United Steelworkers Union (USW) Local 1-405 announced on April 25 that it had served 72-hour strike notice at the Castlegar and Slocan Park branches of StellerVista Credit Union.
The 11 USW employees at those branches were in legal strike position as of Monday.
USW Local 1-405 represents over 1,300 workers in sawmills, credit unions, insurance services, hotels, ski resorts and municipal government services in the East and West Kootenays.
The job action will only affect StellerVista's Castlegar and Slocan Park locations, it does not include the Greenwood or Cranbrook branches.
“After more than 11 months of bargaining with this employer, they still insist on the members agreeing to no wage increases, increasing the work week, rolling back overtime pay, watering down bargaining unit protection language – essentially, they want to gut our collective agreement. The membership isn’t going to stand for it,” said Veronica Tanner, USW Local 1-405 financial secretary and lead negotiator.
StellerVista Credit Union was formed following a merger of East Kootenay Community Credit Union and Heritage Credit Union in the fall of 2022. Prior to becoming Heritage Credit Union, the Castlegar branch operated as Castlegar Savings Credit Union.
USW says that while workers at both locations have long been USW members, there has been a collective bargaining relationship at the Heritage Credit Union for about 50 years, compared to around 30 years at the EKCCU, leaving gaps and differences between language, wages and benefits among StellerVista's different locations.
“It’s not acceptable to our membership or to the community that a well-established, community credit union in the Kootenays tries to force concessions and lower wages on its workers,” said Jeff Bromley, USW Wood Council Chair and staff representative assigned to the local union.
“This won’t be an attack on 11 members at the credit union, it will be an attack on the 4,000 USW members across the East and West Kootenays. We’ll be out on the line, if need be, in force.”
In a statement on its website, StellerVista acknowledged receipt of the 72-hour strike notice.
The credit union said its goal in negotiations is to modernize collective agreements to ensure StellerVista can remain a strong, competitive, and locally-based financial institution.
"Aligning our organization with current market practices and industry standards is essential because outdated systems and contracts no longer meet the realities and challenges of today’s financial environment. For the sake of the continuing viability of the Credit Union, we need competitive terms throughout the Collective Agreement."
StellerVista claims its compensation structure is already "notably higher" than comparable industries in the region.
It says legacy conditions and systems, established decades ago, are "simply no longer viable in the current environment."
The statement said that StellerVista has applied for a mediator through the Labour Relations Board, but the union chose to take a strike vote instead.
"We regret that the union has chosen a path of public confrontation rather than meaningful negotiation," said StellerVista. "Nevertheless, we remain open and willing to resume negotiations, with the clear objective of reaching a mutually beneficial agreement."
USW says its bargaining committee is ready to return to the table and also remains committed to negotiating a fair collective agreement for both parties.
On Tuesday morning, Bromley added that the union was giving the employer the day to respond, but "if there’s no change, a picket line will be inevitable."
StellerVista said they are committed to minimizing potential disruptions and will implement contingency plans as necessary to maintain services should the branches choose to strike.
