A super popular Metro Vancouver attraction and park, the Grouse Grind and the Grouse Mountain Regional Park, are behind picket lines today.
The Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees’ Union (GVRDEU) members who work at the Grouse Mountain Regional Park were off the job as of 6 a.m. today, as they escalate their job action after reaching an impasse in contract negotiations with their employer, the Metro Vancouver Regional District.
The GVRDEU is advising hikers to avoid the Grind today, as their union members who fix trails, remove garbage, and keep them in “top condition” are all off the job today.
“Our union members keep the Grouse Grind in top condition for those who hike this popular trail,” said Jesse Medeiros, president of the GVRDEU, in a statement. “This job action is to put pressure on Metro Vancouver management to return to bargaining without preconditions.”
“The Grind and the Park will only have limited exempt management staff doing our work, which they don’t ordinarily do,” he added.
But Emily Leak, the communication manager for Grouse Mountain, told Daily Hive Urbanized that the picketers were “being super respectful” and not impeding any foot traffic.
“It’s a Monday morning, so it’s not typically a heavy traffic day or time on the Grouse Grind,” she said.
GVRDEU/Submitted
Leak said it is too early to tell if it would have any impact on Grouse Mountain operations.
The GVRDEU has also pulled members off their jobs at the Deas Island Regional Park in Delta, the Derby Reach Regional Park in Langley Township, and operations staff at the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The Metro Vancouver Regional District told Daily Hive that “all regional parks remain open to the public.”
Why is the strike happening?
The GVRDEU began job action last month, citing issues with Metro Vancouver over workplace safety, contracting out protections, and staffing concerns.
The union is asking for stronger health and safety language in the collective agreement, protections against contracting out bargaining-unit work, and measures aimed at improving recruitment and retention.
Medeiros said that their members haven’t had a contract in 17 months.
“Unfortunately, we need to put increasing pressure on Metro Vancouver through job action to get back to the table and negotiate a fair collective agreement,” he said.
GVRDEU said that Metro Vancouver had refused to continue negotiations unless the union accepted the employer’s latest offer.
However, in an email to Daily Hive Urbanized, Metro Vancouver said they remain “committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement and [are] ready to return to the bargaining table with the support of a mediator as soon as possible, with no preconditions.”
The regional district added that it has offered five different bargaining dates recently to the union, which were all declined by the union.
“Residents can be assured that they will experience no changes in the essential services Metro Vancouver provides every day, such as drinking water, wastewater treatment, solid waste management, air quality monitoring, access to regional parks, and housing,” they said.
Metro Vancouver previously told Daily Hive Urbanized that its current offer included a general wage increase of over 10 per cent in three years, with an annual increase of 3.5 per cent in 2025, 3.5 per cent in 2026, and three per cent in 2027, as well as a one-time $0.25 hourly wage adjustment in April 2027.
With files from Kenneth Chan