City, union in dispute over garbage pilot project
Arbitrator to look into dispute between city, union over pilot project
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/03/2020 (2080 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The city and its largest union are “deadlocked” in their dispute over a garbage collection pilot project, which an arbitrator will soon attempt to sort out.
On Tuesday, council’s executive policy committee voted to seek an arbitrator’s view on whether or not a 2018 settlement agreement requires the city to ensure a two-year test of public garbage collection takes place.
The pilot, with one multi-family garbage contract, was supposed to begin on Feb. 1, but city staff recommended cancelling it over budget concerns, estimating it would cost $656,000 more than a $2.2-million private option.
Council’s vote on the cancellation has been delayed multiple times, after the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) claimed dropping the plan now would violate the agreement.
Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) said the two sides still can’t agree on how to interpret the settlement. He said CUPE believes the deal guarantees the pilot project, while the city argues the higher price estimate warrants its cancellation.
“The parties are deadlocked on the meaning of that memorandum,” said Mayes.
The settlement was created to resolve a 2016 CUPE grievance, which alleged the city unfairly overlooked in-house collection in its previous major garbage contract.
The settlement itself calls for the two sides to “participate in the pilot project.” It then states “the parties must stay within budgetary confines of the contract in operation in a given year. This may necessitate the parties negotiating changes to the existing collective agreement.”
Gord Delbridge, president of CUPE Local 500, said that clause clearly spells out that the pilot project must happen, with any budget issues handled when it’s already in place.
“The language was very clear… If there was something that came up as a cost-effective means to make the project successful, we could negotiate that. It was not a way out,” said Delbridge.
If city council does cancel the pilot project, CUPE would reinstate its 2016 grievance, Delbridge said.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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