Many services in the City of Westmount will be interrupted starting today due to an unlimited general strike being held by the Westmount blue-collar workers, who are members of CUPE 301.
“The City tells us that it is financially healthy, but the mayor refuses to grant us the same salary increase that previous mayors have given us during the last two negotiations. Our demands are not unreasonable. We want what we have obtained in the previous 14 years,” explained Jean-Pierre Lauzon, president of CUPE 301.
The main bargaining issue is compensation. The salary offers from the City of Westmount are simply unacceptable, and the City is not ready to find a solution. The union is still awaiting a response from the City regarding their latest proposal.
“We have reached this point because the mayor refuses to take decisive action to close the deal. The residents of Westmount need to know that if these workers are not fairly compensated, services will suffer. It’s a matter of respect!” concluded the union president.
The previous collective agreement for the Westmount blue-collar workers expired on December 31, 2019.