Union objects to plan to replace Community Connections hub at downtown Winnipeg library

February 7, 2025 Canuck

The union representing the majority of City of Winnipeg workers threatened legal action over a city decision to discontinue funding to a downtown information and service hub in the Millennium Library and replace it with another service provider.

A letter sent to Mayor Scott Gillingham and city councillors by Gord Delbridge, president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, objects to the plan to bring in workers from the Downtown Community Safety Partnership to take over the space formerly occupied by Community Connections.

The space was previously staffed by city librarians and community safety hosts. The city’s 2025 budget did not include funding for the space, which closed at the end of last year.

“This is work that was normally performed by CUPE 500 members, and we were put into a position where, you know, we had to take further action,” said Delbridge.

Supporters of the space have said the hub was an accessible source of information for library users, many of them newcomers and downtown residents.

It also provided a separate space away from the main library where crisis workers could help people experiencing issues who otherwise might have posed a safety risk.

The mayor and some council members have said the city should not take on work that they say falls under provincial responsibility, such as providing information about housing and health services. They’ve also expressed concern about the fact that the space sits in the lobby, outside the metal detectors and security guards stationed at the front entrance.

The Downtown Community Safety Partnership started in 2020 as a collaboration between the province, the city, the Downtown BIZ, the Winnipeg Fire-Paramedic Service, police and True North Sports and Entertainment. It provides safety services, including community patrols in the downtown area.

At a meeting of the executive policy committee in January, DCSP executive director Greg Burnett presented a proposal to replace Community Connections with a “satellite space” for a core team of outreach workers to do casework and provide support on an as-needed basis.

It would not be intended as a drop-in site, although it would be open to the public if needed.

Community Connections began operating in 2022 as a way to address safety concerns at the library, though one city councillor questioned whether a library was an appropriate location for such services.

The cost to operate the space was about $614,000 a year.

The letter from the union says the new plan violates its collective agreement and the Labour Relations Act.

“CUPE 500 has a policy of always following our work and we will defend the scope of our bargaining unit though any means, including an application for successor rights,” the letter says.

Successor rights refers to labour code provisions that allow a bargaining agent, like a union, to represent employees and continuation of collective agreements when a business or function is sold or transferred.

Colin Fast, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a statement that unions raising concerns about work arrangements is standard and a process exists to address them.

“The Downtown Community Safety Partnership will continue providing the same services they already offer, just in an additional location, and they already have a significant presence in the library,” Fast wrote.

Delbridge said he couldn’t go into detail about what other action the union might take, but he hoped the union could come to an agreement with the city.

Their ultimate goal is to restore the Community Connections space in its original location, he said.

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