The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Canada’s largest union, conducted strike votes across Ontario this week, and in Dufferin, some CUPE locals have voted not to support the strike mandate.

According to the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board, CUPE locals 2026 and 1483 will not be participating in any illegal strike action relating to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement (OMERS) pension fund.

Maggie McFadzen, spokesperson for the Upper Grand District School Board, said she had not been advised what CUPE local 256 members decision will be.

Jill Smyth, spokesperson for CUPE local 256 said the union executive had voted to support the strike and had made arrangements with the employer for the first day of the strike, if needed.

“I don’t know when the members are voting yet,”Ms. Smyth said.

Sheila Duncan, spokesperson for the town of Orangeville, says that there should be no interruption in local services if there was a strike because most of the town services like garbage collection, are independently contracted and other services like water, are considered essential.

In Shelburne, town clerk John Telfer says that the town’s services won’t be affected by a CUPE strike either, because the services are not members of that union.

CUPE Ontario president Sid Ryan issued a statement last Friday that said members in 19 areas of the province voted 93 per cent in favour of the wildcat strike.

CUPE represents workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines.

CUPE Ontario wants to stop an OMERS reform bill, which is due to be given third reading at Queen’s Park, but isn’t scheduled this week, because of several concerns.

The union says the government bill, as written, will make it difficult for the union to make improvements to the basic plan, senior management will be given a seat, intended for an employee, on the pension board and preferential treatment will be given to predominately male and higherpaid police and firefighters.

Wendy Forbes, a spokesperson for CUPE, said a political protest would be staged the day after Bill 206 comes up for a final reading because CUPE has been working to make changes to the bill in the areas of concern.

“We don’t know when the bill will be read, but we were expecting it to be this week,” Ms. Forbes said.

Progressive Conservative chief whip Garfield Dunlop said it was expected that third reading would take place within the next three weeks but he didn’t know the schedule.

“The schedule is set weekly,” Mr. Dunlop said, “And if Bill 206 doesn’t make the schedule, it will in the next session.”

Ms. Forbes said that each CUPE local are independent and had the right to support the strike action or not.