We are in the Halloween mood. I don’t know if the new employer negotiation team are scaring us or we just need to prepare for a surprise.

After years without a collective agreement, members at the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority have had enough. A strike vote will be conducted on Tuesday October 22^nd, 2019.

Members have been without a collective agreement for more than 3 years. After the employer came to the table unwilling to discuss a fair agreement and with over 120 concessions, negotiations came to a standstill.

After going through both the conciliation process and mediation, the employer has changed their representatives and has withdrawn all their concessions. The only items left on the table are to negotiate the union proposal which include economic increase and duration.

You would think a change in representatives by the employer would be a treat. That they recognized this process has gone on too long and they need to have people at the table willing to move this along. But this is looking more like a trick.

The problem: The union has proposed dates for the end of this month and November. The employer wants to further postpone negotiations until 2020 citing that they can’t find dates to meet.

The negotiating team has said that they don’t understand the delay. They believe that what is left will take one day, two at the most. The team is starting to wonder if with Halloween coming is this another trick by the employer. If this is a “trick”, then members need to be prepared.

Members are asked to check with their negotiating team or visit this website for details of the strike vote meeting.