Abby Times members vote to accept contract

Local 2000 members at the Abbotsford Times on Thursday voted 7-5 to accept a two-year contract with no wage increases and no other changes to their contract. Fourteen members were eligible to vote.

The bargaining committee had recommended rejection in the Labour Board supervised Last Offer Vote.

The Postmedia-owned newspaper applied for a Last Offer Vote, which a company may request under B.C. labour law, once, in any round of bargaining.

The contract runs from June 1, 2009 until May 31, 2011.

There were only three bargaining sessions despite the contract expiring on May 31, 2009. In September 2009 the company offered a three-year contract with no wage increases or other changes. In June 2010 the offer was a 27-month contract with no wage increase and this month the company put the two-year deal on the table and announced it would seek a Last Offer Vote at the Labour Board.

In 2006 members at the Abbotsford Times endured an 11-week strike to achieve a first contract.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 4:07 pm and is filed under Local News.