Workers at Glengarry Sports Palace, Maxville Sports Complex, Island Park, and the unionized employees at Glengarry Indoor Sports Dome remain on strike. As the work stoppage nears it’s second week, workers say that the Township has refused to offer fair wages. Employees walked off the job last Friday.
Nick Hansen started working for the Township over nine years ago, after graduating from high school. “I think it’s important that we have good jobs in our community for our community,” he said.
“Almost half of our staff have been here for over 25 years,” said Hansen, the lead hand at Glengarry Sports Palace. “We don’t want to have to leave our jobs to find fair wages. “We just want to be respected and paid what workers doing the same jobs in other municipalities are making.”
The workers’ last contract was signed during the pandemic. They could see it was a struggle for facilities and settled for small increases, even though inflation was rampant, and the cost-of-living was skyrocketing. The understanding was that they would receive wages during these negotiations to help them catch up, but that hasn’t happened. Despite the township saying they are willing to negotiate, they have not been willing to increase their wage offer.
“I’ve been working for North Glengarry for 35 years to give our community a good, safe, and clean arena to enjoy,” said Faye Vogan, an equipment operator. “We are looking for comparable wages to other municipalities in our area who have been receiving higher wage increases then us. We are hoping to close the wage gap over the next three years.”
The ten facilities workers are members of the Service Employees International Union Local 2. They work at the arenas and parks in the township, doing maintenance, mowing lawns, and resurfacing the ice, amongst other things. They have been without a contract since April 1, 2024. Negotiations began in the fall of 2023 and mediation in early August did not result in a deal being reached. No additional talks are scheduled.
Currently, starting wages are $17.58 for general labourers and $17.92 for equipment operators. Except for one employee, wages max out at $19.76 and $24.20. South Glengarry pays workers $3.28 per hour more then North Glengarry’s top rate for comparable work.
Hansen and his co-workers would love to get back to the job and get the ice installed for their friends and family in the community. Getting back to negotiations however will require the Township offering fair wages, and to date, the employer has refused to budge from their final offer.
