Tension builds between Edmonton city council and union; CSU 52 strike 1 day away

With a potential strike that would affect many City of Edmonton services just one day away, the back and forth continues between city council and the union.

The Civic Service Union (CSU 52) served strike notice Monday at 11 a.m. The union said the picket line will begin Thursday at 11 a.m.

CSU 52 represents about 6,000 technical, professional, administrative and clerical workers within the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Public Library, including police communications (911 operators), 311 support agents, city planners, safety code and building code officers, permit processors, recreation centre employees, animal welfare co-ordinators, tax assessors, librarians, pages and professional services.

The city said its negotiations with the union included 30 bargaining sessions and multiple mediation dates. At the end of January, CSU 52 held several emergency meetings with members as contract negotiations with the city stalled.

CSU 52 told Global News that Mayor Amarjeet Sohi met with union president Lanny Chudyk earlier Tuesday, but no progress was made.

City manager Andre Corbould is set to speak at a news conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday to explain the City of Edmonton’s contingency planning efforts and expected service impacts.

Acting chief people officer Cyndil Taylor and assistant deputy chief of emergency and communications Rein Tonowski will also attend.

This article will be updated with their comments.

2:03 CSU 52 serves strike notice to City of Edmonton

On Tuesday evening, Sohi shared a statement that was signed by him and all councillors on social media.

It said, in part, that “all members of council are united in our desire to reach a fair and equitable resolution for all city employees.”

Council said the city offered “CSU 52 members a fair and equitable deal” that “includes 7.25 per cent in total wage increases over five years. About 8,0000 city employees have already accepted a similar increase for 2023, 2022 and 2023.”

Council said it also has to be fair to Edmontonians — balancing the union’s requests with “the current fiscal pressures faced by the city and Edmontonians.”

“The proposal put forward by CSU 52 would result in an additional tax increase of 2.5 per cent ($47.5M) for 2024 if applied to all the city workforce. There would also be a one-time $17-million unfunded retroactive payment that would be due immediately. The overall tax impact would be an increase to 9.1 per cent in 2024,” council’s statement said.

It ended by saying “the city’s negotiating team will continue to be open to discussions.”

0:38 CSU 52 representing many city employees serving strike notice to Edmonton

The union issued a statement Wednesday in response.

Chudyk slammed council for “passing the cost of front-line workers onto taxpayers instead of making hard choices on discretionary projects.”

“Leadership is taking a look at the ‘nice-to-haves’ and making hard choices…. Blatchford, electric buses, the hydrogen fueling station, LRT projects — the list of money mismanagement this council oversees is long and their inexperience continues to show,” the union president said.

“This should not be the burden of the taxpayer.”

He said he questions the numbers released by the mayor and council in the statement, saying CSU 52 is not negotiating for all City of Edmonton employees.

Chudyk also called out the continuous urging to “return to the negotiating table.”

“We sent an official request to return to the table Monday morning and still haven’t received a word from their negotiating team. It is impossible to negotiate with a party that has not come to the bargaining table since December 2023.”

He said the two parties are about two per cent apart, saying the union is proposing wage increases of 1.5 per cent in 2021 and 2022, and two per cent in 2023, while the city’s offer is zero in 2021, one per cent in 2022 and two per cent in 2023. Council has said the city offered 7.25 per cent over five years.

The union does not want to strike either, Chudyk stressed.

“What we want is a fair and equitable deal for CSU 52 members instead we will see a strike that will see far-reaching impacts for Edmontonians — something this city has not had to deal (with) in nearly 50 years.”

5:59 ‘They’re completely out of touch’: political analyst weighs in on Edmonton property tax hike

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