How negotiations broke down and Corner Brook Civic Centre workers ended up locked out

A living wage.

That’s all that workers at the Corner Brook Civic Centre are asking for.

“Just a living wage — not even a fair wage, a living wage,” said Craig Gardner as more than 200 people milled about behind him as a rally in support of the civic centre workers came to a close in the city square outside Corner Brook City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Gardner is the president of CUPE Local 4386, which represents the 24 workers — 11 full-time and 13 part-time — at the centre who were locked out by the city on Tuesday, Oct. 20, after conciliation talks failed to result in a new collective agreement for the local.

Gardner has worked at the centre for over 26 years and said the lowest wage in the bargaining unit right now is $18.16 an hour.

“How do you live off that?” he asked.

It’s a wage so low that he said they have workers at the centre who had to give up their apartments and find other living arrangements because they could not afford their rent.

“And the city is telling us that they think they’re giving them a fair living wage. How is that possible?” he added.

The union had been asking for a 22 per cent wage increase over four years.

It’s an amount based on an increase given to another city union.

The city is offering a 12 per cent increase over those four years, consisting of a 10 per cent increase over four years and an additional two per cent increase through adjustments to base wage rates for all bargaining unit employees.

This past weekend, with the union voting in favour of strike action, the city moved to suspend all on-ice activities at the centre and began the process of removing the ice from its two rinks.

It also advised residents, user groups, tenants, sports organizations and the public that all operations at the centre could be suspended as early as Monday, Oct. 19, should a labour action proceed.

On Monday, Oct. 19, the two sides met for conciliation.

Gardner said the union was optimistic going into those talks but didn’t know what was going to happen.

“When we came in, and they didn’t have another proposal, we knew we were in trouble. We knew they had no intention of bargaining,” he said.

“We thought about leaving then, but we knew what the consequences of that would be, so we stuck it out for the day with the employer and the conciliator.

“It was very tough, but very late in the day, around 5 p.m., we started having some meaningful conversations. It seemed like we had an opening to get a deal.”

Gardner said the union redid its package.

“We came off what we were asking for, moved the numbers around, brought it back,” he said.

The total package is now under 19 per cent.

“We thought that, by what they had told us, we were going down the right path to get a deal,” said Gardner.

After conciliation talks on Monday, he said the union was feeling optimistic and told members that they would meet again in the morning and to keep working and keep their hopes up.

On Monday evening, the city said the conciliation discussions had been positive, and it looked forward to an agreement that benefits all parties.

“And we showed up Tuesday morning, and we’re in utter disbelief about what happened,” said Gardner.

The city said it asked CUPE to provide at least 24 hours’ notice of strike action, but the union did not make that commitment.

Due to health and safety risks, as well as risks to the facility’s heating/cooling systems, the city said that it was left with no choice but to lockout the workers.

“What I don’t understand is how is that any different from a strike,” said Gardner.

“From us not giving them notice and us walking out to them locking us out, how does that change that situation?

“For them to say that we would leave and risk any damage to our livelihood is insane. There’s no way we would have done that, and even with the ice, if the ice had stayed on that weekend and let the kids have their tryouts, we would never have walked out on that building and left it and risked damage to that building. We would never have done that. That is our livelihood. Why would we do it?”

Standing in support of the civic centre workers at the rally were other CUPE locals, NAPE and UNIFOR members, a large group of nurses from the Registered Nurses Union of Newfoundland and Labrador and members of the public.

CUPE NL president Sherry Hillier got the crowd going with chants of “solidarity.”

“We’re not here because we want to be. We’re here because these workers deserve a decent living wage,” said Hillier.

The living wage in the city is currently estimated at $24.40 an hour.

By 2029, the raise the city is offering would put the lowest wage at the centre at just over $20 an hour, still well below the current estimated living wage, which will only go up.

“That is so shameful,” said Hillier.

The nurses’ union had been scheduled to hold its annual convention at the civic centre this week, but the lockout meant their booking was cancelled.

RNUNL president Yvette Coffey said her union had budgeted over $800,000 to hold its convention at the civic centre.

“To support Corner Brook. To support the workers in Corner Brook,” she said.

The money that would have gone to the centre could have paid for the wage increase for at least one year, she pointed out.

The convention, which is now being held at Marble Mountain, is bringing a lot of money into the city through accommodations, meals and entertainment, said Coffey.

“And here we are, having to fight in 2026 for a living wage. That is shameful. Shameful on this council,” she added.

Coffey said the civic centre workers have been without a contract since the end of 2025 and that 95 per cent of members supported strike action.

“But I’m going to tell you something else we know. We know that the City of Corner Brook had always planned to put you out. When they took up that ice on Friday, the writing was on the wall. They were not coming to do fair bargaining with you.”

She said the council wanted to bring greetings to the convention.

“And I politely said I would rather you got to the table and negotiated a fair deal with your workers,” said Coffey.

After listening to those who spoke at the rally and looking around at the crowd, Gardner was thankful for the support.

“It just shows you what that building means to everybody. You take what it means to them kids; for us 24, and the 11 full-time, it’s everything to us. We can’t live here without it, and the wages that some of our classifications get, they may not be able to stay anyway,” he said.

“But yes, this is amazing. The support from the user groups, the support from our other unions, our brothers and sisters from other unions has been amazing, and it just shows that this is more than just a rink. It’s the hub of our community. It’s the hub of the west coast.

“It’s more than a job to us. For most of us, it’s our life.

“Think about it, why would anyone stay for $18 an hour? There’s more to it than just a job.”

In a statement provided to the media on Tuesday, the city said closing the civic centre is not a step that it takes lightly.

“The civic centre is a vital hub for our ice users, walking track visitors and community groups.

“We remain open to returning to the bargaining table to reach a fair, sustainable agreement, and we appreciate the community’s patience during this challenging time,” it said.

The city said it believes its offer to the union is fair and aligns well with other municipalities.

“We respect our employees and the bargaining process; however, council must balance fair compensation with fiscal responsibility to our taxpayers and user groups facing rising municipal operational costs,” said the statement.

“When sitting down at the bargaining table with any union, we do not negotiate for the present moment — we must consider the long-term sustainability of our city.”

Gardner said the city was comparing the wages at the civic centre with other municipalities that would be similar in size.

“They’re comparing the raises, the percentages, fine, they may be on par with what the other centres are getting, but the bottom wage, the beginning wages, are not even close. So, a three per cent raise on $25 an hour looks a whole lot different on $18 an hour,” he said.

In particular, Gardner said he doesn’t know why the city brought up Mount Pearl as a comparison.

“Because there’s a significant difference in our two lowest classifications compared to their two lowest classifications.”

The city said it is committed to reaching a fair and fiscally responsible agreement with the union and looks forward to getting back to the bargaining table.

As for what happens next in negotiations, Gardner said the union is waiting for the city’s next move.

“They can say they are waiting on us, but we can’t go back to the table and bargain with ourselves. If they’re not willing to come to the table and bargain with us, we’re stuck,” he said.

He said the city needs to show that it’s willing to bargain with them.

“Up to this point, it’s basically take what you’re offered or leave it. And so, if they’re willing to negotiate, then we are willing, too. Absolutely willing. We’d talk right now,” he added.

Gardner hopes the situation can be resolved quickly and said if they could get a deal over the next day or so, the workers could have the ice back on one of the rinks by some time this weekend.

He said the longer this goes on, the longer it will take to get the ice back down.