Co-op and Unifor quiet as fences come down and negotiations begin

There wasn’t any official word on the status of bargaining talks Friday as both Unifor and the Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) began a media blackout during negotiations.

The refinery locked out unionized workers on Dec. 5 after they issued strike notice. The sides were to return to the bargaining table Friday for the first time since negotiations broke off.

Co-op fuel trucks began rolling through the gates at the refinery just after 9 a.m., after local union members took down the fences that had been erected several weeks ago.

Allowing free movement into and out of the refinery in accordance with a recent court injunction was the condition Co-op gave in order to return to the bargaining table in good faith.

It took a co-ordinated effort to remove all seven layers of fencing and vehicle blockades at the Gate 7 picket line on Fleet Street.

Local refinery worker Paul Woit was part of that process as union activists from across the country continued to walk the picket lines in solidarity with Local 594 members.

A fuel truck enters the Co-op refinery after Unifor members removed the barricades on Jan. 31, 2020. (Adriana Christianson/980 CJME)

“We’ve had some anxious drivers so we’re going to have a vehicle as kind of a blocker in between the trucks and the picketers,” Woit explained just before the final fence came down.

“The picketers do have a right to walk and they will be in their place walking between pylons and we’ll have a van blocking that so when the truck approaches, we’re just going to follow the court injunction to the letter just like we’ve been ordered from our executive. When the trucker indicates that he wants to proceed, we’ll allow him to do so.”

Woit said everyone was feeling cautiously optimistic that both sides can get a deal done right away so they can get back to work by Monday. For Woit and the other local union members, this could signal the beginning of the end of a long and cold lockout.

While Unifor originally announced that talks would begin at 9 a.m. at the Hotel Saskatchewan, representatives of the union and the company were not visible at the hotel at 10 a.m.

People wearing Unifor logos were spotted at the Ramada Hotel at 11 a.m., and Local 594 president Kevin Bittman was seen going upstairs with a group before noon.

Unifor national lead negotiator Scott Doherty walked through the doors shortly afterwards.

While no one would comment publicly on negotiations — referring to the media blackout — Doherty nodded a yes when asked if bargaining talks would continue in the afternoon.