Enmax electrical workers vote to authorize strike as bargaining continues
CBC
Electrical workers with Enmax have passed a strike authorization vote, granting the union's membership the right to issue strike notice to the City of Calgary-owned utility.
The vote is the latest development in ongoing negotiations between Enmax and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 254 following the expiration of the previous collective agreement, which covered 389 employees, on Dec. 31, 2024.
Brad Dougherty, the union's business manager, told CBC News that the membership is "motivated to get a deal done at the table" and that negotiations with Enmax will take place this week.
The strike authorization vote saw a 99.5 per cent member turnout, with 98.9 per cent voting in favour of authorizing job action. The vote, which was certified by the Alberta Labour Relations Board on June 2, gives IBEW Local 254 the right to serve 72-hour strike notice to Enmax within 120 days.
Enmax power line technicians, power system electricians, boom truck operators and warehouse workers are among IBEW Local 254's members.
Dougherty declined to provide specific details about the union's concerns with the now-expired contract, with a release sent by the union stating "key issues around wages and benefits remain unsolved."
In a statement sent to CBC News, Enmax said that over the last several months it has been working with IBEW Local 254 toward renewing the collective agreement.
The utility said it was "disappointed by the vote outcome" and confirmed that notice had been received regarding the union's vote in favour of supporting a strike.
"We value our union team members and remain hopeful we can reach a fair and balanced agreement without disruption to our operations," Enmax said.
The collective bargaining process has been ongoing since last year, with formal mediation between the union and Enmax leaving the two at an impasse.
"Really, we're just looking to achieve something that's fair for our membership, and recognizing the value that they bring both to the organization and to the city as a whole," Dougherty said.
Enmax is owned by the City of Calgary and operates across Alberta, as well as in the U.S. state of Maine.
A musical instrument created in Guelph, Ont., has been thrust onto the international stage — or rather, screen.
More than 1,000 Maritime Electric customers are without power after high winds blew across the Island Friday night into Saturday.
The Supreme Court of Canada is deliberating a case that could shape the way sentences are handed down in cases where both the offender and victim are Indigenous, which some Nunavut lawyers say could have ramifications for the Inuit-majority territory.
A man barricaded in a former church in Welland, Ont., was taken into custody early Saturday, nearly 24 hours into a standoff that began over a fence dispute.
Peel police are investigating after a Friday night shooting in Mississauga left one person dead, police said.
Another busy construction season has come to an end in London, and the city is already looking ahead to next spring when a slew of new projects are expected to begin.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has begun to lay out publicly what he sees as boundaries when dealing with China, as his government wades into a new relationship with the economic giant.
Ferry crossings are cancelled and over a thousand households are left without power Saturday morning, due to high winds and severe weather conditions.
Tens of thousands of Nova Scotia Power customers are waking up without power on Saturday morning after high winds and rain hit the province on Friday night.
Statistics Canada is reporting a population decrease last quarter for New Brunswick — its largest quarterly decline since the 1970s, according to an economic development consultant.
Residents clapped, danced, sang and cried in the Anishinaabe community of Kitcisakik this week when the lights were finally turned on for the first time.
A man is suing three members of a Winnipeg family and a real estate broker he alleges used his intellectual disability to financially exploit him through property deals in Canada and India, leaving him out hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When Stephanie Gamble watched her mother model the first dress she made, smiling wide and walking an imaginary runway, she knew that was what she wanted to keep doing in her life.