Ashton takes walk on Hydro picket line
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/10/2009 (6021 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
NDP leadership candidate Steve Ashton joined striking Manitoba Hydro workers Monday, saying both sides should move quickly to resolve the labour impasse that started Friday.
Ashton said he saw no problem supporting workers who walked off the job after rejecting the Crown utility’s offer.
“I’m not going to forget my roots just because I’m running for leadership,” the Thompson MLA and former intergovernmental affairs minister said outside Hydro’s new downtown office building. “This is who I am. This is what I am. This is what the party is all about. This is what our province is all about.”
Nearly 3,000 electrical workers, truck drivers, transmission technicians and clerical and customer service employees, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034, walked off the job Friday night after rejecting Hydro’s latest contract offer. They are seeking higher salaries and a shorter contract term. It’s the first strike in Manitoba Hydro’s 48-year history.
In question period at the legislature, Rosann Wowchuk, acting finance minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro, said talks between the union and management were to take place Monday afternoon with the help of a conciliator.Late Monday night, there had been no breakthrough.
The unionized workers are walking the picket lines without strike pay.IBEW members voted in favour of strike action knowing they wouldn’t receive pay.
Ashton and former finance minister Greg Selinger are locked in what many view as a dead-heat race heading towards the Oct. 17 NDP leadership vote at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. About 2,000 delegates will vote, including 430 union delegates.
“I certainly feel I have a track record that has been there for working people,” Ashton said. “I make no hesitation is saying that, but I believe I can work with people across the board. I can work with all Manitobans.
“I haven’t discovered the labour movement at delegate-selection time,” he added.
“I’m very confident I’m going to get a very significant amount of labour support based on my track record.”
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