Halifax Water’s failure to negotiate will extend strike, waste ratepayers dollars, to protect senior management’s pensions: CUPE
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HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA–(Marketwired – June 26, 2015) – CUPE Water and Wastewater workers Locals 227 and 1431 today said they’ll hold not just management but also Mayor Mike Savage and members of Council accountable for last night’s breakdown in negotiations.
“CUPE negotiators tabled a reasonable offer that meant tremendous sacrifices on the part of our members,” CUPE 1431 President Heather Corkum said. “Our new offer would have saved ratepayers $1.8 million in contributions, but senior managers on the employer’s negotiation team rejected it to protect their own pensions.”
CUPE says Halifax Mayor Mike Savage made commitment, then reneged on it
The two CUPE locals representing striking Halifax Water employees say they are deeply disappointed with Mayor Mike Savage and his role in the dispute.
The two CUPE locals representing striking Halifax Water employees say they are deeply disappointed with Mayor Mike Savage and his role in the dispute.
CUPE Local 227 President Dave Dort says, “We got a face to face commitment from the mayor on Tuesday evening at council following our rally at Parade Square and we took him at his word.
“A few of us had gone into council chambers and Savage asked to meet with us in the hall. That’s when he told us he was willing to look at the union’s latest pension proposal. There were several people who heard him say this.
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Letter to a Councillor
This is an email sent by our president Heather Corkum to one of the Halifax Councillors, in response to his communication with a concerned constituent.
Dear Mr. Hendsbee,
I am the President of CUPE Local 1431 and, while I know that you may not have had much involvement in the negotiations which took place over 15 months from February of 2014 until Halifax Water locked us out on May 19, 2015, I would like to take the time to respond to you on a few things in your response to one of our members. I have copied the email (below) which one of your constituents took the time to pen to you today, along with your response to him. It is disheartening to learn, to say the least, with you being a member of the Halifax Water Board, and essentially one of the lead decision makers, that you do not fully understand the impact of what has been going on for at least the last 4 weeks.