More than 60 firefighters sporting bright yellow T-shirts that read “We support those who support us” marched into council chambers on Monday.
They went there to send a message to city council that enough is enough – they want a new contract now.
The City of Burnaby and the firefighters’ union have been trying to negotiate a new contract for more than a year. After a failed mediation session last February, the parties chose to meet again for arbitration.
It took nearly six months to choose an arbitrator the city and the union could agree on, but because of the arbitrator’s busy schedule, it’s unlikely the two parties will meet for arbitration before June 2016 – a glum prospect for a union that’s been without a contract since 2011, said Rob Lamoureux, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 323, which represents 281 firefighters in Burnaby.
“We’re the third biggest local in the province and still don’t have (a contract),” he said.
Monday’s “silent sit-in” at city council was organized to show city council the firefighters are fed up with what Lamoureux believes is a city council and mayor who are deliberately stalling negotiations between city staff and the union.
“I think it showed our solidarity, our support. It showed our members are engaged to want to come in on their own time to do this, just to let mayor and council know it’s been 1,366 days today without a collective agreement, and counting,” Lamoureux said after Monday night’s meeting.
Councillors and staff looked surprised when the firefighters abruptly entered council chambers just as a public meeting was getting underway. After the initial shock, however, the meeting went on as scheduled.
Mayor Derek Corrigan was away on holidays and instead, Coun. Nick Volkow led the meeting as acting mayor.
“It didn’t make a difference to me. Oh sure, it would have been great for the mayor to be there, but I think we’re very happy how things went. Our message was sent,” Lamoureux said.
Across the province, more than 30 fire departments have ratified new contracts, most with the annual 2.5 per cent wage increase over four years that Lamoureux wants for Burnaby, but he said the city won’t agree.
“We’re fine with the terms and wages that are out there,” he said, adding the city wants them to give up some things in exchange for the pay raise. What those “things” are, Lamoureux wouldn’t say.
But the city sees things a little differently.
Coun. Paul McDonell told the NOW prior to Monday’s meeting that much of the delay was because the firefighters’ union wouldn’t negotiate with the city. He said the union delayed bargaining, letting the contract sit in limbo.
“They waited and waited until others (locals) settled, so it was almost three years before they even came to the table,” he said. “It’s not unusual. Sometimes you get contracts settled, sometimes you don’t, and if you can’t, then there’s a way under the labour code that you can have it settled.”
When asked about the allegation that city council and the mayor are purposely delaying the negotiations, McDonell said they’re “totally false.”
“Bargaining is a two-way street, and we’ve reached an impasse, and they went to mediation, and the mediator was unable to break the deadlock and suggested we go to arbitration,” he added.
While neither party would say what the sticking points are, McDonell said the city is open to an eight-year contract to catch up.
But until a contract is arbitrated, firefighters continue to work in limbo, which has left many feeling frustrated and disappointed, Lamoureux said.
“I’ll be honest. There’s tough days at work with the morale, and I think they’re feeling like they’re kind of underappreciated, and they really just can’t understand why our employer, our city, our mayor and council in particular, don’t think that we’re worth what other departments are worth, and they want us to accept less, work for less to be a Burnaby firefighter, which we think is unacceptable,” he added.
Both parties will now have to agree on the dates for arbitration, which is quickly becoming another contentious issue for the city and union.
Lamoureux said the union thinks only one day is necessary, considering how long it took other locals at the arbitration table.
But Lambert Chu, the deputy city manager and liaison for the Burnaby Fire Department, said the city wants to err on the side of caution and book two days, just in case the arbitration runs long.
In the meantime, Chu said, the city is open to being put on a cancellation list in case any other dates become available before next summer.
When firefighters and the city finally do come together with the arbitrator, the decision will be binding.
“It’s just a process you go through. Sometimes it’s like marriage. You agree when you have a dispute and sometimes you have to go to counselling,” McDonell said.
