Meeting of the minds
Mediator calls meeting with town, union in effort to restart talks
CUPE Local 719 and Town of Woodstock officials met Wednesday morning at the request of mediator Paula Ultican.
The two sides remained at the negotiating table all day and were heading back into negotiations Thursday morning.
Whether these meetings help close the gap between the two sides, or proves to be a face-to-face encounter emphasizing the sharp divide between the town and its unionized workers, remains to be seen.
With talks at a standstill since Sept. 30 – one day before the town locked out unionized workers – the mediator requested that officials from both sides of the dispute meet in an effort to find a path back to the bargaining table.
Following Tuesday’s regular council session – attended by CUPE officials and most of the town’s locked-out workers – Mayor Art Slipp told the Bugle-Observer town officials planned to attend Wednesday’s meeting. The mayor expressed hope the meeting will lead to a resumption in the stalled talks.
Standing outside town hall following the 15-minute council session which dealt with only three minor issues, CUPE lead negotiator Tom Steep also confirmed the mediator’s request. While union officials were to attend the meeting, which was held at an undisclosed location, Steep wasn’t expecting a lot from the meetings. Unless the town lifts its demands for union concessions, he said, there will be nothing to talk about.
