TUESDAY
S I N C E
DECEMBER 17, 2013
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Nor-Am racers invade Black Jack
Vol. 118, Issue 198
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Lock out ends for FortisBC workers
VERY FIRST TRACKS
Employees head back to work, deal left up to arbitrator BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
FortisBC employees are heading back to work this week with the majority on the clock Friday, following a nearly six-month long lockout. Both parties, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 213 and the utility, have agreed to go to binding arbitration and will look to make their pitch to arbitrator Dalton Larson. In the meantime, the over 200 locked out employees will transition back to work over the course of this week with some extension given to those who have been working out of the area and have to make their way home. “Sometimes it's like climbing over the edge of the cliff, you can get part way down but you never think about how to get all the way down or back up,” said IBEW business manager Rod Russell Monday. “The company locked us out and there was some resolution on both sides but it was just
difficult to get back so we need a third party to help us.” FortisBC closed the gates on electrical workers on June 26, activating an essential services order that had been approved by the B.C. Labour Relations Board in April, affecting employees in power generation, transmission, and distribution in the West Kootenay and Okanagan. Talks had barely begun before the two sides saw a widening gap between their positions, generally focusing on the introduction of a two-tier pay and benefit package for newly hired employees, the introduction of new contract language regarding travel pay, retroactivity of any pay increase, and discussions around a compressed work week altering between five days at 7.5 hours or four days at 10 hours, based on the company's discretion. “We are pleased that the union leadership has accepted our invitation,” Michael Mulcahy, executive vice-president of human resources, customer service and corporate services was noted in a news release. See ARBITRATOR, Page 3
Crash claims Rossland man
ART HARRISON PHOTO
It was a magic carpet ride for Leanne Hall and her three-year-old daughter Brooke, who was on skis for the first time, on Saturday when Red Mountain Resort opened its doors for the 2013-14 ski season. More photos on Page 2.
BY TIMES STAFF A 61-year-old Rossland man died on Sunday afternoon when his vehicle went down an embankment. The Trail and Greater District Detachment of the RCMP responded to the single-car crash on Gelesz Road around 2:23 p.m. on Sunday. According to the RCMP report, the 2013 GMC pickup driven by the Rosslander, whose name has yet to be released, failed to negotiate a curve on the snowy roads and went off the road down an embankment. Gelesz Road is located at the south end of Spokane St. in Rossland near the Malde Creek Forestry Service road, noted the Trail detachment. The driver was deceased at the scene. At this time the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Contact the Times: Phone: FineLine250-368-8551 Technologies 62937 Index 9 Fax:JN250-368-8550 80% 1.5 BWR NU Newsroom: 250-364-1242 Canada Post, Contract number 42068012
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