000

CityCaucus.com Mike Klassen in Editorial (excerpts below)

For many of us that live in Metro Vancouver, the labour dispute that hit both Vancouver and North Vancouver in 2007 is only a memory, albeit a bitter one for many involved. The municipalities in Metro Vancouver were bargaining hard to keep wage settlements down (good foresight given what happened to our economy in following years), but in the end Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie broke ranks and signed a sweetheart deal with CUPE. The collective agreement provided unions with over 17.5% in pay raises over five years, and a bunch of new benefits. Once Richmond folded, Vancouver and North Vancouver were essentially stuck with no option but to match Richmond's deal. These cities were "whipsawed" into submission.

One important detail often overlooked was that Port Moody actually became the first city in Metro Vancouver to sign a collective agreement in 2007 – agreed to before Richmond's deal. Port Moody's agreement was for approximately 39 months and would have provided their employees with 9.75% in pay increases. The signed agreement was set to expire last March – just at the end of the 2010 Games. In theory, the management in Port Moody would by now have negotiated a new collective agreement with their employees. However, instead of trying to reach a new labour deal, Port Moody city council quietly chose to reward their employees with the same generous 17.5% deal provided by Richmond, Vancouver and other cities in the region. (more)

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So how much did voluntarily re-opening their collective agreement cost Port Moody taxpayers? We posed this question to the City Manager, and here is how Mr. Royer responds:

The collective agreement required to be modified to 1) add the two annual increases and 2) extend the term. This was done by mutual agreement between CUPE Local 825 and the city. Final approval of the amendment required:

• Resolution by Port Moody Council
• Vote by CUPE Local 825 membership
• Port Moody being a member of the Metro Vancouver Labour Relations Bureau, ratification by the Bureau was also required

The additional 4% per year for two years adds up to approximately $450,000 (Jan 1st 2010 to Dec 31st 2011). For Port Moody, this translates into a 2% property tax increase.

Some qualifications regarding the cost difference. There is no guarantee that a net 0% agreement with municipal unions could be reached in the region even though this is what provincial unions settled for. What I said is that it is highly unlikely that settlements would reach the 4% mark in the context of an economy that is emerging from a recession.

Kudos to Mr. Royer, who unlike senior officials in Vancouver that obfuscate, hide behind privacy legislation or simply don't respond to emails, was open and honest about the impact of re-opening this collective agreement had on Port Moody taxpayers. It's refreshing to know that some cities still have professional and non-partisan public servants that you can rely upon to give you responses to simple and basic questions.