By Pepper Parr
July 12, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Later this afternoon and again this evening the members of CUPE local 2723, Burlington’s transit union will troop out to the union office and cast their ballots and decide if they want to accept the latest offer from the city.
If a majority decide not to accept the offer the union will be on strike at 12:01 Monday morning.
Will the OPEN sign be lit up Monday morning?
There is a news blackout on just what is in the offer the city made so there is no clarity on just what it is the union is being asked to accept.
Rumour from the union side is that the city wants the transit people to pay for their uniforms. The city for its part wants the union negotiators to sell the tentative agreement to the union membership.
There are those who are very disappointed with the local union leadership and the difficulty they have had in convincing their membership that the best deal possible has been negotiated.
The city web site has a note on its home page that they are meeting with the union but there is nothing backing that up. The city web site is frequently behind the real news.
City hall comes close to shutting down after July 15th when city council meets for the last time until late in September, That just might change.
The Gazette will report on the union voting just as soon as results are available – expected to be around 9 pm Sunday evening.
