Strike won’t be over soon as all hands ‘on deck’ in Brampton, Mayor Patrick Brown says

Residents might be in for the long haul as a city worker’s strike could drag on with no end in sight, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says.

“It looks like it’s going to be a long strike,” Brown said in an interview with INsauga.com on Thursday following a job action that’s seen over 1,000 municipal workers walk away from their posts.

The union representing approximately 1,200 city workers announced the strike on Thursday after negotiations broke down with the City of Brampton.

Canadian Union of Public Employees 831 says it extended the strike deadline twice in hopes of reaching a deal. And while Brown says the city has “presented an offer we believe is very fair,” the city hasn’t “been able to get their leader back to the bargaining table” since the strike began.

Brown told INsauga.com that deal includes a 3 per cent yearly raise and is “identical” to one the union recently negotiated with the City of Mississauga. The union meanwhile says the city is “refusing to negotiate fair wages” and offered deals “that will erase the hard-fought gains made by our members.”

The striking workers come from multiple city departments including transit, public works and court services staff.

RELATED: What services are impacted by city worker strike in Brampton?

Brampton Transit saw severe disruptions due to the strike on Thursday. While Brampton Transit operators are under the Amalgamated Transit Union, CUPE 831 members fill other positions like technical staff.

Brown said the service disruptions were largely due to CUPE 831 members picketing at transit stations, saying it was disappointing and “wrong.”

“It really is in CUPE’s hands,” he said.

While Brown says the 3 per cent raise is fair, the union has taken issue with hundreds of city management and human resource staffers receiving raises between 4.25 per cent and 6 per cent this year.

An already-struggling Brampton By-law Enforcement department will be even more understaffed during the strike and Brown said he’s called to get “all city hands on deck” with part-time and contact bylaw working to cover for full-timers.

Rumours circulated online Thursday that the mayor was on vacation in Florida when the strike was called, but he confirmed that he has been in Brampton since the strike began and for most of the week – a claim easily backed up when looking at the mayor’s social media accounts.

A spokesperson for the mayor clarified to INsauga.com that Brown was out of town to attended his mother’s birthday on Monday. He was off work on Monday for the family function with Deputy Mayor Harkirat Singh covering Brown’s duties that day.

“He has been working at his office and attending community events every day,” the spokesperson said.

The mayor was pictured at an event on Wednesday evening for the Easter Seals Brampton Celebrity Hockey Classic, as well as the Miracle on Main Toy Drive. He was also seen on Saturday at a food drive at the ChaloFreshco at Airport Road and Countryside drive.

The union says its workers are responsible for a wide range of departments including road maintenance, theatres, the call centre, and animal control.

Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story stated the mayor had been in Brampton since Sunday, but a spokesperson clarified he was out of town for a family event on Monday.