Happy Valley-Goose Bay – CUPE municipal workers with the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador have voted strongly in favour of strike action.
CUPE National Representative Ed White says, “The members of Local 2019 have voted 96% in favour of job action to back their Bargaining Committee’s position in contract talks with the Town.
“This employer has tabled a major concession in the form a ‘two-tiered’ pension plan. Current employees have a defined benefit pension plan (DB) and the town wants to move to an inferior defined contribution plan (DC) for all new hires,” says White.
CUPE says a DC plan is nothing more than a glorified RRSP, which provides no real retirement security for employees.
Says White, “The mayor and council have added insult to injury by recently giving themselves whopping salary increases, in most cases doubling their yearly income.
“This strike vote result shows this employer that their employees are determined to fight to protect their pension plan into the future.
“Let’s hope it also provides the incentive to get back to the table and negotiate a settlement to this dispute that is fair and reasonable for these hard-working town employees,” says White.