No progress made between City of Edmonton and union as CSU 52 strike looms

No progress has been made between the City of Edmonton and the Civic Services Union (CSU 52), a union spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon, as the strike is set to take effect Thursday morning.

CSU 52 told Global News that Mayor Amarjeet Sohi met with union president Lanny Chudyk earlier Tuesday, but no progress was made.

“The city continues to be unwilling to negotiate,” Chudyk said. “The mayor can keep his head in the sand all he wants and wish the two parties would get together – but that directive comes from him.

“The mandate on the deal that is being offered by administration comes from the mayor and council. Where is the accountability from these ‘so-called’ leaders? Edmontonians are counting on them.

“Thursday, our members will be on the picket lines, something we have not had to do in nearly 50 years,” Chudyk said.

0:38 CSU 52 representing many city employees serving strike notice to Edmonton

The city said its negotiations with the union included 30 bargaining sessions and multiple mediation dates. At the end of January, CSU 52 held several emergency meetings with members as contract negotiations with the city stalled.

The union served strike notice Monday at 11 a.m. The union said the picket line will begin Thursday at 11 a.m.

On Monday, the city said it was disappointed that CSU 52 was unwilling to accept its offer.

“We put forward an offer that is compelling, even in light of our current financial realities,” city manager Andre Corbould said in a statement.

CSU 52 represents more than 6,000 technical, professional, administrative and clerical workers within the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Public Library including police communications (911 operators), 311 support agents, city planners, safety code and building code officers, permit processors, recreation centre employees, animal welfare co-ordinators, tax assessors, librarians, pages and professional services.

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“If it does reach that point where a strike happens, there is going to be an impact,” Coun. Andrew Knack said. “We’re going to see libraries close down, rec centres will be able to be open but at different service levels.

“We know that will have a real impact on people’s day-to-day lives, which nobody wants, but we also need to make sure that we come to a fair and equitable resolution.”

Knack says he hopes it doesn’t come to a strike.

“I’m uneasy. Nobody wants to be here. In the 10 years I’ve been doing this, every other agreement has come to an actual agreement without a strike.”

The city said it’s preparing for the labour action and contingency plans are in place to minimize service disruptions.

“Effective immediately, these plans and the Emergency Operations Centre are being activated to ensure a coordinated approach to maintaining core services.”

The city said the following front-line services will continue:

• Edmonton Fire Rescue Services
• Edmonton Transit Service
• Dedicated Accessible Transit Service (DATS)
• Construction on capital projects
• Snow clearing
• Waste collection

CSU 52 said it opted to remove DATS co-ordinators from the strike and sent the city a letter of understanding allowing those workers to stay on the job.

“One thing that’s really clear to Edmontonians is how important our employees are,” Coun. Aaron Paquette said. “Strike action would have significant impact on a lot of folks. I know there are plans to keep some things open and operating but it definitely will not be at the level Edmontonians have come to expect.

“This city needs to work, and so I think we should all find ways to get to work and make it happen.”

1:37 Edmonton rec centre workers, 911 operators votes overwhelmingly in favour of strike

Coun. Tim Cartmell expects the city will have to gauge how services are affected in the first few days and respond accordingly.

“The library is a separate bargaining unit and they have said that branches will close on Thursday… I am not sure of the hierarchy of services when it comes to arenas, rec centres, those kinds of things. We’ve heard, in general terms, that rec centres, as an example, will be open but will have no programming. It’s going to be a bit hit and miss.

“Building permit applications and inspections is one of those services that will certainly be affected, there’s no question of that, but also will not stop 100 per cent,” he added.

“There’s somebody in every corner of the city that depends, to some degree, on the services we provide, and almost everything is going to be affected to some degree,” Cartmell said. “We can expect some interruption… It’s going to be a disruption, for sure.

“Job action is an accepted part of bargaining and negotiating. I absolutely want to see us do some negotiating but not capitulation by any stretch. Whatever agreement we ultimately get to is going to have implications for our budgets,” Cartmell said.

Coun. Jennifer Rice hopes the two sides manage to reach a fair solution.

“City administration, city council, we really care about our front-line services,” she said. “I want to look at how our city can … really make sure the daily services we provide Edmontonians will not be interrupted too much.”

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