Longshore union negotiators will brief workers about a new tentative collective agreement with employers, ahead of a two-day vote on whether to approve the deal that could finally bring an end to British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 long-running port dispute.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada says on its website the vote will take place Thursday and Friday and reiterates that the groupB次元官网网址檚 leadership caucus is recommending acceptance of the deal to its 7,400 members.
It says a B次元官网网址渟top workB次元官网网址� meeting will be held Wednesday morning at the unionB次元官网网址檚 Vancouver headquarters, with members of the contract negotiating committee answering questions and all members encouraged to attend.
The dispute over a new collective agreement included a strike from July 1 to 13 that froze cargo movements in and out of 30 port terminal and other sites in B.C.
Labour observers are urging caution ahead of the vote, saying thereB次元官网网址檚 a history of union members rejecting deals struck at the negotiating table.
A previous tentative agreement was rejected by ILWU members last week, and University of Manitoba associate professor of labour studies David Camfield said such outcomes remain a possibility. Workers involved in the Ontario Metro supermarket strike also voted down a negotiated deal.
Camfield said union members rejecting a negotiated deal may be becoming more frequent in the short term.
B次元官网网址淚 think what weB次元官网网址檝e seen is a reminder that no one should take for granted what the outcome will be on a ratification vote,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 often an assumption that workers will just vote in favour if their bargaining committee, their leadership, is recommending that they accept a deal.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 think thatB次元官网网址檚 the single most notable feature of those two strikes, that workersB次元官网网址� expectations are higher than they would have been several years ago, and they are showing that theyB次元官网网址檙e not prepared to settle for whatB次元官网网址檚 being put before them.B次元官网网址�
The ILWU and the BC Maritime Employers Association said on Sunday they reached the new agreement with the help of the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
Federal Labour Minister Seamus OB次元官网网址橰egan had directed the board to decide if a negotiated settlement was possible, or if a deal should be imposed on both sides, after union members voted against the previous negotiated deal.
OB次元官网网址橰egan said at the time the government was B次元官网网址減repared for all options and eventualities,B次元官网网址� amid calls for back-to-work legislation from other political and business leaders.
Camfield said the tight labour market with low unemployment rates may contribute to workers feeling confident enough to reject deals. Rising living costs could also push up expectations for compensation and other benefits.
Union labour lawyer Don Eady said while he could not comment on the specifics of the disputes in B.C. and Ontario, he agreed with Camfield that both disputes showed workers are exercising their legal rights to get what they believe is fair.
Eady said some people may have been caught off-guard when the ILWU twice rejected a deal reached at the negotiating table, once in a leadership caucus vote on July 18, then in the full membership vote that concluded on July 28.
But it doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean the bargaining process is broken, he said.
B次元官网网址淭hat would be an internal union process,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd unions are entitled to set up whatever internal processes they want for the negotiation and approval of collective agreements.B次元官网网址�
Eady said while members rejecting a deal negotiated by their union isnB次元官网网址檛 typical, it can and sometimes should happen to protect workers against threats such as automation and rising living costs.
B次元官网网址淚f a company is able to get around the collective agreement by contracting out work, bringing in other people or automating things that used to require people to do them, it affects the overall job security of union members both currently and in the future,B次元官网网址� he said.
Eady said recent inflation has complicated matters, with members likely to worry about long-term agreements that could lock in wage increases that fall behind rising prices.
B次元官网网址淣obody knows whether inflationB次元官网网址檚 going to be 20 per cent or 2 per cent in year four or five of an agreement,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪o longer-term agreements are problematic if what they contain is a set cents- or dollars-per-hour increase, or percentages increases.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎ll of these things put pressure on union members and employees generally, and the only way that they can really fight back is to go out on strike and to fight for their rights.B次元官网网址�
A member of the union bargaining committee on Monday recommended the latest deal for ratification after opposing a previous agreement.
Rickey Baryer, vice-president of the port workers unionB次元官网网址檚 Local 500 chapter, posted on Facebook that he is B次元官网网址減roud to recommendB次元官网网址� the latest negotiated deal.
Baryer said in a now-deleted Facebook post ahead of the vote on the previous tentative agreement that it had been B次元官网网址渇orcedB次元官网网址� on the union by the government and would have been B次元官网网址渢he beginning of the end of our very existence.B次元官网网址�
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