FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2006
Union members give 93
per cent strike mandate to save jobs at Parks Commission
NIAGARA FALLS – Employees of
the Niagara Parks Commission have voted 93 per cent in
favour of taking strike action in an effort to save
full-time and seasonal jobs.
Colin MacKenzie, an employee
of the maintenance center and chair of the OPSEU Local 217
bargaining team, said this contract is about one issue and
one issue only.
“This is all about stopping
this employer from contracting out our jobs,” MacKenzie
said. “The Niagara Parks Commission is systematically
destroying jobs and replacing them with outside contracts.”
All bargaining issues, with
the exception of the contracting out issue, have been
settled. But as Mackenzie points out, everything hinges on
that language.
“There is no point having
improvements to wages, benefits or working conditions if you
don’t have a job,” MacKenzie said. “Our members are adamant
that we take a stand against this employer’s practice of
contracting out our work. Niagara Falls lives on tourist
revenue, and our members at the Parks Commission are the
absolute best at what they do. To sell off our jobs to
contractors who know nothing about this work will hurt
Niagara Falls over the long term.”
Over 550 employees at the
Parks Commission tend to the grounds and greenhouses,
perform maintenance and operate restaurants, concessions and
tours at one of Ontario’s busiest tourist attractions.
The union will enter
conciliation with the employer on Dec. 6, 2006. Employees
could be in a legal strike position by Dec. 31.
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For more information,
please contact:
Colin MacKenzie: (905)
374-8756 Bill Rudd, President Local 217: (905) 382-1958
