Tag Archives: cupe bonfield municipal employees

Five Bonfield workers fired

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By JENNIFER HAMILTON-MCCHARLES, The Nugget

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Bonfield Mayor Randy McLaren speaks to a CUPE member Thursday at the parish hall where a special meeting of council had been scheduled. The meeting was cancelled after protests by union members and supporters.

Bonfield Mayor Randy McLaren speaks to a CUPE member Thursday at the parish hall where a special meeting of council had been scheduled. The meeting was cancelled after protests by union members and supporters.

BONFIELD—The Township of Bonfield has fired five of its municipal workers today for allegations of illegal confinement.

Bonfield Mayor Randy McLaren was tight-lipped about the punishments handed down Tuesday following an altercation between striking staff and council in August.

“There has been discipline action for five of the municipal workers for allegations of forcible confinement.”

He confirmed disciplinary letters were sent to appropriate staff Tuesday, but refused to say what the punishments were. When asked if any municipal workers were fired, McLaren said, “I’ll let the union speak to that.”

Canadian Union of Public Employees, representing the 16 striking municipal workers, issued a media release later Tuesday afternoon stating the provocative tactic was designed to intimidate the workers.

“Instead of a proposal, he will be receiving a labour board complaint for his latest stunt,” said Steve Boyle, a national representative with CUPE.

“While McLaren publicly states that he’s looking to see the union’s proposal to help reach a deal and end this strike, he comes out and fires one-third of the bargaining unit,” he said. “This mayor’s latest volley will not help the strike, in fact it will have the opposite effect.”

McLaren said the township conducted its own investigation and on the advice of their lawyer decided to proceed.

The punishments are a result of an August meeting that was cancelled following a confrontation between striking workers and Bonfield council.

CUPE said the mayor claims the five fired workers were preventing two councillors and others from leaving the Bonfield Parish Hall on Aug.15.

“Prior to the attempted Aug.15 meeting, scheduled to be held at 4 p.m. (when most residents were still at work), the mayor cancelled several meetings and in fact there have been no public meetings since July,” according to a CUPE media release.

The township cancelled its regular council meeting Tuesday evening, according to the township’s website, “due to the municipal employees strike.”

Boyle said the residents had found out about the August meeting and had come to the parish hall to let the mayor know they wanted him to restore public services.

“The residents will be unhappy the mayor is firing workers without true cause. CUPE will support our members fully and will do what it takes to have the workers reinstated,” Boyle said.

Deputy Mayor Tamela Price-Fry reported she was inside the building with her husband, Coun. Jane Lagassie and a person brought in to act as clerk for the meeting and was prevented from leaving for about an hour because the exits were blocked.

She said the incident was reported to police.

Boyle has stood by his members and said he was not aware of any CUPE members blocking the exits.

He said union members were busy speaking to the mayor outside the parish hall and noted that a police officer was on site receiving phone calls and that the gathering dispersed peacefully.

Both sides met on Friday but it wasn’t to reach an agreement. It was to attend the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Boyle said this latest development will also be filed to the labour board.

Municipal workers have been off the job since Aug. 1, affecting services such as road maintenance, tax payments, building permits, inspections, planning services and general inquiries.

CUPE says key issues are the threat of contracting out and a list of concessions demanded from the municipality including attacks on seniority, training, employment security, scheduling, vacations, sick leave and benefits.

The municipality is seeking changes to the existing collective agreement, including reducing the number of bankable sick days to which employees are entitled, increasing the length of service required for additional vacation entitlement and extending the probationary period for new hires.

j.hamilton-mccharles@sunmedia.ca

Bonfield Mayor’s firing of one-third of the strikers

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Sep 10, 2013 04:12 PM          http://cupe.ca

After publicly stating that he’s hopeful a resolution can be worked out to end the six-week Bonfield municipal strike, Mayor Randall McLaren fired five municipal workers today, a provocative tactic designed to intimidate the workers, charges the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing the 16 Bonfield municipal workers. 

“While he publicly states that he’s looking forward to seeing the union’s proposal to help reach a deal and end this strike, he comes out and fires one-third of the bargaining unit,” said Steve Boyle, CUPE National Representative.  “Instead of a proposal, he will be receiving a labour board complaint for his latest stunt.” 

“This Mayor’s latest volley will not help end the strike, in fact it will have the opposite effect,” continued Boyle. “Unfortunately, it is the Bonfield community that will be most affected by the Mayor’s latest tactic as the strike will drag on and residents will be without important public services.” The workers have been on strike since August 1. 

The Mayor claims that the five fired workers were preventing two councillors and others (who were trying to participate in a ‘special’ meeting that the Mayor called in very short notice to prevent the public from participating fully) from leaving the Bonfield Parish Hall on August 15. Prior to the attempted August 15 meeting, scheduled to be held at 4:00 p.m. (when most residents were still at work), the Mayor cancelled several meetings and in fact there have been no public meetings since July.  “The residents had found out about the meeting and had come to the Parish Hall to let the Mayor know they wanted him to restore public services,” said Boyle. “The residents will be unhappy the Mayor is firing workers without true cause. CUPE will support our members fully and will do what it takes to have the workers reinstated.” 

