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Brampton Library CEO Todd Kyle told The Pointer that even though workers voted to strike, all nine branches were open and busy throughout the summer. <\/p>\n
(The Pointer\/Alexis Wright)<\/p>\n
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At the time, Brampton Library CEO Todd Kyle told The Pointer that all nine branches had remained open on their normal hours through the dispute, calling the summer one of the system\u2019s busiest thanks in part to a well-used summer reading program. Both sides said conciliation was underway even as the strike mandate vote landed.<\/p>\n
CUPE 1776\u2019s collective agreement with the library expired March 31, and the two sides had been at the table since. The Union\u2019s central complaint was less about a single number and more about predictability \u2013 thin schedules that get shuffled to cover sick calls, cancelling programming like makerspace sessions, and as the Vice President Stefanie Cowton told The Pointer in August, insufficient wages that left workers relying on food banks amid an ongoing affordability crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dispute unfolded against a backdrop of tight municipal funding. Brampton Library\u2019s operating budget rose just 1.4 percent for 2026, to $22.6 million, following $22.2 million in 2025 and $21.4 million in 2024. These increases, the union said, didn\u2019t come close to matching Brampton\u2019s growth or inflation, as previously detailed by The Pointer<\/a>. Kyle had argued the library fared comparatively better against other municipally funded services, saying the system held non-union positions back to protect front-line staffing.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Brampton Library has struggled with funding cuts due to Mayor Patrick Brown\u2019s repeated budget freezes. <\/p>\n (The Pointer\/Alexis Wright)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The union\u2019s frustration also landed amid a longer pattern of capital funding cuts to the library under Mayor Patrick Brown\u2019s repeated budget freezes, including a roughly $1.7 million reduction in 2024, and a further drop from $1.74 million to $850,000 in 2025, even as the City\u2019s own infrastructure assessment found more than a third of the library\u2019s furniture and equipment in \u201cvery poor\u201d condition.<\/p>\n The ratification became official, and in a statement, the Union said, \u201cThis agreement marks the first time in more than 15 years that library workers have seen their wages increase compared to inflation. It also improves benefits and protections for part-time workers, and comes without concessions that would have been damaging to programming and services. It is an important step by the library, and we hope the public will continue to show support for library services by asking candidates about library funding during the municipal elections.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Email: [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories\u00a0to ensure every resident of Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial\u00a0HERE<\/a>. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brampton Library workers have voted to ratify a new collective agreement with their employer, avoiding what would have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[90],"class_list":["post-186217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brampton","tag-brampton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6a90dad6f3245.jpg\")
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