The City of Saint John has halted all garbage, compost and recycling collection, citing “illegal strike activities” by some of its workers.
About 140 clerical, administrative and support staff — members of CUPE Local 486 — went on strike two weeks ago over wages.
On Tuesday, the city said that for the second day in a row, picketing workers have prevented garbage trucks from moving.
The city had already suspended the collection of compost and recycling, a move announced on Sept. 18.
Brittany Doyle, president of the Local 486, said the city’s news release about garbage collection is “absolutely misleading.”
She said union members have been compliant with police. The trucks haven’t been moving as freely as usual, she said, but they have been moving and did get out on Tuesday.
“It’s really unfortunate that the city keeps putting that narrative out there to the citizens, that, you know, garbage is halted because of illegal picketing activities,” said Doyle.
“It’s disheartening because the situation that we’re faced with is a situation that the city put us in.”
The release from the city said the blocking of trucks is “completely unacceptable behaviour as Local 486 does not offer this front-facing service to the community.”
Doyle said this statement from the city is inaccurate because the local has the right to picket any secondary location or any city asset.
“That is exactly what we have been doing,” she said.
- CUPE Local 486 disputes City of Saint John’s claim of pickets blocking garbage trucks
- Saint John suspends compost and recycling pickup ‘until further notice’ due to strike
CBC News requested an interview with the city. A spokesperson acknowledged the request and was looking into it.
In the release, Mayor Donna Reardon said the city “operates on a two-week collection schedule for most customers, which means that if crews cannot collect on schedule, residents can now expect to have garbage piling up at their homes for a month, or more.”
The city urged residents to call or visit CUPE Saint John if they had concerns.
Doyle said the city should not be directing citizens to call the CUPE office. Instead, they should be directed to contact mayor and council or city customer service, she said.
There is no date yet for the resumption of garbage service, but the city’s release said residents will be updated on when garbage, compost and recycling collection will start up again.
Doyle said the local and city did meet over the weekend, and the union has come down from its wage proposals, but the city is not willing to agree.
This story was originally published in CBC News on Sep. 26, 2023.
Hannah Rudderham Portfolio 