Let me back you up for a second. I don't represent the members in Montreal, but I will say that the two-year struggle those workers went through was forced upon them by the Maritime Employers Association and their screwing around at the CIRB. It had nothing to do with the workers doing anything nasty. That was all on the shoulders of the MEA, in my humble opinion.
As for the CIRB, out here with the west coast port strike, when we entered the room with the employer and the chair, our employer had no intention of negotiating with us at that time. It was their go-to all through bargaining. I said at that meeting that we were going to get a deal by the end of the night, because a negotiated settlement was the only settlement that's appropriate for workers, and we got it done that night. We ended up getting a deal within hours after being there, because the parties finally realized we should get a deal done.
Binding arbitration, or however you want to say it, when it comes to workers' rights and labour relations in the future, kills everything. It should not be accepted by anybody, because it drags out ill will in the parties and gives the employers the upper hand. The employers will just sit back and do absolutely nothing. They won't have to do anything, because they have this special law that they can put in place.