Sydney outside workers staged a two-day walkout October 20-21 over unauthorized contracting out by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
All 340 members of CUPE Local 759 walked out when the City brought in an outside excavator to do work at a city water main project and failed to call in unionized work crews to perform support operations.
The dispute ended when the city agreed to put unionized workers back on the site and to involve the local in advance discussions of any future contracting out work.
Local president Joe Currie attributed the walkout to “a breakdown in communication” between management and the union. Negotiations between he municipality and the union were interrupted by the walkout. No union members were disciplined.