Green Party Leader Seeks Resolution for Unionized Covered Bridge Employees
photo taken from CBC
Fredericton – On Tuesday March 8th, David Coon, MLA for Fredericton South and Leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick, sent a letter to Francine Landry, Minister for the department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, to request an independent mediator be appointed to resolve the impasse between the employees and management of Covered Bridge Chips.
The strike began January 5th, following the failed mediation attempts dating back to June of last year. Following the strike action, the union decided to initiate a boycott in an effort to bring management back to the table.
“Everyone is losing in this standoff,” said Coon. “Minister Landry has the ability and the responsibility to facilitate these negotiations and to ensure a successful first contract is negotiated.”
New Brunswick is one of only three provinces that has no first contract arbitration process.
“First contract legislation may have avoided the strike,” said Coon. “So I have also encouraged the Minister to introduce a bill at her earliest opportunity to avoid similar situations in the future.”
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