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The union representing Ottawa’s taxi industry is planning a mass “Day of Action” on Friday that it hopes will clog streets around the St. Elias Banquet Centre in Mooney’s Bay and refocus attention on the 200 or so Airport-branded taxi drivers’ three-month labour dispute.
The drivers, members of Unifor Local 1688, have been locked out of the airport since early August. They have been picketing at the airport, slowing traffic along the Airport Parkway and mounting protests in hopes of overturning a new contract between the Ottawa Airport Authority and dispatcher Coventry Connections that ended the drivers’ exclusive right to pick up fares at the airport and increased the fees the drivers must pay.
The union has sent out press releases claiming its members have been treated “unfairly” and demanding the that the labour dispute be ended immediately. The union is encouraging neighbouring Unifor locals to join Friday’s rally. Unifor has even taken out a full-page ad in newspapers promoting the “Day of Action” and encouraging support for the locked-out taxi drivers.
With 305,000 members, Unifor is the country’s largest private sector union, representing workers in the transportation, forestry, energy, manufacturing, education and healthcare sectors, among dozens of others.
Ottawa police have not yet been notified of any plans for a mass protest on Friday, including what roads would be affected, how many people will attend and how long the protest will go on for. In a Nov. 5 letter to its members, the union said it would gather at the St. Elias Centre, then “depart as a group, in motorcade form.”
Harry Ghadban, national representative for Unifor, said details of the rally would be shared “soon.”
“We don’t have answers to your questions yet, we are still planning it all,” Ghadban said. “We’re going to meet at the St. Elias Centre at 10 and we will meet in a planning committee before then to determine where we’re going to go and at what time. We’re not sure yet (about numbers), but we’re hoping for a good number.”
The protest would mark the second such event that the union has held in the past month. A similar protest, held the day of the Federal Election on Oct. 19, went largely unnoticed.
The union’s push to garner attention and sympathy from the public comes at the same time it’s dealing with inner conflict within its ranks. Although all Ottawa cabbies are represented by Unifor, the airport drivers are in a different local. While the airport drivers have been locked out, other Unifor members have ignored the pickets and pickied up airport fares.
“We are grappling with how we deal with that,” said Ghadban. “The company created a turf war by pitting one driver against another. People need an opportunity that makes them money. It’s certainly a difficult situation that we are in.”
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The drivers, members of Unifor Local 1688, have been locked out of the airport since early August. They have been picketing at the airport, slowing traffic along the Airport Parkway and mounting protests in hopes of overturning a new contract between the Ottawa Airport Authority and dispatcher Coventry Connections that ended the drivers’ exclusive right to pick up fares at the airport and increased the fees the drivers must pay.
The union has sent out press releases claiming its members have been treated “unfairly” and demanding the that the labour dispute be ended immediately. The union is encouraging neighbouring Unifor locals to join Friday’s rally. Unifor has even taken out a full-page ad in newspapers promoting the “Day of Action” and encouraging support for the locked-out taxi drivers.
With 305,000 members, Unifor is the country’s largest private sector union, representing workers in the transportation, forestry, energy, manufacturing, education and healthcare sectors, among dozens of others.
Ottawa police have not yet been notified of any plans for a mass protest on Friday, including what roads would be affected, how many people will attend and how long the protest will go on for. In a Nov. 5 letter to its members, the union said it would gather at the St. Elias Centre, then “depart as a group, in motorcade form.”
Harry Ghadban, national representative for Unifor, said details of the rally would be shared “soon.”
“We don’t have answers to your questions yet, we are still planning it all,” Ghadban said. “We’re going to meet at the St. Elias Centre at 10 and we will meet in a planning committee before then to determine where we’re going to go and at what time. We’re not sure yet (about numbers), but we’re hoping for a good number.”
The protest would mark the second such event that the union has held in the past month. A similar protest, held the day of the Federal Election on Oct. 19, went largely unnoticed.
The union’s push to garner attention and sympathy from the public comes at the same time it’s dealing with inner conflict within its ranks. Although all Ottawa cabbies are represented by Unifor, the airport drivers are in a different local. While the airport drivers have been locked out, other Unifor members have ignored the pickets and pickied up airport fares.
“We are grappling with how we deal with that,” said Ghadban. “The company created a turf war by pitting one driver against another. People need an opportunity that makes them money. It’s certainly a difficult situation that we are in.”
查看原文...
