As strike hits week three, Region of Waterloo refuses to negotiate fair deal for CUPE members

WATERLOO, ON –(COMMUNITYWIRE)– As they mark the third week of their strike, CUPE Local 1656 members at the Region of Waterloo remain committed to continuing the fight for a fair deal as the employer continues to demand workers accept a deal that is less that what they originally offered.

The union and the employer met over the weekend and exchanged proposals. CUPE presented the employer with an offer that was fair for both Local 1656 members and for residents of the region that could have ended the strike and had members back to work this week. Unfortunately, the employer rejected the offer.

“Three weeks into our strike, Karen Redman and the Region of Waterloo Council continues to move the goalposts on us,” said CUPE 1656 President Phil Dominas. “We went in on the weekend thinking we would be able to negotiate a fair deal, but the employer continues to backtrack on commitments they made to us in negotiations and demand that we settle for less. At this point, it seems like Karen Redman and the Region of Waterloo Council are more focused on punishing our members for going on strike than getting us back to work and ending disruptions to the services residents of the region depend on.”

CUPE 1656 members are full and part-time workers who work to provide clean drinking water, airport services, regional road maintenance, maintenance of emergency vehicles, and landfill services to the Region of Waterloo. They also are trades workers including millwrights, HVAC, plumbing and signals who keep water, traffic, and buildings running.

“It’s astounding that Karen Redman and the Region of Waterloo Council are willing to continue to put public services at risk at a massive cost to taxpayers, instead of showing some humility, admitting that they made a mistake when they tried to take back proposals they made in negotiations, and coming forward with a deal to end this strike” said Dominas. “Our members have been very clear- they will not settle for less. We will be on strike for as long as we have to in order to get the deal we were promised.”

Residents of the Region are encouraged to visit cupe.on.ca/waterloo and contact Regional Council Chair Karen Redman and Waterloo Regional Council and tell them to honour their commitment to Local 1656 members and end the strike.

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For more information, please contact:

Eric Bell, CUPE Communications
(306) 580-0893
ebell@cupe.ca