For the first time in Prince Albert's history, city workers went on strike. The job action last for three months. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

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As 2023 draws to a close, paNOW is taking a look back on the most important and impactful stories of the year, as selected by our reporters and editorial staff.

In a first for the City of Prince Albert, municipal workers represented by CUPE Local 882 went on strike on Sept. 11 and stayed off the job for three full months.

Speaking for the city, Mayor Greg Dionne and manager Kevin Yates said that the city had one offer: an 11 per cent raise over four years along with some other concessions in benefits.

For the union, negotiations started by asking for a 30 per cent increase; by the time workers left their jobs, they wanted 12 per cent.

READ MORE: The strike ended in early December.

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The union seemed surprised by the lack of movement from the employer and repeatedly said they just wanted the city to bargain.

Job action started innocuously with workers not wearing work attire or refusing to train managers to do their work as a replacement measure.

As the weeks wore on however, tensions escalated on occasion, with a frustrated Mayor Dionne tapping two staff members who were stopping vehicles from entering or exiting the city hall parking lot with the bumper of his pickup.

Several acts cancelled their performances at the EA Rawlinson Centre, saying they would not cross picket lines. The most notable was Tom Cochrane.

In December, a deal was reached at 11 per cent but in a final moment two days before council was scheduled to ratify the agreement, CUPE members picketed the EA Rawlinson Centre and the performance of the Little Mermaid.

Public ire exploded as parents learned their children – some of whom were in a bus for physically challenged students – had to cross sidewalks covered with freezing rain.

Provincial union leadership quickly put a stop to that picket line. However, the city said days later it was still getting complaints that should be directed to union leaders who were responsible at the time.

By the end of the year, CUPE 882 was back at work but CUPE 160, representing the city’s outside workers, had yet to finalize their deal.

That strike was a sequel to other strikes around Canada but also here in Prince Albert.

In April, local members of the Public Service Sector Alliance were also off the job with picketers rotating in front of the Federal penitentiary, Service Canada, RCMP and Indigenous Services Canada.

In Prince Albert, about 300 workers were involved.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com