Niagara Region municipal workers vote in favour of allowing their union to take strike action if contract negotiations fail.
Niagara Region municipal employees could be hitting the picket lines soon.
Members of CUPE Local 1297 have authorized the union to take strike action if negotiations fail, though no strike deadline has been set.
The union represents nearly 1,000 municipal workers in a variety of roles, including transportation services, water and wastewater management, emergency medical services, social assistance programs, infrastructure maintenance and more.
In a release, CUPE 1287 President Judy Murray says one of the main concerns is high long-term disability insurance payments.
She says the payments amount to 10 to 20 percent of workers paychecks.
"The LTD insurance is very onerous. We are already struggling due to record inflation and continuing to shell out so much money will only make us more precarious. The income insecurity members are facing is also contributing to a recruitment and retention challenge, which potentially has consequences for the quality of public services as we lose experienced and committed workers to other employers," Murray said.
Murray also says the union is looking to find resolutions that are fair to workers, as well as residents of Niagara.
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