Winnipeg Free Press production continues; workers in strike position
About 1,000 unionized workers at the Winnipeg Free Press were still on the job Wednesday, a day after their contract expired.
The members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, which includes editorial, advertising, circulation and press staff, as well as newspaper carriers, were in a legal strike position at midnight Wednesday. Eighty-four per cent favoured strike action in an earlier vote.
"Staff are nervous, anxious," said Aldo Santin, co-chair of the bargaining council.
"Anyone who's been through a situation like that, they don't know when it's going to happen. I just try to tell people to focus, to keep focused on their jobs and just, you know, wait to hear from us."
The newspaper and its workers are in conciliation; union negotiator Paul McKie said a meeting was held last Friday, and another is planned for Oct. 9.
There are no guarantees the union will not stage some form of labour action before the meeting, McKie said.
"It will not drag on," he said. "We will take the advice of the membership in the bargaining council and push the employer to bargain. So far, the employer is not interested in bargaining. They're only interested in dictating their demands."
Major sticking points in the dispute are wages, benefits and job security, McKie said.
The newspaper is asking for concessions, but the union says its members had hoped for an increase, following minor increases in the past three years.
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