N E W
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2010
W E S T M I N S T E R
INSIDE FEATURE: One for the history books ◗P11
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THE BREADWINNERS
◗ CITY ELECTRICAL DEPT.
Workers get new contract BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
The power will be staying on in the Royal City for the foreseeable future. Following four months of negotiations, the City of New Westminster and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 213 reached an agreement on a new contract for 12 employees with the City of New Westminster Electrical Utility. On Nov. 4, Local 213 ratified the memorandum of agreement, which covers a two-year term from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2012. The agreement includes a five per cent increase for some worker classifications. “It’s always important to conclude bargaining successfully for any department,” said Joan Burgess, the city’s director of human resources. “When you are bargaining, a certain tension develops and it is difficult to get focused on other things.” Employees represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers maintain the electrical distribution system, which supplies electrical power to customers in the City of New Westminster. “The history of the City of New Westminster and the Electrical Utility is we follow the trend with B.C. Hydro,” Burgess said. “We have had to maintain comparability with Hydro’s wages to keep our staff.” Between Hydro and private sector contractors, Burgess said it has been challenging to retain staff in certain areas. She noted ◗Deal Page 4
Kevin Hill/THE RECORD
Loafing on the job: Julia Nordquist and Kelsey Henderson of A Bread Affair at this year’s first winter market held Saturday at the Holy Trinity Church. The special winter market will be held the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Short walk to a new season BY ANDREW FLEMING REPORTER afleming@royalcityrecord.com
The Royal City Farmers Market vendors aren’t letting the end of the harvest season put an end to their weekly fun. Instead, they’ve again simply moved a short way from their Tipperary Park site indoors to Holy Trinity Church. “Holy Trinity was great for us last year, and we think it is a perfect location in terms of what we’re doing,” said market manager Jen Arbo. This year marks the second year in a row of winter markets in the Royal City, and although they barely broke even last year, Arbo still considers it to have been a success.
“We got a great response,” she said. “We didn’t make a penny last year – in fact we probably even lost a little because we had to do things like buy advertising – but it was really important for us to bring what we bring to the community. The vendors are really on board with it and really love the shoppers. We had so many requests to do it again that we just figured there is no point in not doing it.” The monthly markets will be open the second Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the downtown church on at 514 Carnarvon St. While there won’t be much in the way of farm-fresh fruits and veggies, there is still plenty to choose from, with over 30 vendors selling a variety of produce, handmade delicacies and crafts.
“I think it is safe to say from this point out that it will be a regular event,” Arbo said. “Whether we up our frequency to twice a month, that remains to be seen down the road. Vancouver (Farmers Markets) made the decision this year to go once a week, and I think that’s a really lofty and fantastic they feel there is enough of a market to support it, but we wanted to make sure that we could sustain our own vendors. You don’t want to bring a half-level quality. We knew that if we tried to bring it more than once a month, that could become a concern, and we didn’t want to overextend.” For more information, check out www. rcfm.com or their site on Facebook. www.twitter.com/flematic
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