A strike involving thousands of workers could be coming soon, as talks between the union and the City of Winnipeg have broken down.
CUPE 500 represents 4,600 workers who handle city services. A city spokesperson and CUPE 500 president Mike Davidson say both sides are open to talking, but at this point negotiations have broken off.
The CUPE 500 members are scheduled to vote on the city's offer on Feb. 18. CTV News has obtained a bulletin from the union suggesting that members reject the offer.
"There are a lot of duties that would be impacted if job action were to happen," Davidson says.
City officials are preparing for a possible strike, but said emergency services such as police, fire and paramedic services won't be affected.
There is a contingency plan for other essential services, such as flood preparations and water treatment. The city says in the event of a strike, non-essential services would either be reduced or closed temporarily. Garbage and recycling would not be affected as it is contracted out.
Most of the snow clearing in Winnipeg is contracted out, but about ten per cent of the city is cleared by workers in the union. So, it may take longer for some of the work to be done or other action might be taken, says Linda Black, a spokesperson for the city.
If there is a strike, libraries and recreation centres would be closed and ice-clearing may come to a halt at arenas.
-with a report from CTV's Laura Lowe
