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WEDNESDAY JUNE 17, 2015
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LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
Drive to recall Lee is scuttled Organizers say threshold too high By Tereza Verenca
editorial@burnabynow.com
The recall campaign to oust Burnaby North MLA Richard Lee has ended because organizers couldn’t get enough signatures. Burnaby teacher Jennifer Heighton told the NOW B.C. Citizens for Recall was unable to meet the threshold by the June 15 deadline - 40 per cent of registered voters within a 60 day period (about 16,500 signatures). “That’s a huge number to get in 60 days, especially when you’re a grassroots group and there’s challenges like you can’t go into apartment buildings or condos,” she said. “A lot of times people weren’t home.” Heighton added voter apathy was another road block. “A lot of them said, ‘I don’t vote, so I’m not going to sign,’” she said. “This Continued on page 5
WILD WATER Lianna Dall’Antonia, left, and Madison Michielin get into character while performing a duet that won the Burnaby Caprice Synchronized Swim Club pair a gold medal at the recent Jean Peters provincial championships at the club’s annual Water Show at C.G. Brown Pool on Saturday. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER
Firefighters’ talks stall on arbitrator Burnaby and firefighters’ union are in mediation in effort to get a new collective agreement
By Cayley Dobie
cdobie@burnabynow.com
It could be 2016 before Burnaby firefighters get a new contract, and that’s only if the city and union can agree on an arbitrator. It’s been nearly four months since the City of Burnaby and the International Association of Firefighters Local 323, which represents 281 firefighters in Burnaby, met for mediation, and since then there has been minimal movement towards a new contract. In fact, both parties are still trying to agree on an arbitrator.
“It’s kind of hard to decide when they keep throwing back the same name to us. We’ve offered four and they offered three, and then we said no to the three and then they offered one of the three back again to us,” said Rob Lamoureux, president of Local 323. Lamoureux said the union’s top choice is well-known arbitrator Vince Ready, who recently negotiated a deal for firefighters in Prince George, but because he’s so in-demand, it’s unlikely he would be available before the new year. Lambert Chu, deputy city manager and liaison for the Burnaby Fire Department, is
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hoping, however, to get the process moving as soon as possible. “We’re trying to find an arbitrator that has a fairly open schedule to allow us to get a quick appointment so that the case can be heard,” Chu said. At this point, however, Lamoureux said he and the firefighters are willing to wait for the right arbitrator, especially since they’ve been waiting more than three years for a new contract. “We’ve waited so long we want to make sure we get the right arbitrator,” Lamoureux said. “I don’t want to take our chances and roll the dice with anybody. Another six months, it’s no big deal now, we’re already three years in.” The NOW asked Chu if anyone on council or the mayor was trying to drag this pro-
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cess out, considering how long it’s taken so far, but he was adamant that council and the mayor aren’t involved in the negotiations. “This is done right at the staff level.This contract negotiation is carried out through the city manager’s office and a representative from the fire union, and we basically keep our council informed of the progress, but the council isn’t involved in any negotiation,” Chu said. Lamoureux doesn’t buy that. “I would disagree. I can’t believe that,” he said. “I can’t believe that this is being … controlled by the city manager’s office. “You look at common sense and you look at what’s gone on in the whole region.We’re at 22 locals – two arbitrated and 20 Continued on page 4
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