BY GIANNI UBRIACO
A week has gone by since more than 62 workers at the five branches in the Greater City of Sudbury area went on strike, but the group remains unified in their fight for higher wages and more benefits. In fact, they gathered outside the CIBC branch in the New Sudbury Shopping Centre to display their solidarity during a rally Friday afternoon.
“We'll be here as long as it takes to get a fair deal involving across the board wage increases for everybody,” said Karen Ladouceur, who's been a sales representative for the last five years. “We're not going to settle for less. It's been way too many years the bank has had too much control.”
The bank's final offer last Wednesday was rejected by just over half of the workers, but Ladouceur believes everyone is now on the same side.
“We're very unified,” she said. “There are lots of people on the line now that voted to go back, but now they're saying they're glad they're out here and standing up for what they believe in.”
That offer included wage increases ranging from $0.90 $1.98 over two years, but staff representative for Local 2020 of the United Steel Workers of America, Jim Kmit, points out that the proposal didn't apply to everyone.
“The key issue is money, so that means everybody has to get a raise and their last offer didn't give everyone a raise,” he said. “They have what you call performance-based culture and they're saying that culture doesn't allow people that don't perform to their standards a raise. That has got to be fixed.”
Ultimately, he says they're willing to consider accepting a performance-based stipulation as long as everybody winds up getting a fair raise, and adds that although there's no specific amount that they're looking for, they do expect more than what they were offered. They're also hoping that the bank agrees to pay 100 percent of their benefits.
He concluded by saying that he would like to get back to the bargaining table, pointing out that he spoke to a company lawyer Friday morning, as well as a conciliation officer Thursday, but feels the bank has the next move.
“At this point, the bank isn't prepared to increase their offer, so that tells me they don't want to bargain,” he said. “So, what the bank has done now is put these workers out on strike and now these workers are angry.”
As for the impact the strike is having on the workers, Carole Blanchette, who's been a bank teller for the last six years, admits she's one of the lucky ones.
“I have a husband to help support me, but for a lot of these other single moms, it's really hard on them,” she said. “But, I think if today's any indication, we're unified.”
That includes customer service sales representative Lori Pilatzke, who's worked with the bank for seven years now.
“We just want equal pay for equal work,” she said. “If the bank keeps their employees happy, we'll work better and be more productive in the long run.”
The president of USW Local 6500, John Fera, was in attendance to offer his support, as was Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas.
“We will always be there to ensure a fair day's pay for a hard day's work, and right now these workers aren't getting this,” she told the crowd.
The New Sudbury branch is the only one of the five local branches that has remained open during weekdays from 9 am to 6 pm, thanks to management and non-bargaining units. Plus, customers can still use one of the fifteen local CIBC automated bank machines and night depositories at all five locations, and they can conduct their banking online at www.cibc.com, or they can do it over the phone through CIBC's 24-hour toll-free number at 1-800-465-CIBC.
The USW is Canada's most diverse union, representing over 280,000 people working in various sectors of the economy, including more than 1,000 in financial services.
Meanwhile, CIBC spokesperson Rod Cumming admitted earlier this week that he was very disappointed with the outcome of the final vote since he felt that the bank had made a fair and competitive offer to reach an agreement. Having said that, he assured everyone that their attention is now focused on continuing to serve their clients in the area as best as they can under the circumstances. Although he didn't want to speculate on how long the strike may last, he hoped that it would be over as soon as possible, pointing out that their next step is to work through their federal mediator and get both sides back to the table.
“We are prepared to return to the table and continue to work with union's negotiating committee for the sake of our clients, “ he said. “We appreciate our customers' patience and apologize for any inconvenience.”
