Sarnia, Ont. city workers give strike mandate; Workers strike at Coca-Cola Calgary plant
VIA Rail agreement ratified
TORONTO — Members of Unifor, Council 4000 voted to accept a collective agreement with VIA Rail on March 15.
The new two-year contract covers 1,700 maintenance workers, on-board service personnel, chefs, sales agents and customer service staff at VIA Rail.
Highlights include a two-per-cent wage increase for all workers, increased pension contributions for members of the hybrid plan and new and improved benefits, says the union.
“Even while at the bargaining table, we negotiated pandemic wage top-ups, benefits protections, and navigated unprecedented threats to members’ health and safety,” says Dave Kissack, Unifor, Council 4000 president.
Sarnia, Ont. city workers give strike mandate
SARNIA, Ont. — Municipal workers for the City of Sarnia have given their union an overwhelming strike mandate in votes held over the week of March 8.
The workers — who are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Locals 153, 2713 and 3690 — work for the city in public works, parks and recreation and as inside workers. Their combined average strike vote was 97 per cent in favour of taking strike action if necessary, says the union.
“Our goal in these negotiations is to get a fair deal for our members and keep important services running,” says Jorge Paiva, president of CUPE 2713, which represents parks and recreation workers. “When the pandemic hit, our members were flexible, they stepped up and took on new jobs to help the city deal with the situation; we want to continue to provide these important services for the people of Sarnia.”
Combined, the CUPE locals represent 225 municipal workers who deliver services to the residents of Sarnia. All three of their collective agreements expired on Dec. 31, says CUPE.
Negotiations are ongoing for all three locals. Each local filed for conciliation, meaning that negotiations will continue with the assistance of a provincially appointed conciliator who will work with both sides to try and find common ground, says the union.
“With this mandate from our members, and the help of the conciliator we hope to get negotiations moving toward a fair deal,” says Doug Downie, president of CUPE 3690, which represents Sarnia’s inside workers.
Workers strike at Coca-Cola Calgary plant
CALGARY – About 268 workers at the Coca-Cola Refreshments Calgary plant went on strike on March 15.
The dispute involves members of Teamsters, Local Union 987 of Alberta who are asking for access to job security and protection from third-party outsourcing as part of their collective agreement, says the union.
The affected union workers voted 94 per cent in favour of strike action on March 4. They are employed in warehouse, production, distribution and equipment service roles. The strike will also likely affect delivery of beverage products to Alberta customers, including restaurants, grocery and retail stores.
“Coca-Cola employees simply want to do their jobs with some level of predictability from their employer,” says Brock Penner, business agent, Teamsters, Local 987.
The previous agreement expired on Oct 1, 2020. Teamsters 987 has not had to take strike action since 2004, says the union.
