Members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 798 have voted overwhelmingly in favour of labour action if a negotiated settlement can not be reached in the current round of bargaining with their employer.
The unionized city workers have been without a contract since December 2012, and they say there have only been 25 days of bargaining since they started the process over a year ago.
The local held its meeting Wednesday, March 25, and 98 per cent of its 150 members voted in favour of ramping up pressure on the city to negotiate a settlement. The city workers provide a wide variety of services, including maintaining the city’s parks, roads, water and sewer infrastructure. They also work at the harbour and in city hall’s finance and administration departments, a union spokesperson said.
“Our employer has tabled a very aggressive set of proposals and has been unwilling to take them off the table,” said Danielle Craigen, local president. “Given the very strong support of CUPE workers in Powell River, we are hopeful that the city rethinks its approach and gets serious about reaching a fair settlement.”
The union identified two key issues they hope the employer will address: fair treatment for part-timers and job security for all workers.
The local will need to give 72 hours’ strike notice to act on the vote which the local president said would remain valid for three months.
But the union wants to focus on finding a negotiated settlement at the bargaining table.
The Peak contacted city hall but no one was available to provide comment before press time.
