Vancouver truckers vote in favour of strike action
Posted March 1, 2014 12:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – With a lack of progress at the bargaining table, Vancouver truckers have voted to strike with an overwhelming “yes.”
Unifor, the union representing truckers, says members voted 100 per cent in favor of job action over long line-ups and wait times at the Port of Vancouver taking money out of truckers’ pockets. They’re now in a position to issue 72-hour strike notice.
BC Area Director Gavin McGarrigle says a work stoppage could affect as much as half of all trucking resources heading to and from Lower Mainland ports.
“If containers aren’t being delivered, all of the goods coming overseas that get distributed to all of the retail stores and those kinds of things, they won’t be making their way to the shelves as easily, not to mention all of the costs that will be downloaded to all of the customers and all of the different steam ship lines and everything like that for the waiting. This will have a big impact,” promises McGarrible.
He says when there was a similar strike in 2005, it cost the economy hundreds of millions of dollars, and truck traffic since then has significantly increased.
Meanwhile, Robyn Crysanti with Port Metro Vancouver says they’ve already talked to a number of parties following the strike vote.
“Clearly the Port’s interest is getting the Port operating at full capacity as soon as possible. This is a complex matter involving a number of stakeholders and we’re aggressively pursuing solutions to the issues,” says Crysanti, adding they will operate with whatever capacity they have, with any truckers that are available.
