Okanagan libraries are still open and no one has written the last chapter on contract talks just yet, says Leslie Dieno. The executive director of the Okanagan Regional Library said last week's strike vote by unionized library workers is another step in the bargaining process. "We're still in negotiations. A strike vote is a standard practice," Dieno said. "Neither us nor CUPE has told the mediator we're not in negotiations any more." About 150 CUPE workers provide front-line services at 16 branches in south-central B.C. They voted 96 per cent in favour of a strike, citing the frustration they've been feeling about the slow pace of recent sessions. No immediate job action is planned. The remaining issues, like wage increases and benefits, could be resolved with some co-operation from the employer, said Rose Jurkic, president of CUPE 1123. "The employer has put us in a tough position. The work we do inside our communities is important and we don't want to see that disrupted," Jurkic said last week. The last three-year contract expired at the end of 2010. Wages have climbed in recent years but Dieno declined to discuss them in an interview. She said the two sides have different opinions. "The whole goal here is to get to an agreement in the end. I don't think particularly the (library) board wants a strike as far as I know, and CUPE says they don't want to strike." The annual operating budget of the Okanagan Regional Library's 29 branches is about $15 million. The revenue stems from a 2.6 per cent levy on local property taxes. A portion of this year's revenue went toward a new Vernon branch, Dieno said. Library collections have expanded into digital content, which can be costly, she said. "We have so many formats now, it's pretty expensive. We have databases where you can download music, we have CDs, and you can download E books and electronic audio books from our website. People are demanding more formats than they used to." Over the decades, libraries have diversified from regular print books to books with large print, to paperbacks, to books on audio tape, to books on CD. The public is demanding all formats at the same time, Dieno said. "Our costs of keeping collections up to date have gone quite high because you need all these formats, and you have to train all the staff how to use their computers and e-readers and tablets so they can read the electronic files and show the public how to use their devices." It's not clear when the two sides will resume bargaining.
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