Library lockout averted as FVRL staff accept offer

Published 10:45 am Thursday, March 5, 2026

A lockout that could have led to the shutdown of dozens of library branches in across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley has been averted.

The Fraser Valley Regional Library announced on Tuesday, March 3 it had given 72-hour lockout notice to about 300 library workers in the CUPE 1698 local.

If the lockout had gone ahead, libraries in Langley, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Port Coquitlam, Delta, White Rock, and Boston Bar, among others, would have been closed on Friday.

On Thursday morning, FVRL announced that management put forward a new bargaining proposal to the union on Wednesday, and the CUPE local has tentatively accepted.

The deal will have to be ratified by the union membership.

If approved, the deal is a four-year contract which will give library workers wage increase of four per cent in 2025, three per cent in 2026, three per cent in 2027, and three per cent in 2028.

“The new proposal will create service stability for our communities and certainty for FVRL and FVRL staff to fiscal 2029 on wages and benefits,” said a statement from FVRL management.

The FVRL is the largest library system in the province, serving more than 928,000 people across 15 communities.