Only one staff member of the Nelson youth centre remains in their position following a vote to unionize last summer. Some employees left voluntarily, others didn’t.
But the City of Nelson hopes new management will be able to revamp the facility, expand its offerings and explore new partnerships.
“The rest of the city is unionized, so really this is nothing new,” chief financial officer Colin McClure told the Star, refuting community rumours that unionization led to the departure of the centre’s employees.
The downtown facility has been under scrutiny in the past few weeks, as a circulating petition with over 2,000 signatures has urged the city to reconsider it’s introduction of new admission fees.
Spearheaded by former manager Stephanie Meitz, the petition has given residents an opportunity to voice their displeasure with how the youth centre’s currently being run, with online comments accusing the city of further marginalizing at-risk youth.
At the time of the unionization vote in the summer of 2016, the youth centre had approximately 13 employees with roles ranging from youth support worker to campground attendant. Many of those were temporary or part-time positions.
The four-and-a-half-year CUPE 339 agreement is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2016 and includes compensation for new clothing and training, as well as a letter of agreement about breaks and volunteer scheduling. Employees will receive a one per cent wage increase this year and in 2018, and a 1.5 per cent increase in 2019. All employees will receive a 35-cent-per-hour increase on June 30, 2020.
But of the employees present for the vote, only two still have positions — and one of them is on a leave of absence.
Youth centre joins CUPE 339
Mike Stefiuk is the president of CUPE 339, the larger local representing other city workers that the youth centre has joined, and he believes unionization will breathe life into an organization that “had gone a little stale.”
“This is their first collective agreement, so they don’t have as many bells and whistles as the main local, but now youth centre staff have more job security and someone to stand up for them when needed,” Stefiuk said.
During the bargaining process, Stefiuk met with city manager Kevin Cormack, McClure and current manager Sarah Winton to develop the collective agreement, which was finalized in April and has now come into effect.
McClure said Winton, who has since been promoted to deputy corporate officer in the city, made significant improvements to the administration of the centre and introduced new programming.
“I was very pleased Sarah came to Nelson, and that I got to see her play out some great ideas. She’s got an entrepreneurial spirit, and she’s constantly thinking about what else we could be doing. I’m very grateful for the energy and time and direction she provided for our youth,” McClure said.
He said they’re fully staffed.
“We now have two staff on each night, whereas before we only had one. We also have two people working on Saturdays. On top of that we’ve got two full-time support workers, two full-time youth employment workers and about three or four casuals.”
‘We all want the same things’
The eight months Winton was in charge of the centre were tumultuous, but she’s proud of the work she accomplished and believes it’s a perfect time for her replacement Alanna Carmichael to take the reins — just in time for their big flea market and food truck event on Oct. 1.
“She’s got the background and the approach that will grow this place and make it even more wonderful than it is now,” Winton told the Star.
“We’ve created a team that is solid and strong, we’re all on the same page and we all want the same things — whether you’re talking about the youth centre, the employment centre or the campground.”
When she was brought on to help finalize the collective agreement, she found it difficult to weigh different priorities. They wanted to keep the jobs accessible to young people while making the positions attractive.
“The vision was to keep it appealing to that younger group of staff who would be comfortable making $13.50 an hour to hang with other kids, be energetic, and really put energy into having fun,” she said.
“It did work out in the end, and I think there’s a decent agreement there for everybody.”
‘We’ll have a more watchful eye on the youth centre’
Stefiuk doesn’t see the high turnover rate as cause for concern. Now that the city has hired Carmichael he’s excited to see how things progress. He believes union representation will give staff a transparent system for how to deal with staff conflicts, hiring, and wage negotiations.
He also believes it will allow the city to keep a tighter rein on the operation.
“Some of these positions are under restructuring because now they have a new manager in place, so they’ll be changing up the job positions to meet their needs. There’s going to be more on-the-job training, and we’ll have a more watchful eye on the youth centre so it’ll be a better place moving forward.”
McClure said there are a number of reasons why the youth centre staff left.
“The youth centre is supposed to be a training ground. Most people don’t come looking for a 30, 40-year career, so we do get a lot of turnover — there were some who left because their spouse was in Vancouver or because they thought it was time to move on, while there were some who weren’t happy with the direction the youth centre was going,” he said.
“Naturally the biggest difference is the protections staff will get from being members of the union. There will be a process for managing seniority, and if skills and abilities are equal and you’ve been there the longest, you’ll get priority.”
Stefiuk considers the staff there a crucial part of the city’s strategy to support youth, and believes that it shouldn’t be a tax burden if it’s properly run.
“I think this is a positive move forward for our workers and youth, so let’s hope it’s going to be a smooth ride for the next four years.”