Three CUPE Locals Vote In Favour Of A Strike In N.B.
FREDERICTON – CUPE New Brunswick members are sending a strong message to New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs.
The union announced results from their first rounds of strike votes on Tuesday afternoon, revealing the majority of workers are ready to strike.
The following are results from the three locals that have completed their strike votes:
· Local 1840 (NB Court Stenographers): 96 percent in favour of a strike, 96 percent turnout out of 73 members
· Local 1866 (WorkSafe NB): 83 percent in favour of a strike. 88 percent participation out of 138 members
· Local 5017 (NB Community Colleges): 93 percent in favour of a strike. 100 percent participation out of 89 members.
“Mr. Higgs, we hope you’re listening to this, and at the end of the day, we don’t want to be adversarial. We don’t want to be confrontational. We want to sit down like professionals and adults and work out a deal that is good for all parties,” said CUPE New Brunswick President Stephen Drost during a press conference in Moncton on Tuesday.
CUPE New Brunswick is negotiating a collective agreement for more than 22,000 workers, including individuals that have been without one for nearly five years.
The centralized bargaining team has lobbied the Higgs government for fair wages and changes to address the recruitment and retention crisis in public services.
Last year, Higgs said he would ask public-sector unions to agree to a one-year wage freeze followed by a one percent wage increase in each of the following three years.
“[Workers] aren’t asking for a lot, just to be treated fairly and to receive a decent wage increase,” said Drost.
The results come over a week after the Higgs government walked away from the table, forcing the hand of CUPE members, says Drost.
“These workers have made it very clear, the last thing in the world they want to do is step away from their job, but they feel they have no choice they’ve been backed into a corner and if that’s what’s needed their prepared to do that,” said Drost.
A series of strike votes will continue over the coming weeks, with the majority of the CUPE members still yet to vote.
Employees represented by locals 1190, 1251, 1418,1253 and 2745 will vote on Friday and Saturday after the government-provided lists reportedly omitted many voters.
CUPE Local 1252, which represents nearly 10,000 members, will vote on Sept. 23, 24 and 25, followed by CUPE Local 5026. The final votes will be tallied by October 1.
Robert Lothian is a reporter with 91.9 The Bend in Moncton, a Huddle content partner.