'Freezin' for a reason': Picketing begins in Yellowknife after mediation between city, union fails

City workers in Yellowknife have walked off the job and picketing began at 8 a.m., with workers carrying bright flags and posters outside city hall calling for a better wage offer from the city.

Workers who spoke with CBC said they plan to stay out there as long as it takes for that to happen.

"I'm feeling good. Look at the guys here — we're freezin' for a reason," said Daryl Snow, who works at the Multiplex.

It was about –29 C Wednesday morning as the picketing began. Geraldine Penney, who was part of the bargaining team, said she was happy to see vehicles driving by and honking in support.

"I know it's cold outside, but my heart is warm," she said.

"I'll be here every day until it's over, and hopefully that's not going to be very long."

Wednesday's job action is both a strike and a lockout, according to Lorraine Rousseau, the executive vice-president for PSAC North, the northern arm of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Workers are off the job and picketing outside city hall, but the city has also shut down services on its end of things. That means if the strike ends, workers can't go back to their jobs until the city ends the lockout.

Rousseau said Yellowknifers can expect to see city staff picketing "at various locations" starting Wednesday morning.

"You will see signage and you will hear us," she said.

Another round of talks this week between the city and the union representing most of its workers failed to produce an agreement, even with the aid of a federally appointed mediator. 

In a bargaining update Tuesday, PSAC said the city wouldn't budge on wages, among other things, and that they would "officially be on strike/lockout as of midnight tonight."

The city said the union left the bargaining table with more than 13 hours left to reach a deal.

On Wednesday morning, city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett said the city has a counter-offer, but it didn't get the chance to discuss that with the union before negotiations broke down.

She said the city's wage offer is "in the ballpark" that the union has been asking for. Previously, the city has offered a wage increase of two per cent, while the union has said it wants more, given the level of inflation in Yellowknife is about seven per cent.

"It's been a tough few days leading up to the strike action that was implemented first thing this morning," Bassi-Kellett said.

"I'm very sad that things have gotten to this point, but I really believe that we are still able to find a path forward."

Rousseau said the city left the union with "no choice" but to end negotiations Tuesday. She said the union had provided a wage proposal, but the city was "not prepared to speak to that, and at that point we were forced to end the discussion."

"The employer was not willing to talk about fair wages," she added.

City councillors speak

Mayor Rebecca Alty said Tuesday she was "shocked and disappointed" by the union's messaging.

She said the union left talks "without giving the city the opportunity to be creative and work with the union towards a solution."

The strike comes after tensions between the union and the city escalated over the weekend. The union gave legal notice it could strike Wednesday, and the city responded with a notice of its own stating it would lock workers out at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning before the strike could happen. That was before the union announced the midnight strike.

On Tuesday, the Union of Northern Workers, a component of the PSAC, published a letter to city councillors urging them not to cross picket lines.

The union said doing so "shows ultimate disrespect for your workers."

It also published a second letter, directed at three city councillors who are union members in their day job, reminding them of obligations during the strike.

In response the three councillors — Couns. Ben Hendriksen, Steve Payne and Rob Warburton later signed a joint emailed statement saying that they would fulfil their duties as councillors, and that they considered the UNW's letter to be an intimidation tactic.

"In our role as councillors, we have a fiduciary responsibility to the city and would be unable to uphold that responsibility while abiding by all the demands the Union has laid out in their communication," the statement reads in part. 

"As publicly elected representatives of the city, it would be a breach of our elected duties to follow in that action."

Rousseau said Wednesday that the union sent that letter "out of respect" for those councillors, so they wouldn't have any question of their obligations.

A council meeting is scheduled for Monday. Several councillors have told CBC they plan to continue their duties as elected officials.

The job action affects a bargaining unit made up of about 205 city workers.