PSAC picketers at Stony Mountain prison pack it in after union issues warning By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 6:41 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 28, 2023 Last Modified: 6:54 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 28, 2023 Updates

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STONY MOUNTAIN — Federal workers who picketed outside Stony Mountain penitentiary Friday took their placards and went home after the strike captain said he’d received warnings they could be fined or prosecuted.

The picketers had tested the patience of fellow prison workers in the past week, who’ve had to wait for hours in long lineups to get to work.

Two rows of vehicles would regularly cross the picket line. The first was a streamlined route for corrections officers, nurses, psychiatrists and others who are not members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, whose members went on strike April 19 to back contract demands. The group might wait half an hour to get into the prison yard.

PSAC employees deemed essential, including parole officers and maintenance staff, took another line, which stretched parallel to the prison. In this line, workers might sit for most of their workday.

“At 2 o’clock, when we take our (picket) line down, there could be anywhere from 30 to 50 cars still in that line,” said Frank Janz, strike captain at the site and vice-president of the Union of Safety and Justice Employees’ Manitoba branch.

Picketers began at 6 a.m., with a mix of justice staff and PSAC employees from other sectors.

“I’d rather not be doing this,” Janz said. “This is our last resort. This is the big hammer… that we bring down.”

Across the country, more than 100,000 federal civil servants, roughly one-third of the federal civil service, are on strike. They want higher wages and the right to remote work to be enshrined in their contract. In Manitoba, 9,000 workers are affected.

On Friday, the federal government tabled a new contract, which is the first sign of progress in negotiations since the strike began. PSAC contracts expired in 2021.

At the Stony Mountain prison, Janz said as many as 300 safety and justice workers are on strike. More than that number are deemed essential and can’t walk out.

Their primary concern is higher pay, he said.

“Every day, we’re falling behind,” Janz said. “Working in corrections, it’s a tough job… sometimes you have to really stand up to be counted, and this is the way that we can do it within the law.”

“At 2 o’clock, when we take our (picket) line down, there could be anywhere from 30 to 50 cars still in that line.”–Frank Janz, strike captain and vice-president of the Union of Safety and Justice Employees’ Manitoba branch

Not surprisingly, their colleagues who must report to work aren’t happy about being stuck in their vehicle, at the side of the road, for much of the workday.

“I like my job… and I want to work,” said one employee who declined to give her name.

She turned off her vehicle at 9 a.m. and sat waiting. A copy of The New Kingdom, a book on ancient Egypt, was her companion. She’d taken it every day this week for the four-hour waits, she said with a hint of frustration.

“(Then) you get in, you have four hours to do work with your staff and inmates, and it’s just not enough,” she said. “I also understand what PSAC is trying to do. It’s a really hard job… (and) I think a pay raise is deserved.”

Glenn Brown was parked several vehicles ahead. He’d been waiting since 6:30 a.m.

“It’s the price you pay to get better wages,” Brown said, adding the federal government should recognize its workforce and “pay them for what they deserve.”

Janz said as many as 150 PSAC workers have taken to the Stony Mountain picket line daily for the past week and a half.

They cleared earlier than usual Friday: around 9:15 a.m., drivers who’d expected to wait another hour or two were directed to start their engines and move along because picketing had stopped.

Janz said the national PSAC office had warned them Thursday and Friday about illegal strike action, for delaying penitentiary staff, that would result in fines or prosecution.

“PSAC picket lines at government worksites must allow essential workers to gain entry or exit without restriction,” reads an email sent to Janz.

Ottawa could fine or prosecute strike leaders should the protests continue as usual, Janz was told. The directive was issued to picket captains across the country, he said.

The Correctional Service of Canada hadn’t heard about illegal strike activity at Stony Mountain, a federal worker said on background.

“I wouldn’t want to subject anybody here to any sort of fines or prosecution… this is why I took (the picket line) down,” Janz said. “I don’t believe we’re committing any illegal behaviour or any inappropriate behaviour.”

Late Friday afternoon, Janz said he was seeking legal advice and considering what to do next.

“I wouldn’t want to subject anybody here to any sort of fines or prosecution… this is why I took (the picket line) down. I don’t believe we’re committing any illegal behaviour or any inappropriate behaviour.”–Frank Janz

Legally, strikers can’t permanently block people from crossing a picket line. Still, there’s a “huge grey area” when it comes to picket practice, said David Camfield, a University of Manitoba labour studies professor.

The picket line is a place to provide information to the public and staff who aren’t striking, said Julie Guard, another University of Manitoba labour studies professor.

“(This) sounds like they’re overly enthusiastic,” Guard said. “If I were on a picket line and we were… stopping people from going in for four hours, we’d expect an injunction.”

Still, PSAC workers are striking for “a really good cause,” Guard said.

“They’ve been underpaid for a long time. Pay is a big issue,” she said. “Work from home is also a big issue.”

Alicia Fox, who works at the National Microbiology Lab, said she gets paid more to picket than she does at her job. This isn’t the case for all workers, added Roberta Finnie, another picketer. Both were on the picket line at Stony Mountain Friday.

“I just don’t want to struggle to feed myself,” Fox said. “I honestly just feel like I have no value to our government.”

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Workers are leaving government jobs for higher-paid private-sector positions, Fox said.

“None of us want to disrupt our fellow Canadians — that’s not the point,” Fox said. “We just want to continue to feed our family.”

Larissa Henning was disrupted by the strike Friday.

She walked into the Service Canada Centre hoping to get passports for her two children. They’re supposed to visit their father in the Middle East this summer, she said.

The passports weren’t deemed essential and won’t be processed until the strike is over.

“That kind of sucks,” Henning said as she walked away from 433 Main St.

Picketing has held up entry to the National Microbiology Lab on Arlington Street throughout the week.

“Negotiating teams remain at the table and continue to work hard to reach an agreement as quickly as possible,” Rola Salem, a spokesperson for Canada’s Treasury Board, wrote in an email.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle 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.