The City of Vancouver is under no real pressure to settle its disputes with striking outside workers and library workers, according to a labour relations expert.

Mark Thompson, a former professor at UBC's Sauder School of Business, made this assessment on October 10, the day after the three striking locals of the Canadian Union of Public Employees cast a divided vote on the recommendations made by mediator Brian Foley.

Inside workers represented by CUPE Local 15 approved Foley's recommendations, but outside workers of Local 1004 and library workers of Local 391 voted against the proposed settlement. "They [the City of Vancouver] could say, 'Look we went through a legitimate third-party intervention and we'd live with that, and if the union isn't happy with that, they'll have to pay the price,'" Thompson told the Straight . "Some of the development work will be done now by Local 15 members; they're still saving money."

Thompson noted that with apartment buildings and commercial establishments being serviced by private trash collectors, the non-collection of garbage by Local 1004 members isn't hurting the city as much. "I'm amazed how well the garbage has been handled by management and the citizens of Vancouver," he said.

Thompson also pointed out that compared with outside workers, who also handle water, sewage, and street-repair works, library workers are seen as having no strong leverage in terms of delivering services. "They're going to be out there a while," he said. "I just don't see where they're going to be able to exert much pressure on the city."

Alexandra Youngberg, president of Local 391, told the Straight that her group is willing to sit down with management to see how Foley's recommendations can be improved. "We need to have a discussion," she said. As the Straight went to press on October 10, city council was scheduled to meet behind close doors to vote on the mediator's proposed settlement packages for the three CUPE locals.

"The rule in labour relations is that they [the mediators] are neutral, the Brian Foleys are not going to make big breakthroughs for you," Thompson said. "You have to do that in bargaining."

A breakthrough is also what two Lower Mainland mayors are hoping for, noting that their municipalities are feeling some of the ripple effects of the Vancouver civic strike. Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan told the Straight that Burnaby's garbage volume has increased, raising the pressure on the city's incinerator. He noted that a number of Vancouverites are either asking their Burnaby friends to take in their trash or just leaving garbage in city bins.

"We certainly want to see this situation end as quickly as possible," Corrigan said. "It's not good for the region. While we're doing business as usual, it's adding problems for us." Corrigan said that Burnaby's recreation centres, golf courses, and libraries are also overflowing with people.

North Vancouver mayor Darrell Mussatto told the Straight that the city's library has seen a "slight increase" in the number of users since the Vancouver library workers went on strike. The city is getting requests from Vancouver residents for the use of its playing fields, he added.

What's having the largest impact on North Vancouver, according to Mussatto, is the longer lineup at the city's garbage transfer station. "The transfer station is quite busy," he said. "Our [garbage] trucks have to queue up as well."

Like Corrigan, Mussatto observed that some Vancouverites are taking their garbage to friends' houses for disposal. He also said that the city has received "anecdotal reports" of garbage being left beside bins and dumpsters filling up more quickly than usual.

New Westminster mayor Wayne Wright told the Straight that his city hasn't encountered problems similar to those of Burnaby and North Vancouver. "I've had no reports of people dumping into our property," he said. "Burnaby shields us from that coming."

See related stories on the Vancouver civic workers strike at Straight.com:

Vancouver outside workers and library workers reject mediator's offer; inside workers vote "yes" (October 9, 2007)
A side exit from the strike (September 27, 2007)
A strike about nothing throttles residents (September 27, 2007)
Labour expert says it will be hard for union and city to reject an agreement based on mediator's recommendations (September 26, 2007)
Library workers agree to enhanced mediation (September 26, 2007)
Vancouver civic workers strike undermines MS patient's recovery (September 21, 2007)
Civic strike harms the poor (September 13, 2007)
Is the civic workers strike exacerbating the gap between rich and poor in Vancouver? (September 13, 2007)
Sam Sullivan's strike strategy (September 13, 2007)
Suzanne Anton: Vision using strike for political gain (August 16, 2007)
Strike stalls developers (August 9, 2007)
Strike shuts down meeting (August 2, 2007)
NPA divided on strike refund (August 2, 2007)
Rats, yes, but bacteria love garbage strikes too (July 26, 2007)
Long strike could jeopardize construction (July 26, 2007)
Negotiations stalled on civic-worker contracts (June 14, 2007)