“All along, the Mayor has been trying to break the union and intimidate the workers – that is why our members ended up on strike to defend ourselves,” continued Boyle. “The Mayor’s latest stunt will only prolong the strike.” 

For further information, please contact:

Steve Boyle, CUPE National Representative     705-662-5975

James Chai, CUPE Communications                 905-739-3999 

CUPE urges councillors to call for new talks after Bonfield Mayor refuses to return to bargaining table to end strike

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Bonfield, Ont. – CUPE, the union representing 16 striking Bonfield municipal workers, has been informed by the provincial mediator that the lawyer who represents the Mayor has refused to return to the bargaining table to help end the strike, even though the Mayor of Bonfield himself told striking workers to call the Township’s lawyer to resume bargaining, as the strike enters its fourth week.

“When pushed by the residents and workers to return to bargaining to end the strike, the Mayor told us to call his lawyer, and then when the mediator contacted the lawyer, the hired consultant flatly refused to return to the table unless we agree to their terms,” said Steve Boyle.

“It begs the question, who’s running Bonfield? The Mayor seems more interested in running away from scheduled meetings and putting out misinformation, instead of moving to restore public services.” CUPE is urging other councillors to step up and get involved to resolve this dispute and restore public services.

“The Mayor not only pushed their workers to strike, cancelling several public meetings including the council meeting that was scheduled for August 27, he is now refusing, through his lawyer, to find ways to end the strike,” continued Boyle.

“A strike will not end on its own and it can only end at the bargaining table with both sides prepared to sit down to negotiate and work out a deal that’s fair. We’ve been prepared to bargain from the beginning, but the Mayor cancelled bargaining dates and tried to impose his own terms and conditions – now we’re still waiting for the Mayor and council to do their part to end this strike.”

“We are thankful for the support we continue to receive from Bonfield residents – we know their patience has been tested by the Mayor,” said Boyle.

“The community is now organizing a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to support the strikers and our members are buoyed by the community’s help to ensure they get a fair deal. This speaks volumes about the community’s commitment to fairness for their own workers. We are calling on the councillors, who represent the residents, to follow their lead and do what it takes to restore public services and treat workers fairly.”

For further information, please contact:
Steve Boyle, CUPE National Representative, 705-662-5975
James Chai, CUPE Communications, 905-739-3999

Protesters prevent meeting

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Striking CUPE Bonfield municipal employees, angry residents, prevent Bonfield council from holding special meeting

By GORD YOUNG, The Nugget

Friday, August 16, 2013

 

Striking municipal employees and angry residents prevented Bonfield council from holding a special meeting Thursday where they were expected to give themselves the authority to hire replacement workers.

Council members arriving at the parish hall for the 4 p.m. meeting were greeted by members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and residents, objecting to the both the timing and notification of the gathering.

The protesting forced the meeting to be cancelled, leaving Mayor Randy McLaren outside parish hall where he spoke to workers and responded to questions and concerns from residents upset about the labour dispute.

CUPE, which represents the 16 striking municipal workers, warned leading up to the meeting that council was making plans to “hire scabs and prolong the strike,” accusing McLaren of being underhanded by calling a 4 p.m. special meeting on short notice in order to avoid public scrutiny.

“Now he’s avoiding the public by scheduling meetings at inconvenient times for the public to avoid hearing from the residents about the strike. The only way this strike will end is at the bargaining table. Avoiding the public, cancelling meetings and hiring scabs will only prolong the strike and aggravate the already heated situation,” said CUPE national representative Steve Boyle, in a release.

Boyle later said the move by council to give itself authority to hire replacement workers is a huge step backwards and that it reeks of an attempt to break the union.

But McLaren said there’s no immediate intention to hire outside workers and that move would simply give municipal politicians the legal authority do so.

Such powers, he said, may be needed in the case of an emergency or extreme weather.

“We’re not trying to escalate tensions,” said McLaren, acknowledging the meeting agenda likely wasn’t going to be well received by striking workers and their supporters.

Also on Thursday’s agenda were several other strike-related items, including amending signing authorities and authorizing council to write cheques in order to do business.

In addition, a resolution to expand the authority of designated members of council was also to be discussed, something McLaren said essentially formalizes the hands-on role he and other township politicians have assumed during the strike, such as operating the landfill.

He said the Ministry of Municipal Affairs advised the municipality to take the steps early on as part of its strike plan. And McLaren noted the labour dispute has gone on now for two weeks.

The municipaliy’s16 workers have been off the job since Aug. 1, affecting services such as road maintenance, tax payments, building permits, inspections, planning services and general inquiries.

CUPE says key issues are the threat of contracting out and a list of concessions demanded from the municipality including attacks on seniority, training, employment security, scheduling, vacations, sick leave and benefits.

McLaren has said there are some 40 outstanding issues and the municipality is seeking changes to the existing collective agreement, including reducing the number of bankable sick days to which employees are entitled, increasing the length of service required for additional vacation entitlement and extending the probationary period for new hires. He has also acknowledged the municipality has proposed language that would allow it to contract hire.

But McLaren has said there is no intention of contracting out core services.

gord.young@sunmedia