It appears the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is closer to landing a new building than landing a new collective agreement with workers.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 15, announced Jan. 28 it has issued 72-hour strike notice to the gallery.
About 200 workers have been operating without a collective agreement since July 2017.
Discussions, meanwhile, have been ongoing for more than eight months.
The parties are scheduled to meeting Jan. 29 and 30, while CUPE 15 said it will be positioned to strike on Jan. 31.
CUPE 15 said the gallery is attempting to cut workers’ sick leave and change what it calls “long-standing scheduling practices.”
"After months of bargaining, [VAG] managers continue to pursue major concessions, and two-tier working conditions and scheduling models," CUPE 15 president Warren Williams said in a statement.
"The VAG's business managers have rejected a number of reasonable counter-proposals, and this has left us with no choice but to move forward with job action."
VAG spokeswoman Johanie Marcoux told Business in Vancouver in an email that monetary discussions are ongoing and her organization will continue to bargain in good faith.
“The Vancouver Art Gallery continues to engage in a collaborative and respectful bargaining process with CUPE 15 as both sides work towards a new collective agreement,” she said.
The threat of a strike comes less than a week after the Chan family donated $40 million to help construct a new building for the gallery in downtown Vancouver.
It’s the largest private sector donation in B.C. history to an arts and culture project
-With a file from Glen Korstrom
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