The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association, and a lockout at the facility is underway.
A spokesman for the Canadian Union of Public Employees says members voted 99.7 per cent to reject the latest offer.
“The hostile offer was rejected because the employer refused to negotiate,” said Michel Murray, union advisor with CUPE, in a statement late Sunday. “Nothing in the offer reflects the union’s demands.”
He added if the employer had respected the collective bargaining process, a conflict would have been avoided at the port.
Workers have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31, 2023.
The Maritime Employers Association said in its own statement that it “deplores the negative outcome of the vote” and has no choice but to declare …