City union calls for full audit of Edmonton snow-clearing operations

Rob Marianix has been with the City of Edmonton for more than 30 years; the last 28 of those in the roads department.

“Our members are frustrated and there’s no other avenue of venting right now,” says Marianix, responding to the recent anonymous employee letter sent to city hall.

The 11-page document, obtained by Global News last month, details concerns about management and the quality of leadership since the Transportation and Streets department merged with Parks and Recreation in 2017.

The contents in the letter have not been independently verified and it’s not clear how many employees authored its contents.

Watch below (Feb. 18): We’ve heard complaints from drivers but now, some City of Edmonton employees are raising concerns about the winter roads and those in charge of keeping them clear. Vinesh Pratap has more about an anonymous letter sent to councillors.

1:58 City of Edmonton employees raise concerns with winter roads

CUPE Local 30 is also unaware who wrote the letter, but the president of the Local, John Mervyn, says the “sentiments (in it) have been expressed to me by multiple people in there.”

“We have a whistle-blower line and a lot of the members don’t believe in it,” Marianix says.

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The letter bypassed the city’s formal whistle-blower process, a move which doesn’t come as a surprise to the union.

“Well, the thing is people are frustrated,” says Marianix. “We’ve tried everything.”

2:03 More questions being raised about Edmonton’s snow-clearing as blading is set to resume

After the letter was reported by Global News, several councillors raised questions with city management at a regular council meeting on Feb. 19.

“We must be diligent in ensuring that those employees raising concerns are not penalized for doing the right thing,” interim city manager Adam Laughlin said at the time.

“I would love to see a full audit,” says Mervyn.

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After the letter was sent to city hall, it was forwarded by some councillors and administration to the auditor for review.

1:13 Edmonton doesn’t have proper equipment to deal with cul-de-sac snow removal

The union wants an in-depth examination of the department.

“I’d also like to have them take a look at the amount of management they’ve got in different layers and where they’re allocating their staff,” says Mervyn.

The next public debate about snow clearing will take place in June when the overall policy will be examined to see if changes should be made.

CUPE Local 30 hopes the issues raised in the letter also continue to be a part of the conversation.

“To avoid not dealing with this, it’s going to be a disaster,” says Marianix.