There will be no job action taken today at the Timmins Victor M. Power Airport as bargaining continues between the Canadian Transportation Employees Union and the City of Timmins.

Members of the Union voted Wednesday in favor of taking strike action to better the deal that was brought to the bargaining table by the City two years ago. The Union’s Ontario Regional VP, Martin Mika, said this vote is sending “a very, very clear message to the City of Timmins that our members mean business.”

The Union has 19 members working at the Timmins Airport, mostly in maintenance positions. They’ve been without a new contract for two years now and Mika says negotiations haven’t been going well and they will continue to bargain for a fair collective agreement.

“The City of Timmins was offering a small wage increase,” Mike said, “but really cutting back on what we felt were really important monetary benefits. These cuts far outweighed the increases being offered, in our opinion.”

The Union is rejecting what they call the “shady deal” and are willing to go on strike to get a fair one. The cuts would affect the staff getting licenses, certificates and health assessments that are required to do the job. They’d also have to pay for certain maintenance gear out of pocket. There were also issues regarding shift premiums, with the city wanting to cut them back for early morning shifts.

Mika says the rate of increase the city is offering isn’t in line with other airports in Ontario. Union staff have not seen any increases since bargaining began.

“They’ve been at a hold. There have been no increases negotiated in the last two years. But one thing we will make sure of is that our members get retro-pay once this new agreement is ratified.”

City of Timmins CAO, Dave Landers, says if there is a strike, the city would implement its business continuity plan and make sure it was business as usual at the airport to ensure flights continue to takeoff and passenger safety remains a priority. Landers doesn’t believe they have reached an impasse with the Union at this time.

“We’re still in the bargaining process,” Landers said, “so I don’t believe that we’ve reached a bargaining impasse at this time. We have gone through a conciliation process. And so now that they’ve got a mandate from their members I believe that we’ll likely sit back down at the table. See where the difference is between the city position and the position of the local is. And try to find some common ground. I don’t believe anyone wants a strike. And I expect that we’ll do our best on both sides to move towards a resolution.”

Landers says the city is looking for a deal that meets the needs of the employees of the City of Timmins but is also respectful of the tax burden that residents already carry. With the ongoing bargaining lasting more than two years now, Landers says they’ll have to take it one meeting at a time.

“Ideally we’ll get back to the table. We’ll tackle the outstanding issues that remain on the table from the last round of bargaining. And move forward as a group.”

Landers says if there is a work stoppage, the city will continue to provide reliable and safe airport operations for residents.

The Union will enter into the mediation process when the employer, the City of Timmins, decides to give them a call and enter the next stage. Mika says no one at the Union wants to see a work stoppage.

“I want to make it perfectly clear that we are not here to inconvenience anyone. And if we were going to consider strike action, that we will give 72 hours notice before a strike is called. […] Our hope is that the City of Timmins, specifically the mayor, will send the negotiators back to the table with a new mandate. And one that is going to recognize the importance of the work that our members do.”

Mika says there are other options besides striking to get a fair deal on both sides.

“When we are in a position where we are right now where there has been a clear mandate given to us by our membership, we will look at job actions. And that could entail a number of things. But the last step that we would take in job action is strike. So there may be other options available to us. That will be communicated in the very near future if we decide to go down that road.”

Mika said the Union understands the disruption an airport strike would cause and they want to avoid going that far.

“We understand that strikes are disruptive,” he said, “and no one is eager to go on strike. Strikes are very, very tough on our communities, our members and their families. We’d love nothing more than to come back to the table and negotiate a fair deal as quickly as possible. And I’d also like to add that the ball is in the employer’s court. We’re hoping that they’re going to do the right thing and give us a call.”

 

Filed under: Local News