Workers at Teck Coal’s Elkview mine near Sparwood voted 56.9 per cent in opposition of a tentative settlement between the United Steelworkers Local 9346 Bargaining Committee and the company last week.
After six weeks of strike action, which began on January 30th after talks broke down, the company and bargaining committee resumed talks on March 12th, coming to a tentative agreement over a new proposed five-year contract, retroactive to Oct. 31, 2010, when the last contract expired.
The settlement was then forwarded to union members and subjected to a ratification vote by union members, which took place over the course of four days.
Of the 689 eligible voters, 595 employees voted, with 339 voting against accepting the deal, as the pivotal issues of employee RRSP contributions, retiree benefits, and wage increases retroactive to Nov. 1, 2010 were not addressed.