Workers at Clear Medical Imaging reject company's 'final offer' in vote, remain on strike
Workers have been on strike since late October
Workers at Clear Medical Imaging have rejected the company's offer, the union announced Thursday, and will remain on strike.
According to a post from Unifor Local 2458 on Facebook, members rejected the offer by 96 per cent. The local's president said 113 of 120 members voted.
Workers at Clear Medical Imaging's 11 locations in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent started voting on the offer electronically Wednesday afternoon.
"It just shows after six weeks on the strike line that this membership is strong and will not be divided," said Ken Durocher, president of Local 2458. "It just shows that they support their bargaining committee to bring back a collective agreement that's fair for everyone."
Clear Medical Imaging said in a statement last week they sought permission from the provincial Ministry of Labour for what's known as a final offer vote — effectively bypassing the union's bargaining committee to put what it said would be its last offer directly in front of workers.
CBC News has reached out to Clear Medical Imaging for comment.
In a statement last week, CEO Mike Reinkober said the company has met with the bargaining unit representing workers multiple times.
"Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to reach an agreement with the union's bargaining committee," he wrote at the time.
Reinkober says the deal included wage and benefit improvements, but Durocher said said those improvements were not fair for every member.
Now, Durocher said workers will remain on strike, pending the union's counteroffer to the company.
"The only way we're going to get this thing resolved is that that employer and ourselves get back to the table and figure out a first collective agreement that's fair for every member and worker in that workplace."
Staff including X-ray and ultrasound technologists as well as clerical and administrative staff have been on the picket line since late October. This will be the first collective agreement for the workplace.