SURREY, BC – The United Truckers Association (“UTA”) is on the verge of initiating a Port of Vancouver shutdown in August as a result of receiving no responses for negotiation from either the Government of Canada and the Port’s senior management.
On July 5th, the UTA announced that in spite of a unanimous membership vote in favour of labour action, the organization was prepared to offer the month of July as a grace period to engage in “open, honest and pragmatic mediation” with both the Port of Vancouver and the Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra.
Yet with only days to go before the turn of the calendar, the UTA has been offered complete radio silence from both, according to United Truckers Association (“UTA”) spokesperson Gagan Singh.
“In spite of writing a letter directly to the Minister’s office and reaching out to the Port of Vancouver, we are disappointed to announce that we have received no response,” explains Singh. “The UTA has always remained committed to facilitating Canada’s supply chain, but this lack of engagement leaves with no other choice as we are now just days away from August.”
To further educate the public and the Government of Canada about the impetus behind an upcoming strike, the UTA has released a new video series entitled “The Hypocrisy of the Port of Vancovuer” which will be promoted on the UTA Facebook page (unitedtruckers.ca).
This series will clearly lay out the reason why the Port’s Rolling Truck Age Program is political fallacy, and demonstrate the empty arguments being used for its implementation.
The UTA is determined to ensure that Canadians understand that any future labour action which cripples the country’s movement of goods and consumer prices is as a result of a dereliction of duty by the Government of Canada.
“We have operated in good faith for years, yet have been completely ignored by the federal government, indicating that they do not take the commitment of our members to proceed as being serious,” adds Singh. “But short of a last-minute intervention, the Prime Minister is going to understand that this approach of doing nothing is a major miscalculation.”
