Several SNOLAB workers were at the picket line outside of Creighton Mine in Lively this morning, during their second day of strike action.
“We’ve had two offers, and both the offers haven’t been acceptable on a few different fronts,” strike captain Adam Campbell told Sudbury.com.
“There’s a bit of a gap between what non-union staff receive here and what the unionized staff receive, and we’re trying to close that gap.”
Campbell is a senior systems operator at the underground science facility two kilometres underground where neutrino and dark matter is studied within 5,000 square metres of clean space. He’s part of a team that runs infrastructure at the lab.
He joins 51 fellow SNOLAB workers who keep the place running, including electricians, millwrights, cleaners, operations staff, IT technicians and others.
“There’s a wide range of employees who are in the union,” he said of USW Local 2020-59, which kicked off strike action at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday after contract negotiations stalled.
“We’re looking to be treated a bit more fairly and get a little bit more equity in how the wages and benefits are distributed,” Campbell said.
“None of us want to be here doing this, but at the end of the day this is something that’s been building for a few years now, and this is the time to take a stand.”
The contract they’re coming out of was signed a few years ago, Campbell said, since which time high pandemic-era inflation made life less affordable, putting “a dent out of everyone’s spending power.”
“Things can’t just stay the status quo,” Campbell said.
SNOLAB has 129 permanent employees, of whom 52 are part of USW 2020.
“I’m not sure how much continuation is going on,” Campbell said of SNOLAB operations during the strike. “I think it’s more of trying to keep the place afloat.”
In a media release issued by SNOLAB on Wednesday, it’s clarified that the lab will remain open and operational despite the strike action.
“Following a day of mediation on Monday, SNOLAB presented what we believe is a fair offer,” executive director Jodi Cooley said. “I remain optimistic that we can get back to the bargaining table and reach an agreement.
“SNOLAB is a world-class science lab, and we all take an immense amount of pride in the work we do. That will not change.”
Cooley defended their compensation levels and “top-tier” benefit packages, and said that while the second round of bargaining has not been scheduled, the sooner the two sides get back to the table the better it will be for everyone.
Wages for unionized employees range from $43,440 to $81,000, SNOLAB’s media release notes, and the average three-year increase across all unionized employees coming out of 2021 contract negotiations was 11.9 per cent. Of the 52 unionized employees, 21 received a 10-20 per cent increase over this period, and two received increases greater than 20 per cent.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
