Librarians Strike at Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL)

BCGEU librarian strike underway in Cowichan Librarians awaiting response to their latest counteroffer

Picket lines are up at Vancouver Island Library’s Cowichan branch, as of 9 a.m., Wednesday, March 9. “The picket is the first step in escalated job action from the librarians who are awaiting response to their latest counteroffer from the employer via the Labour Relations Board mediator,” said a press release issued by the BCGEU Tuesday night. On Feb. 22 the union, which represents 42 full time employees, or 12 per cent of VIRL’s permanent workforce, announced it had voted 95 per cent in favour of job action and two days later, the BCGEU served 72-hour strike notice. Updates will be posted to https://www.bcgeu.ca/virl, and library users can check that site for updates.