THESSALON Striking Town of Thessalon workers overwhelmingly rejected the Towns last contract offer today, voting 80 per cent against it in a vote ordered by the Ministry of Labour, at the request of the employer.
Were not surprised by the result, says Christine Bird, National Representative of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). When the Mayor and Town Council tried to make an end-run around the union and forced this vote on our members, they were wasting the publics time and needlessly prolonging the strike.
The Town asked the Ministry of Labour to order the vote after the unions negotiating team had already rejected the offer in mediation. In the majority of cases, such forced votes are rejected by the membership, because they are seen as an attempt to sidestep the democratically elected union representatives and bargaining reps.
The only way this strike can be settled, is for the Town to come back to the bargaining table with a fair contract offer without demanding any concessions, says Bird.
For further information, please contact:
Christine Bird
CUPE National Representative
Sault Ste. Marie Area Office
705-949-6221
Robert Lamoureux
CUPE Communications
416-292-3999