Civic workers union filing grievance over city hall safety issues

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This article was published 31/01/2024 (624 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The city’s largest union will file a grievance over security at city hall, which will accuse the municipal government of failing to provide a safe workplace.

Gord Delbridge, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, said staff have reported verbal abuse, racist remarks, threats and harassment.

“There’s always concern that things could potentially escalate,” he said.

The grievance, which he expected to file by end of Thursday, will demand that the city take immediate action to improve safety at the civic complex, such as by ordering an external security review of the buildings.

“It’s as a result (of) some things that have recently come up (locally). We (also) want to take a proactive approach and get in front of it.… Let’s not wait until someone comes in with a Molotov cocktail and some guns before taking action,” he said.

The safety complaint follows a major security incident in Edmonton City Hall last week, when gunshots were fired and a Molotov cocktail ignited. A 28-year-old man was charged in the incident. No one was physically hurt.

Since CUPE members include some clerical staff, building cleaners, maintenance staff and other employees who work at Winnipeg’s civic complex, urgent action should be taken to prevent local violence, said Delbridge.

In addition to the review, he suggested the city consider adding more security staff and/or metal detectors, perhaps as a precautionary measure before a final report is available.

“They should be seeking external review on all that’s needed (and) move quickly in the interim, just to put some provisions in place to make sure that the (public), our members, administration and councillors all feel safe,” he said.

While the city has key card access, security guards and a visitor sign-in process in place at its council and administrative buildings, the union leader said those measures have been inadequate so far.

While also calling for an external security review on Monday, Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry Coun. Sherri Rollins told the Free Press some staff lack the key card access needed to use multiple exits from certain rooms during an emergency.

City officials said Tuesday that issue is being addressed, with upgrades slated to begin next week.

Several councillors reached by the Free Press Wednesday agreed there are significant safety issues at that warrant attention.

Coun. Janice Lukes said councillors’ administrative assistants are not represented by CUPE but have also expressed safety concerns, often due to verbal harassment they receive along with council members. She noted one phone call placed to her office last week included 17 “f*** you’s.”

Lukes (Waverley West) said she keeps a hammer and a bat in her office, so she would be able to escape from a window, if needed.

“When you’re in your office in the back bowels of city hall and, if something (goes) down, I just (needed) to understand what to do and I wasn’t getting answers for a long time,” she said. “Psychologically, my assistants and I feel great (to) have a plan (now).”

On Tuesday, St. Norbert-Seine River Coun. Markus Chambers said it’s time metal detectors were installed in the complex.

Some advocates, however, argue that would create a barrier that keeps vulnerable people out of the building.

“It just keeps certain communities out in terms of accessing that space.… It’s such a bad faith presentation of what keeps people safe and it suggests that city hall is somehow unsafe,” said Joe Curnow, a member of Millennium for All, which has lobbied against metal detectors at Millennium Library.

Curnow said that measure would also be expensive, stripping away resources better spent on key city services.

Mayor Scott Gillingham’s office referred questions about the grievance to chief administrative officer Michael Jack. A spokeswoman declined comment on Jack’s behalf Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Gillingham told reporters he agrees more work should be done to improve security and he expects the upcoming hiring of a new “campus security lead” will help determine the best steps forward.

“I wish we were in a place, as a society, where we didn’t need Transit safety shields, shields in taxis, security (and) metal detectors at the hockey game, at the football stadium, at the legislature. … I get it though. I understand that things have changed,” he said.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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