Winnipeg's largest union calls for mayor's inner circle to pressure city for deal

Winnipeg's largest union is closing in on the first general municipal workers strike since 1919 and says if the city wants to avoid it, the ball is in their court.

"I think that nobody really realizes the extent of the magnitude of us going on strike. I think that's going to have a significant impact," CUPE Local 500 president Gord Delbridge told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.

On Wednesday night, the union sent a message to its 5,000 members, who work across a range of city services, announcing a strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 11.

Members voted 93 per cent in favour of a strike mandate in July and CUPE opened its strike headquarters on Sept. 12.

A frustrated Delbridge told reporters Thursday that the union has wanted to get a deal done for a year and a half. Negotiations on a new contract began March 10, 2021 — a month after the previous one expired.

"We are asking the city to come back to the table and put an end to this. The ball is in their court," he said.

He called on members of city council's executive policy committee, also known as the mayor's inner circle, "to provide administration with some directive to resolve this."

"Bring it forward to get a deal to stop this."

It's not clear exactly who is at the table and who still needs to arrive.

In an email sent late Wednesday night to CBC News, the city said it received formal strike notice from CUPE that same evening.

The city "is committed to negotiating a settlement" and wants to see CUPE return to the bargaining table, the email said.

Delbridge said union members — who work for 311, recreational services, water and waste, traffic and other municipal services — want to continue to serve Winnipeggers, but "must be compensated fairly in order to do so."

The union has repeatedly said the main sticking point is wages. Delbridge wouldn't say how far apart CUPE and the city's negotiators are but noted the last percentage increases offered by city, over a four-year term, were 1.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 1.75.

That offer was made in July and turned down by the union.