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Kirkland blue-collar workers strike at the corner of Hymus Blvd. and St. Charles Blvd. (TYREL FEATHERSTONE/The Gazette)
Blue-collar workers strike in Kirkland
Essential services will be maintained
The Gazette
Monday, June 22, 2009
Kirkland blue-collar workers strike at the corner of Hymus Blvd. and St. Charles Blvd. (TYREL FEATHERSTONE/The Gazette)
Blue-collar workers in Kirkland went on strike Saturday, citing an impasse over job security and benefits that has left the 52 workers without a contract since 2006.
The union has agreed with the city to maintain essential services throughout the strike, including sewage and waterway work, road and traffic sign work, and work related to building fire safety and public vehicle reparations. Other services, like garbage and recycling pickup, are already provided by private contractors, said Mayor John Meaney.
The fact that 70 per cent of the work in Kirkland is done by private contractors instead of unionized employees is one of several irritants to the union, said Michel Parent, president of Local 301 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.