The BC Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) announced October 3 that about 600 of its members who work at BC Place Stadium have voted 89% in favour of potential strike action.
The workers have been without a contract with BC Pavilion Corp. (PavCo) since March. Any potential strike would not be immediate. Workers approved a 90-day window within which they are eligible to launch 72-hour strike notice.
The potential strike could disrupt the Canadian Football League’s championship game: the 99th annual Grey Cup on November 27.
Negotiations between the BCGEU and PavCo have bogged down with one of the main sticking points being job security.
PavCo executives released a statement saying that they remain “confident that ongoing mediation and negotiations will result in an agreement and our understanding is that the union is also committed to negotiating an agreement acceptable to both parties.”
Union representatives told media that they did not take any job action on the weekend, when an estimated 20% of workers failed to show up to the inaugural event at the refurbished stadium: the B.C. Lions’ September 30 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos.
PavCo hired new employees and trained them on October 1, in time for the first Vancouver Whitecaps game at the renovated stadium.
Glen Korstrom
@ GlenKorstrom