Members of IBEW Local 636, which represents part-time facility staff at the Atlas Tube Centre, demonstrate outside Lakeshore Town Hall. Photo courtesy IBEW Local 636.Members of IBEW Local 636, which represents part-time facility staff at the Atlas Tube Centre, demonstrate outside Lakeshore Town Hall. Photo courtesy IBEW Local 636.
Windsor

Atlas Tube Centre strike enters its third week

The union representing part-time employees in the town of Lakeshore wants to get back to the table.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 636, which represents 21 part-time employees at the Atlas Tube Centre, is criticising the town for not returning to bargaining to end the work stoppage.

In a media release sent Tuesday afternoon, the union stated it had wanted to resolve the two-week-old impasse before the centre was due to host some key events this week.

"We were hoping to accomplish this prior to March 23 as we do not wish to see any disruption in the Minor Hockey Day of Champions or the Montreal Canadiens Alumni Hockey Game," read the release. "It was our hope that the town would have come to the table to negotiate a fair and equitable resolve."

The statement also said the town has refused to meet with the union unless it presented an offer lower than one the municipality filed on February 28. Employees walked off the job on the evening of March 5 in a dispute over wages.

Mayor Tom Bain and Lakeshore Town Council signed a letter that was posted Monday on the town's official website, in which they said the municipality has every intention of offering a fair deal that is competitive.

"Even before any wage increases, our staff already earn a rate well above what most of the region's facilities pay," read the letter. "In fact, they already earn dramatically more than the city of Windsor's facility attendants. Even so, we are proud of our workers and want to support them with compensation that is competitive and motivating."

Employees earn $20.36 per hour, but the town of Lakeshore claimed the union rejected it for a $24 per hour wage, an offer it said is "not sustainable".

In addition to the Canadiens Alumni Game and the Minor Hockey Day of champions, the Lakeshore Canadiens junior-C hockey team is also due to begin its PJHL Western Conference Finals series against the Exeter Hawks Wednesday night. The town has teamed up with some of its partners to ensure the Atlas Tube Centre remained open for all scheduled programs.

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