Port Alberni city council was saluted by the United Steelworkers Union for not signing a letter from North Island councils urging provincial government involvement and binding arbitration to end the Western Forest Products strike.
In a bargaining update posted late last week, Local 1-1937 leadership said Port Alberni council “acknowledged the rights of workers to bargain their collective agreement without interference”.
Mayors from Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Powell River, Ladysmith, Sayward, North Cowichan and Gold River signed the letter, warning the province of spiraling financial effects on coastal communities if the strike is allowed to continue.
The strike has now been going for 6 1/2 months, far eclipsing the previous record of 4 1/2 months in 1986.
