The 19 outside workers at the Timmins Victor M. Power Airport have voted in favour of strike action. But their union isn’t ready to commit to a work stoppage just yet.
The Union of Canadian Transportation Employees has been threatening to go on strike as of Friday. It accuses the City of Timmins — which operates the regional airport serving Northeastern Ontario and the James Bay coast — of trying to roll back wages in a sneaky maneuvre. The city is offering a 1.5% raise, but the union says benefits concessions the city is demanding result in a net reduction.
UCTE won’t say how many of the workers, who snowplow the runways and do other work around the airport, voted for a strike, other than to call it “overwhelming”. The union says it never releases those numbers.
It also says the vote sets the stage for a strike, but a final decision will be made during meetings on Thursday.
We’ll have more as it becomes available right here and on Moose FM News.