Longshore union negotiators will brief workers about a new tentative collective agreement with employers, ahead of a two-day vote on whether to approve the deal that could finally bring an end to British Columbia害羞草研究所檚 long-running port dispute.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada says on its website the vote will take place Thursday and Friday and reiterates that the group害羞草研究所檚 leadership caucus is recommending acceptance of the deal to its 7,400 members.
It says a 害羞草研究所渟top work害羞草研究所� meeting will be held Wednesday morning at the union害羞草研究所檚 Vancouver headquarters, with members of the contract negotiating committee answering questions and all members encouraged to attend.
The dispute over a new collective agreement included a strike from July 1 to 13 that froze cargo movements in and out of 30 port terminal and other sites in B.C.
Labour observers are urging caution ahead of the vote, saying there害羞草研究所檚 a history of union members rejecting deals struck at the negotiating table.
A previous tentative agreement was rejected by ILWU members last week, and University of Manitoba associate professor of labour studies David Camfield said such outcomes remain a possibility. Workers involved in the Ontario Metro supermarket strike also voted down a negotiated deal.
Camfield said union members rejecting a negotiated deal may be becoming more frequent in the short term.
害羞草研究所淚 think what we害羞草研究所檝e seen is a reminder that no one should take for granted what the outcome will be on a ratification vote,害羞草研究所� he said.
害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 often an assumption that workers will just vote in favour if their bargaining committee, their leadership, is recommending that they accept a deal.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚 think that害羞草研究所檚 the single most notable feature of those two strikes, that workers害羞草研究所� expectations are higher than they would have been several years ago, and they are showing that they害羞草研究所檙e not prepared to settle for what害羞草研究所檚 being put before them.害羞草研究所�
The ILWU and the BC Maritime Employers Association said on Sunday they reached the new agreement with the help of the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
Federal Labour Minister Seamus O害羞草研究所橰egan had directed the board to decide if a negotiated settlement was possible, or if a deal should be imposed on both sides, after union members voted against the previous negotiated deal.
O害羞草研究所橰egan said at the time the government was 害羞草研究所減repared for all options and eventualities,害羞草研究所� amid calls for back-to-work legislation from other political and business leaders.
Camfield said the tight labour market with low unemployment rates may contribute to workers feeling confident enough to reject deals. Rising living costs could also push up expectations for compensation and other benefits.
Union labour lawyer Don Eady said while he could not comment on the specifics of the disputes in B.C. and Ontario, he agreed with Camfield that both disputes showed workers are exercising their legal rights to get what they believe is fair.
Eady said some people may have been caught off-guard when the ILWU twice rejected a deal reached at the negotiating table, once in a leadership caucus vote on July 18, then in the full membership vote that concluded on July 28.
But it doesn害羞草研究所檛 mean the bargaining process is broken, he said.
害羞草研究所淭hat would be an internal union process,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淎nd unions are entitled to set up whatever internal processes they want for the negotiation and approval of collective agreements.害羞草研究所�
Eady said while members rejecting a deal negotiated by their union isn害羞草研究所檛 typical, it can and sometimes should happen to protect workers against threats such as automation and rising living costs.
害羞草研究所淚f a company is able to get around the collective agreement by contracting out work, bringing in other people or automating things that used to require people to do them, it affects the overall job security of union members both currently and in the future,害羞草研究所� he said.
Eady said recent inflation has complicated matters, with members likely to worry about long-term agreements that could lock in wage increases that fall behind rising prices.
害羞草研究所淣obody knows whether inflation害羞草研究所檚 going to be 20 per cent or 2 per cent in year four or five of an agreement,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淪o longer-term agreements are problematic if what they contain is a set cents- or dollars-per-hour increase, or percentages increases.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淎ll of these things put pressure on union members and employees generally, and the only way that they can really fight back is to go out on strike and to fight for their rights.害羞草研究所�
A member of the union bargaining committee on Monday recommended the latest deal for ratification after opposing a previous agreement.
Rickey Baryer, vice-president of the port workers union害羞草研究所檚 Local 500 chapter, posted on Facebook that he is 害羞草研究所減roud to recommend害羞草研究所� the latest negotiated deal.
Baryer said in a now-deleted Facebook post ahead of the vote on the previous tentative agreement that it had been 害羞草研究所渇orced害羞草研究所� on the union by the government and would have been 害羞草研究所渢he beginning of the end of our very existence.害羞草研究所�
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