NEW GLASGOW, NS – Vocational workers employed by Summer Street Industries in New Glasgow will be back at the bargaining table this morning, in an effort to avoid a possible strike.
CUPE Local 2330 President Nan McFadgen says, “The employees there have given the union a strong strike mandate after trying to reach a first contract for over 18 months.
“While the last thing these CUPE members want is a disruption of Summer Street’s services to the residents of Pictou County, this employer needs to understand that their employees deserve fair working conditions that move them forward, not backwards,” says McFadgen.
“Instead of working with CUPE to try and negotiate a settlement that is both fair and reasonable, the management at Summer Street appears to be trying to punish its employees for choosing to join a union. They have offered them less than they already had - as if to provoke a strike,” she says.
With a possible strike looming, the talks will be assisted by Ken Zwicker, a veteran Conciliation Officer with the provincial Department of Labour.
Summer Street is a sheltered workshop for adults with intellectual disabilities.