But city officials also warned residents Monday to keep plugging those parking meters - the city will find a way to enforce its bylaws and write tickets. City inside workers and librarians joined outside workers from the Canadian Union of Public Employees on the picket line Monday, bringing on a full-scale shutdown of city services by its 6,000 civic employees. If the last two walkouts since 1997 are any indication, the strike could last up to two months.
Besides almost 600,000 residents in Vancouver, another 80,000 people living in the District of North Vancouver are being hit by job action from their municipal employees.
Vancouver and its unions appeared to be doing little more than trading rhetoric through the news media Monday.
The city and CUPE each claim the other's inflexibility led to the strike.
"Over the last several weeks (the union locals) have developed an unrealistic set of expectations in terms of the burden that Vancouver taxpayers should shoulder to fund their demands," said Jerry Dobrovolny, a Vancouver assistant city engineer and the city's chief spokesman during the dispute.
But Keith Graham, a member of the union's bargaining committee, said the city has pushed for a 39-month contract employees clearly found unacceptable.
Thirty-nine months would ensure labor peace beyond the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Graham said the city precipitated the showdown by going to the B.C. Labour Relations Board to force a vote on its last offer, essentially attempting an end-run around union negotiators.
"They tried this exercise so they created this hole for themselves," said Graham.
"Let's get real here. Our members shot down the employer's last offer by 89 per cent."
Graham said the union was ready to bargainers non-stop over the weekend but Dobrovolny dismissed pictures of CUPE negotiators sitting at an empty table as nothing but a "photo-op."
Meanwhile, city managers detailed a long list of services that either will be available on a limited basis or not at all for the duration of the dispute.
Skating rinks, public golf courses, community recreation and fitness centres and swimming pools are shut down.
About 2,500 children in summer day camps and some in licensed child-care facilities are affected.
"Parents have been advised and have sought out alternate programs and situations for their children," said Sue Mundick, general manager of Vancouver's parks and recreation board.
While parks are open, some washrooms will be out of service and attractions such as the Stanley Park petting zoo and children's miniature train ride will be closed.
Garbage, recycling and yard-waste collection is suspended for 90,000 single-family homes, while apartment blocks and commercial buildings continue to have private garbage pickup.
"Essentially what we're recommending is that residents reduce and reuse and recycle to the greatest extent they possibly can during the job action," said Tom Timm, general manager of engineering services.
"And beyond that, they think about treating their garbage in a way that they're going to have to save it for longer than usual."
Timm said workers will still respond to emergencies, such as broken water mains or sewers, or faulty traffic lights.
The city's Gay Pride festival and Festival of Light fireworks competition will continue to take place, posing a major headache for the city's 600 exempted managers and workers who will have to do the cleaning up.
Both events attract hundreds of thousands of people to Vancouver's downtown.
"We are asking participants, spectators to do the best they can in terms of pack it in, pack it out," he said.
Officials warned people not to expect free parking during the dispute.
Cars at expired meters will still be ticketed to ensure adequate turnover in commercial areas, and rush-hour towing will continue in order to avoid traffic congestion, said Timm.
The gets $25 million to $30 million in revenue from parking meters.
(canadaeast.com)