CORNWALL, Ontario – In a statement to media on Wednesday, May 16, the City of Cornwall stated that the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) refused to consider its latest offer.
This comes as CUPE announced that negotiations between its local unions and the City of Cornwall broke down Tuesday night.
“The City of Cornwall remains committed to the bargaining process, and as the City has maintained in the past, we would prefer that the bargaining process and specific issues remain exclusively between the parties,” the City of Cornwall statement reads. “However, after recent announcements, the City feels the need to provide some clarification as to where the bargaining process currently stands. “
The City is bargaining with local CUPE unions representing librarians, inside municipal workers, outside municipal workers and paramedics. The librarians, outside workers and paramedics could be on-strike as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday if a settlement is not reached.
“After months of negotiations, in the shadow of a strike deadline chosen by CUPE, the City tabled a fair, best and final offer on Tuesday for each bargaining unit,” the City statement says. “The City has asked CUPE to take the offers back to their bargaining units for a vote. We were advised by the union that it refused to take these fair offers to their members for a vote. In light of this position, the City believes further discussions at this time would not be productive.”
For its part, CUPE claims that they are available and eager to continue negotiations and avoid a strike.
“We are waiting for the employer to do something or come to the table,” said Keith Sandford, CUPE National Representative in Cornwall.
Sanford said that his union wanted to avoid a strike, but was in the process of preparing for one.
The inside workers union, CUPE Local 3251 will not go on strike until May 23, unless an agreement is reached. In that time, if the other unions do strike, they will have to cross the picket line to get to work.
“The locals are all on board together,” said Allison Denis, CUPE National Representative in Cornwall. “There is no animosity or ill will.”
The City of Cornwall has posted a list of services that would be affected by any work stoppage.
