CUPE Talk in the Maritimes: CUPE PEI Local 830 special [video]

CUPE Talk in the Maritimes brings you regional labour news and perspective from the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

This edition of the show looks at the situation in P.E.I., where Charlottetown’s municipal water and sewer workers have been on strike for nearly a month. Roughly 30 workers have been without a contract for more than two and a half years, and they walked off the job on July 29.

“We’re standing up for respect and fairness, but we are being ignored,” said CUPE 830 president Robbie Howatt in a video message featured in this episode. The union is calling for residents to contact city hall to express support for workers. Issues at stake include wages, job security and seniority.

Labour leaders are calling for people to show their support for the striking workers as continue holding the line. “You’re not alone in your fight,” Chris Watson, president of the NB Federation of Labour, told members of the Charlottetown local. “You’ve got the broader labour movement standing behind you, and we’re going to do whatever it takes.”

CUPE Talk in the Maritimes is hosted by Nicholas London — secretary of Local 380 and Recording Secretary at the Saint John District Labour Council — and Chris Watson, president of the NB Federation of Labour.