Emterra Strike
2015 TOP STORIES: Kamloops deals with construction, recycling strike and referendum
KAMLOOPS - It was an eventful year for Kamloops residents, as we dealt with an abundance of major roadwork, a referendum, a recycling strike, the construction of a new casino and of course the proposed Ajax Mine taking a step forward in its application. PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE In April we were introduced to a plan...
Why Kamloopsians will be paying more for their recycling
KAMLOOPS – The cost of processing the material collected in the Kamloops recycling program is going up and that cost is being passed onto homeowners in the city. Residents will be paying roughly $17 more per year in recycling fees in the New Year. The city is citing the recently renewed recycling contract with Emterra...
Kamloops may see new company sorting recyclables in 2016
KAMLOOPS - Recyclables collected by the City of Kamloops, both at depots and curbside, could be sorted by a new company come the new year. “We have already gone out to (request for proposals) to renew the contract essentially. To look for processors who can do the same work starting Jan. 1,” Public Works Director...
Curbside recycling pickup resumes Monday in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – With the Emterra Environmental strike officially over and the City of Kamloops says recycling collection will resume Monday. A tentative agreement between Emterra and the Steelworkers’ Union was struck and ratified unanimously by the union membership yesterday, Aug. 13. The recycling company and its employees had been locked in a labour dispute since June 22....
Agreement reached in Kamloops recycling strike
KAMLOOPS – An end is in sight for the recycling strike that has lasted nearly eight weeks in Kamloops after the Steelworker’s Union reached an agreement with Emterra Environmental today. The two sides reached a tentative deal Thursday, Aug. 13, and employees are set to vote on it this evening. Marty Gibbons, Steelworkers’ Union president,...
Kamloops recycling strike could be over as early as Friday
KAMLOOPS – There is finally an end in sight to the Emterra Environmental strike. Steelworks Union president Marty Gibbons says they are finally back to bargaining with the company and if an agreement is signed by noon tomorrow his members could be back to work as early as Friday. “We're optimistic that we're close to...
Frustration spills over as recycling strike continues in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – It's been nearly two months since recycling was picked up curbside in some parts of Kamloops and frustrations are building up for residents and for those on the picket line. The Emterra Environmental employees have been on strike since June 22 and there appears to be no movement towards a resolution. The steelworkers...
A way to dispose of some recycling during the Kamloops strike
KAMLOOPS - If seven weeks of recycling is piling up in your house, why not donate all the extra bottles to a local family trying to make ends meet while their five-year-old daughter battles cancer for the second time? Samantha Donovan is currently undergoing treatment for a rare form of leukemia known as Burkitt's. Four...
No fines for Kamloops residents who throw out recyclables
KAMLOOPS – Residents who are unable, or unwilling, to store their recyclables will not be fined by the city for tossing them in the trash. While not encouraging this, the city will not be taking measures to fine offenders. Public Works Director Jen Fretz says the city’s position continues to be for residents to store...
Union says recycling strike could last longer; city not paying Emterra
KAMLOOPS - Locals should brace themselves for even lengthier delays in recycling service; five weeks after Emterra Environmental workers began their strike, seats are still empty at the bargaining table. Marty Gibbons, the Kamloops chapter president of the local United Steelworkers union that represents the workers, says staff are digging in its heels for the...
General Grants feeling the fall out from Emterra strike
KAMLOOPS – The recycling is piling up in Kamloops as the Emterra Environmental strike enters its fifth week. While people have been asked to store what they can, the balconies and garages of residents are no competition for the influx General Grants in Sahali is currently seeing. “I had 26 pallets, and they left four...
‘The bins are gonna be filled in seconds’: Kamloops property manager
KAMLOOPS - Apartment and condo residents are hoarding their recyclables and waiting for bins to be unbolted while a strike continues to put recycling pickup on hold in the city. “The bins are gonna be filled in seconds,” Kelson Group Property Manager Val Wouters says. “I’ve been hoarding all my stuff. If people are hoarding...
Second week of Emterra strike with no end in site
KAMLOOPS – After four months of talks and two weeks of strike aciton, Emterra Environmental and its Steelworkers Union employees appear no closer to ending their labour dispute than when they began. Union head Marty Gibbons is currently in Langley bargaining on behalf of airport screeners. “Trust me; it’s going much better,” he says in...
Emterra strike could ‘overwhelm’ small recycling business
KAMLOOPS – Early on it was thought a strike by employees at the Emterra Environmental recycling plant would not affect curbside collection but since the strike began earlier this week not only was curbside collection stopped, but exactly what to do with your recyclables became a bit unclear. The strike officially started Monday and the city...
TNRD says recycling services will continue
KAMLOOPS - Recycling pickup is not being offered to Kamloops residents while Emterra Environmental employees strike, but the regional district does not foresee any disruption in recycling services oustide of the city. In a release today, June 23, Jamie Vieira, Manager of Environmental Services for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, says even though the district uses...