110 days in, Windsor Salt strike takes toll on workers
It's been 110 days since Windsor Salt workers went on strike on Feb. 17.
The impasse is taking a toll on the 250 workers who make $300 a week in strike pay.
“The longer a dispute goes the greater the benefits of the eventual deal have to be for both parties because you've lost so much,” said Rafael Gomez, director of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Toronto.
Some are using side gigs to make ends meet.
“Luckily some of us have that,” said John O’Keefe. “Some of us don't. Those guys that don't, unfortunately, are feeling a lot more but we’re sticking together. We’re not going anywhere.”
Bill Wark, president of Unifor Local 1959, says that face to face negotiations have not occurred since an alleged attack on an employee in April which has slowed the process.
“You do a lot of repetitive work over and over again and you can't clearly identify objects and issues that are the parties' priorities,” said Wark.
Windsor police say no one has been arrested and the investigation is continuing. The company says they are working with both police and private investigators to find the assailants.
In order to get both sides back to the bargaining table face to face, a meeting has been set up between union reps and Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton.
In the meantime, Gomez has some recommendations.
“You throw out the things you don't agree on. Put them aside. Focus on what you can agree on as a problem. Solve that first and that builds up trust and confidence,” he said.
Gomez also suggests bringing in a third party to sit at the table.
“When you have the no-exit option you're forced to eventually come up with the deal so that's what I'm hopeful happens here,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.