Supporters of striking Region of Queens workers blasted elected councillors on Tuesday, demanding that they show some leadership in the dispute.

They want the mayor and councillors to tell the region’s negotiators to return to the bargaining table and settle the strike.

Thirty-eight members of Local 1928 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have been on the picket line since Thursday. The union says they are some of the lowest-paid municipal workers in Atlantic Canada.

The region does not dispute that, but says it’s been trying to address those inequities in contract negotiations that have been going on for about a year.

RELATED: Region of Queens workers strike for better wages, overtime protection

Some positions pay less than $18 an hour, with some people on Tuesday saying that they can’t afford to support their families.

Family and friends of the striking public works employees told councillors at their regular meeting on Tuesday that they were ashamed of how the region has treated the workers. Elected officials do not get involved directly with labour negotiations, but can set the tone for the region’s negotiators.

Wages, overtime protections and even who’s in or out of the bargaining unit are the main sticking points in the dispute.

Meghan MacAdams was one of the people who spoke to council during the public presentation portion of the meeting. As striking workers picketed outside, she read out the names of the 36 employees.

Her partner has worked with the region for six years. In a recent CBC story, the region’s acting CAO Pam Lovelace claimed that only 20 employees were affected.

“Here is the individual handpicked by you all, acting as a representative of your side of the line, sharing inaccurate information,” MacAdams told councillors.

“
Was this an attempt to create a calmer narrative in which this issue was smaller than it really is, or is this simply a demonstration of how uninterested and uninvested the region has become in its workforce? What that one tiny detail told me, intentionally stated or not, is that those who run our county either can’t be trusted to provide us with truthful and accurate information, or they have become so disconnected with their employees they aren’t even aware of how many livelihoods they are toying with.

“Neither of these options sit well with me. 
Unfortunately, I see this as a clear indication of just how undervalued these men have become, which is one of the key issues in my opinion that has brought us to the divide we are at today. But I remain hopeful the region, the powers that be, will step up and make a fair and honest attempt at resolution. Our men deserve better.”

Debbie Wamboldt, a longtime community advocate and volunteer who spearheaded the successful fundraising drive for the popular inclusive play park in Liverpool, also expressed her frustration with the stalled talks. 

“Most of you know me from the play park project,” she said.

“That took six years of my life to bring to this county because I was proud of where I come from. … But I have to say that I’m standing here before you as somebody who is no longer proud of where I come from. 
I’m not proud of where we’re standing.

“My husband has worked for the region for 20 years. We give our time to this community, and our community is standing behind us. And it’s your job now  to stand behind us. 
We need to get back to the table, and our workers, my family, my friends, my husband’s colleagues, deserve better.

“This is shameful. This is really shameful.”

Before the strike, the region and the union had been negotiating to adjust job classifications and wage grids to bring Queens workers’ salaries more in line with other municipalities.

The region had commissioned a compensation review of unionized and non-unionized positions more than a year ago. That review has never been made public. 

But in response, the previous council had agreed to boost salaries for some non-unionized positions.

Mayor Scott Christian says the wage parity study was the foundation for the region’s offer in the latest contract talks.

The region says adjusting salaries for some jobs would result in raises from 2.5 to 26 per cent. But talks stalled in mid-December after the region’s so-called final offer. About 97 per cent of employees voted for strike action.

Both sides met again last Tuesday with a provincially appointed conciliator. But union representative Jim Sponagle said the region’s offer hadn’t improved much from the one members had rejected. He said their wage offer amounted to about two per cent a year on top of adjusting for wage inequities.

Christian released a video on Facebook on Sunday, saying that he understands how challenging negotiations have been for employees and their families. He appealed for patience.

After Tuesday’s meeting, Christian and the rest of council were due to get an update on negotiations in a closed-door session. Before that, he said in an interview that councillors want a fair deal for workers, but one that doesn’t burden taxpayers.

He also said not all councillors have seen the wage review study, which he wants to be made public. 

