In Newfoundland and Labrador, the members of CUPE 1896, Marystown municipal workers, will take a strike vote on Thursday, May 4, to send a message asking town council to return to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract. Members were upset to learn that their wages were negotiated in council chambers without the union’s bargaining team present, late last year.

After serving notice to bargain in September 2016, the union finally had the opportunity to begin negotiations with the employer in January 2017.

CUPE Local 1896 President Stacey Mallay says, “We wonder if the employer’s low wage offer, in the first year of the contract, is related to the amount of money spent on investigations into internal conflicts that recently occurred within council.”

“The members want a fair deal that’s negotiated at the bargaining table – not in council chambers,” says Ed White, CUPE National Representative.

CUPE Local 1896 represents approximately 20 members who work in positions including clerical staff, heavy equipment operators, mechanics, labourers and water treatment plant operators.