UNW schedules second ‘practice picket’

Union members will take to the pop-up practice picket line again during Wednesday at lunch, this time congregating outside of the North Slave Correctional Complex’s young offender unit.

The Union of Northern Workers (UNW) is hoping members of Local 9 (the justice department) and Local 11 (Stanton Territorial Hospital) will attend.

This is the second “training exercise” the UNW has held.

The first was in mid-December outside of NWT Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Yellowknife power plant.

At the time, union leader Todd Parsons said the pop-up practice was meant to “send a message” to employers that the union is serious about strike action.

“We are testing our fortitude and our cold weather out here to show we are still prepared to carry out formal pickets,” he said in December.

With temperatures expected to hover around -30C on Wednesday afternoon the same will be true at this second practice.

The Government of the Northwest Territories, NTPC, and Hay River Health and Social Services disputes are technically separate but have all evolved along similar lines, with strike action appearing increasingly likely.