“I think it should be. It was something that I was very frustrated with before I ended up in this position as a resident that that wasn’t made publicly available. And so, I’m going to be asking our our staff here. and directing our staff here as to what elements or if that can be released, in in its entirety. We’ve seen we’ve seen portions of it. … There’s going to be more of that information provided to council today.

“To be honest, I’m not that comfortable with some of the tactics that have been employed by both sides of the negotiation. I feel like it has escalated and has become more contentious than it ought to have. … We’re going to be looking for direction from council as to (how) to de-escalate this, to get back to meaningful, productive conversations.

“We need both sides to come back to the table and with some humility, I think, and a willingness to concede and find a productive way forward. I agree the tone, the nature, the spirit of the thing has become really contentious and I’m not comfortable with it. I am going to meet with council and we’re going to … determine what we think is the appropriate next step with respect to directing the negotiating team moving forward.”

The striking workers are responsible for maintaining the region’s streets, sidewalks, parks and other properties. They also work in waste and recycling facilities as well as water and sewage treatment plants.

Their last contract expired March 31. 

The region has said that services won’t be interrupted by the strike, with managers, supervisors and third-party contractors doing the work.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Contract talks between the Region of Queens and its unionized public works employees are at a stalemate as either side could declare a work stoppage at midnight.

Local 1928 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers represents about 40 full-time and temporary employees in the region’s engineering and public works department.

They are responsible for maintaining the region’s streets, sidewalks, parks and other properties. They also work in waste and recycling facilities as well as water and sewage treatment plants.

The two sides met with a conciliator on Monday, with the union submitting a new proposal. The region responded about five hours later, with very little movement from their last position, according to a union representative.

Union members resoundingly rejected the region’s settlement offer last Monday, with a 97 per cent vote in favour of strike action if needed.

“It equated to very little to nothing,” James Sponagle, business manager for Local 1928, said of the municipality’s revised offer.

“We’re at an impasse right now and unless they change their position, the union’s not going to concede. We’ve already voted on what they presented. They haven’t come back with anything substantive, so our position hasn’t changed.”

As of midnight Tuesday, either side could declare a strike or lockout with 48 hours’ notice.

Regional councillors got an update on negotiations on Tuesday in a closed-door session that lasted almost 90 minutes.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR afterward that the region doesn’t want to lock out its employees. 

“At this time, we have no intent to lock out the workers,” Christian said.

“We remain hopeful and we recognize that it’s really challenging for people particularly with the holidays approaching to have this uncertainty. Also recognizing it’s really challenging also for the folks on the other side of the bargaining table, our managers, who are attempting to negotiate on behalf of Region of Queens Municipality. 

“We hold out hope that there will be a resolution before too long. Our council remains committed to a good and fair deal for everybody.”

Sponagle said the region has handcuffed the union’s ability to back up its proposals with strike action. He says they’ve threatened to fire the 14 temporary employees if they don’t cross a picket line.

The union has filed two unfair labour practice complaints over that threat. Sponagle says hearing dates should be set next week and he hopes for a hearing early in the new year.

He said CAO Cody Joudry assured employees in a meeting last Friday they would not be fired. But Sponagle says he hasn’t yet put that in writing.

Sponagle said it would be “reckless” for him to call a strike as long as those temporary employees could be fired.

Public works employees with the Region of Queens are some of the lowest-paid municipal workers in Nova Scotia, at a time when the municipality has complained that it can’t fill job vacancies.

Some unionized jobs at the region pay less than $18 an hour. And Sponagle said that some Red Seal-certified technicians with the region make no more than $27 an hour. 

Non-unionized technicians elsewhere with the same certification make as much as $40 an hour, while their unionized peers at Nova Scotia Power get paid about $50 an hour.

“There’s not much incentive to work as a Red Seal technician at the Region of Queens,” Sponagle said.

Christian and Sponagle said both sides are trying to agree to wage grid adjustments to account for those discrepancies. But Sponagle said the region has offered increases of only 1.5 per cent a year after that.

No new talks are scheduled. But Sponagle says the union is always willing to return to the bargaining table as long as the region improves their last offer.

“If they want to reach out to the union if they have an epiphany or if they have a change in their position, my phone’s always on.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below