By Mark Squibb/July 22, 2022
Two weeks into a City-wide strike that has led to shuttered City facilities, cancelled recreation programs, delayed essential services, and a postponement of the annual City Days celebrations, Mount Pearl Dave Aker says there is no end yet in sight.
“I can’t say exactly when we think this will be over,” said Aker. “The conciliator called us in (last week), both the union as well as the City. And frankly, much like all the negotiating sessions that we’ve had, the membership of CUPE did not want to talk about the items that were up for negotiations. So, therefore I guess you could say right now we’re at an impasse… The odd thing is, CUPE won’t negotiate with us. There are things that we’ve put on the table, and they refuse to talk about it. So, we’ve, at times, felt like we’re negotiating with ourselves… Negotiations can’t start with a refusal to talk about certain items.”
What those items are, Aker said he could not discuss in public.
“I would love to say more, but out of respect for the negotiation teams, Ken Turner and his team and Dana Spurrell and her team, it’s not wise to be negotiating in public,” said Aker. “But I can say that when it comes to benefits and the like, we are in no way changing the defined benefit pension plan or the health and dental plans. We’ve heard that out on social media, coming from many angles, but frankly we’re not changing those plans at all, they will continue as they are… We’ve also put a wage offer on the table.”
“One of the biggest roadblocks here is that CUPE wants to control the negotiations and they refuse to talk about many of the items that the City has proposed,” Aker concluded.
Aker did discuss some of the matters CUPE has taken issue with. The City has proposed that staff paid leave be reduced from 42 days annually to 39. That paid time off, said Aker, does not include the 15-30 days of vacation time enjoyed by staff.
“On top of that, we’ve proposed that anyone hired would come into the work force with 12 days sick leave (as opposed to 21 days for other employees),” said Aker. “Those folks would know what they’re being hired at.”
Aker added there is no cap on sick leave accumulation.
“At the end of the day, we find that our compensation package and our benefits are quite good at the City of Mount Pearl,” said Aker. “We provide education supports, we provide free memberships to swim in the Summit Centre and join the fitness centre up there, so we can sit back and say very, very confidently that our workers are valued, and they’re well-paid, and our benefit package is, frankly, I think second to none. And you talk about the two-tiered system, that’s not uncommon across the country. But I want to reiterate to residents, that that’s a proposal, and at the end of the day we need to negotiate that.”
He said staff morale is high, despite the picket lines, and council remains positive the City and CUPE will soon be back to the table.
On the heels of reports of numerous conflicts at the picket lines, Aker allowed the strike is not a pretty one.
“To be honest, I think it’s ugly right now,” said Aker when asked if he foresaw things turning ugly. “Sadly, some of the tactics that we see being employed go back to the early days of unions, which I respect, but frankly we’re in a different place right now and frankly there needs to be a little bit more respect on the picket line. So, today for example, there was a screaming match, a one-way screaming match on the picket line (at City Hall), and it’s just not right. We have a team that works with the City of Mount Pearl, a team of professionals, and frankly I think they’re being mistreated, they’re being bullied and harassed, and all they want to do is go to work… Some of the tactics being used, we wouldn’t teach our kids to behave that way. We would tell our kids to do the opposite. Even in a dispute, you have to be respectful, and you have to be professional. And we’re seeing this not only at the picket line, but there have been reported incidents throughout the city. But we’re not going to accept that… we expect the bullying and harassment to stop, and I really shouldn’t have to make that plea in this day and age, because I think most of us in society have accepted that bullying is wrong.”
Aker said tat he went to the media with accusations about picketers harassing female employees and lowering flags because the City could not make any headway with the union.
“When we asked for the flags not be flown at half mast, he (union head KenTurner) admitted it was wrong to be doing that, and he assured us it wouldn’t happen again,” said Aker. “But yet it did, the very next day. So, my take on it was that there wasn’t anybody in charge at times or there wasn’t enough control, and when our managers reported that they were being followed, we called them out on it, and frankly, I went public because the one-on-one wasn’t working. And coincidentally, all of the following that was occurring has stopped.”
Hearing about comments made by union leaders disparaging City leaders at a recent CUPE rally at the City Depot, including chants of ‘Aker the Faker,’ the mayor said such behaviour is childish.
“You have to stay above the fray,” said Aker. “I love the poetic side of some of the comments but it’s school yard stuff, and it’s attention seeking behaviour and I really don’t think it’s productive at the end of the day.”
NL CUPE president Sherry Hillier accused the City of trying to prevent a food truck from being at the rally, hefting out a hearty ‘Screw you’ to City CAO Dana Spurrell that was met with thunderous applause.
Aker said no one at the City had an issue with the rally, and he was not aware of any issues concerning the chip truck. Aker did note the regional fire department had to put out burn barrels at picket lines.
Aker said the City has not blocked access to picketer’s port-a-potties, despite the accusation by one union leader.
“Frankly, in some locations, like at City Hall, there’s ample washrooms nearby and CUPE has their own office there,” said Aker. “But down by Team Gushue, for example, where they want to set up, all our expectation is that if there’s a port-a-potty put there, it’s according to our regulations.”
Those regulations, said Aker, include emptying them regularly.
“When somebody applies for port-a-potties here in the City, out of respect they should check our regulations and come in and touch base with us,” said Aker. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a community group or CUPE, just follow the regulations.”
He said the City would be inclined to put port-a-potties near picket lines.
Squabbles about port-a-potties and chip trucks aside, its residents, especially those with children enrolled in summer reaction programs, who have bore the brunt of the strike action.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t say that council acknowledges the impact it’s having on residents, and to be honest, we’re doing the best we can to minimize that impact,” said Aker. “But we acknowledge, that yes, there is an inconvenience, we’re trying our best to keep our core services going. So, right now we’re focusing mostly on waterline repairs as well as garbage.”
Many recreation events have been postponed, ported to another location, or cancelled outright.
When asked if he thought the strike was called just as summer recreation programs and Mount Pearl City Days were getting underway to put pressure on the City, Aker said he really couldn’t say.
“I would hope not,” said the mayor. “We’ve been negotiating since March. We didn’t put them out on strike. That was the decision of the union.”
“City Days is being postponed until after the labor dispute,” added Aker. “This wasn’t just ‘Come Home Year,’ this was really ‘Come Out Year,’ and it’s unfortunate that this labour dispute has caught the kids in between.”
One of the City’s concerns about going ahead with City Days with the strike on was the potential for any incidents between the public and strikers.
“Just think about it,” said the mayor. “It’s Sunday night, it’s City Days, the grand finale at one of the parks, there’s a beer tent down there, you’ve got security there, and you’ve got picketers, and you got people coming in for a good time, and maybe there’s a little bit of, I’m just imagining, would there be a little bit of obstruction? It’s a recipe that I don’t think puts us in a good place. So, council has decided to postpone and keep everybody healthy and safe for City Days weekend.”
Only when negotiations resume in earnest, concluded Aker, is there any sort of potential end in sight.
“And there’s no guarantee that if you negotiate, you’re going to reach a settlement. But if you’re not negotiating, you’re not going to reach a settlement. It’s just not going to happen,” he said.