Union representing blue collar workers in Westmount votes to accept deal with city

The city of Westmount and the union representing its blue collar workers reached a tentative deal during collective bargaining negotiations last week.

In a statement on its website, the city said that it reached an agreement on Friday with Local 301, which represents blue collar workers in Westmount.

The union called for a general assembly meeting on Wednesday so the 124 Westmount blue collar workers could vote on the tentative deal.

In a press release Wednesday afternoon, union representatives said the deal had been had been approved by members, with 90 per cent voting in favour.

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Ahead of the vote, the union said it would not issue any public comment but reiterated  that employees remained on strike until the deal was approved.

Westmount Mayor Christina Smith also would not comment on the agreement, saying the city would wait until after the vote on Wednesday.

The agreement marks the end of a strike that was being closely watched by other cities on the island of Montreal. Many — including the city of Montreal — are set to begin contract negotiations with their blue collar workers, and the Westmount deal will likely be a reference point for other cities.

The blue collar workers staged noisy protests on an almost daily basis in Westmount during the almost seven-week strike.

The city said it supported the blue collar workers’ right to strike, but at the end of July, the mayor issued a statement saying she had to curtail “misinformation circulating among the public.”

The city said “false statements” and other union tactics “do not reflect a respectful and productive approach to resolving the issues at hand.”

Complaints were made about the workers several times. One complaint said they blasted music from loudspeakers on Greene Avenue, disrupting shoppers and restaurant goers. Merchants made noise complaints about the high volume of the music. The workers also handed out notices blaming Mayor Smith for failing to finalize the deal.

The city lashed back, saying it had always been open to negotiations, had never left the bargaining table and had agreed to many of the union demands.

The collective agreement expired in December 2019.