Dear Local 249 members,
At 1:45 a.m. this morning, your Local 249 Bargaining Team reached an agreement to settle the strike through mediation-arbitration with mediator Gerry Lee.
On Sunday, March 15, the Bargaining Team had a fourteen-hour mediation session with the Employer and mediator. With the same determination and perseverance of every single member on strike, discussions continued on Monday, March 16.
The Bargaining Team agreed to a process of mediation-arbitration to ensure we could secure a fair resolution to the strike for our members. In this process, the mediator Gerry Lee issued a decision (known as an “award”) and the parties agreed to a return-to-work protocol.
After 18 months of difficult negotiations with an incredibly difficult employer, the gains made in this agreement would not have been possible without members holding strong on the picket line for more than 16 weeks.
Full details of the award and return to work protocol will be presented to members in a member townhall, scheduled for Tuesday, March 17 at 5:00 p.m. We know that members will have questions, and we look forward to providing answers in the townhall.
In the meantime, we ask all members to stay home from picket duties today and await for further instructions from the strike committee.
In solidarity,
The Local 249 Bargaining Team