CUPE Cornwall city workers to vote on employer’s last offer

As previously reported, the City of Cornwall has requested a vote supervised by the Ministry of Labour in its labour dispute with city workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). In light of information from the Ministry of Labour about the delayed timeline for a supervised vote (the Ministry has informed us they cannot hold the vote before June 15^th at the earliest, in accordance with their procedures), CUPE has decided to put the employer’s last offer before members for a vote on Monday, June 4^th.

“Given that the City has refused to return to the table to bargain until a vote happens, we can’t in good conscience allow members to wait for more than two weeks to vote on the employer’s last offer,” said Alison Denis, CUPE national representative. “Nor do we want Cornwall residents to be deprived of vital services for longer than is necessary. We think it’s responsible to accelerate this timeline, and so we will hold the vote ourselves.”

CUPE sent a letter to Mayor O’Shaughnessy and City representatives last night, advising them of our intention to hold the vote. In the letter, CUPE representatives said, “Should any local agree to what the City proposed in its offer of May 15^th, CUPE will respect that decision.  Conversely, should any local vote down your proposed offer, we anticipate that you will instruct your representatives to return to the bargaining table right away to continue our joint work toward resolution.”

CUPE anticipates having vote results late Monday evening.