Credit Union strike nearing an end?

The Nelson District Credit Union strike, which is closing in on two months, may soon be coming to an end. This week has seen the first face-to-face interaction and negotiations between the two sides as they got back to the negotiating table on Tuesday. After a bargaining session that lasted well into the night, an agreement wasn't, but the latest proposal from the Credit Union is currently being voted on by the union.

“What’s happened in the last day [Tuesday] is that we did meet all day well into the night with the assistance of the mediator, Mark Atkinson,” explained Doug Singer of the Steelworkers Union local 1-405. “Unfortunately, late last night we were not able to reach a mediated settlement. The mediator said there was no point in carrying on as there was no movement left on either side. As a result of that, he said mediations are done for the night and there are no scheduled mediations in the near future. “

Following the failed negotiations, the union’s negotiating committee met and made the decision that, although they did not accept management’s most recent proposal, they would take it to the union for a vote.

“We are not going to recommend accepting it or rejecting it. We are simply going to say, 'Here is the package that was on the table last night, we did not accept it but here it is.' We’ll explain it to them in great detail so they understand it fully and will let them vote as to whether they will accept that package to include bargaining for this year or whether they say it hasn’t addressed the issues that are important to us. In that case, we’ll carry on with the strike,” added Singer.

Facing a stormy and wet April day, the two representatives of the union were optimistic that a good result will come out of the strike and are looking forward to getting back to work.

“Everybody would like to be back and earning money,” said Robert Boyd. “We’re all, at both sides of the table, committed to the credit union and want the credit union to succeed, so hopefully we can make that happen. We’re all aware that we need to have more regular communications between the parties so that we can avoid anything like this happening again. I’m optimistic of a good result. We’re holding up well. Nobody would like to be out here, but everybody in Rossland has been very supportive. Whether people are pro-union or anti-union, as individuals people are really respectful and nice. I’ve been on a picket line where things were not pleasant, so I’m very grateful to my Rossland community for how great everyone has been. “

While details of the latest proposal were unavailable, with both side choosing to keep discussions and negotiations among themselves until the vote is completed, the union’s main grievances include methods for resolving grievances.

The Rossland and East Shore branches already voted on the proposed deal on Wednesday, and the Nelson branch will be voting throughout the day Thursday. Results are expected back by 4:00 P.M. Thursday. Should a deal be reached, the union and management could be back at work as soon as Friday morning. While service at the Rossland Branch has been maintained on a limited level, with appointments necessary for teller service, one customer who wished to remain anonymous was clearly frustrated, commenting,“I just hope they get it over with before people like me get further frustrated. They’re starting to train us to do our banking in Trail which can’t be a good thing for the Rossland branch. I’ll certainly be happy if they get back to regular hours soon.”