The Canadian Media Guild and MBS Radio management are meeting today in order to try to reach a fair collective agreement for the employees of three stations in Saint John. The two sides have been in a legal strike/lockout position since June 1.
“As we’ve said since the beginning, we are out for respect at the bargaining table and in the workplace,” says Gary Stackhouse, Guild president at MBS Radio in Saint John. “We love this community and all we want is to be able to serve it better and be treated with the dignity we deserve.”
Although the Guild opened a strike headquarters across the street from the station at the beginning of June, the union delayed taking strike action in the hopes that a deal could be reached at today’s meeting.
Employees at Big John, K-100 and CFBC voted to unionize a year ago and have been trying to negotiate a first agreement for nine months. In addition to the demand for respect for employees, the main issues at the table include wages and pay for overtime work.