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JOE Local 882

MEDIA RELEASE

February 2013 #4

CITY WORKERS ARE TAXPAYERS TOO

IUOE members are the latest victims of Williams Lake City Council trying to solve its financial problems by being greedy and dealing with people in an unprofessional and unfair way. Members of the public are angry and are coming forward with first hand accounts of fiscal mismanagement by the City of Williams Lake. We are hearing stories about the Cariboo Regional District. Council reneged on that deal after trying to squeeze more money for the fire protection agreement, and it backfired. City Council now faces losing over $700,000.00 in valuable revenue because it 'pushed too far (sounds like a common theme when The City is involved in negotiations) . The CRDmay now build its own fire hall. Now, the City in all its wisdom is trying to make up that money, plus the money it has wasted on high-priced lawyers since it was elected on the backs of its own workers by demanding rollbacks and concessions at the bargaining table. In both cases,the City tries to look like the reasonable party by demanding mediation. Mediation is for a stalemate over a few issues. It will not solve the problem of the City management team demanding concessions before it considers Union proposals. Only fair and reasonable bargaining will achieve this. Since being elected in 2011, Council has spent tens of thousands of dollars of your taxpayer dollars on high priced lawyers to force out the previous Chief Administrative Officer {and then thousands of dollars more on a headhunter to find a new one), defend the City in court due to the fire protection issue, and to help the City in negotiations. This is taxpayers' money thrown away due to mismanagement and greed. In a previous media release, the City said its employees are valuable and that their hard work should be acknowledged. Cutting off workers'benefits and refusing to deal fairly is no way to show how much the City values its workers. It tells workers they are less important than the almighty dollar. It tells workers that the City does not care about them or their ability to feed and care for their families. It is vindictive and destructive . . lUGE has offered a common sense approach, reasonable solutions to issues raised by the management bargaining team, only to be told "it's our way or nothing." That is not bargaining. This is bullying and intimidation. "The Union refuses to be the scapegoat for Council's financial mismanagement. We are not responsible for its problems, and our members are not the ones who should have to~payfor their

mismanagement. We are willing to negotiate a deal that works for everyone, but we willnot be bullied, and our members will not be the ones to pay for Council's bad decisions." We urge all residents concerned that their elected officials are acting in an unprofessional and unfair manner to contact them. Tell them to direct management to bargain fairly with its workers. Mayor Kerry Cook: (250) 398-7213 mayor@williamslake.ca
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Councillor Ivan Bonnell: ibonnell@williamslake.ca Councillor Surinderpal Rathor: srathor@williamslake.ca Councillor Danica Hughes: dhughes@williamslake.ca Councillor Sue Zacharias: szacharias@williamslake.ca Councillor laurie Walters: Iwalters@williamslake.ca Councillor Geoff Bourdon: gbourdon@williamslake.ca

Adrian David, President

IUOE Local 882

Saundra Taylor, Business Manager

IUOE Local 882