More large-scale disputes like the industrial action at British Columbia91裸聊视频檚 ports may be on the horizon, a labour movement researcher is warning, as longshore workers gathered to consider a possible agreement with employers.

Local chapters of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada met on Tuesday at several locations across the province to discuss the deal. The BC Maritime Employers Association says it91裸聊视频檚 the same agreement union leaders previously rejected without a full membership vote.

McGill University Associate Professor of Sociology Barry Eidlin said it is likely union leaders are under pressure to sell the deal to members due to the spectre of back-to-work legislation 91裸聊视频� even if federal officials have said publicly that resolution-by-negotiation is the preferred outcome.

But Eidlin said members are aware their leadership previously rejected the deal, which 91裸聊视频渄oesn91裸聊视频檛 send a strong signal91裸聊视频� about the quality of the deal and gives the impression it is instead getting 91裸聊视频渞ammed through.91裸聊视频�

Eidlin also said the full membership may not be receptive to the deal, given that issues such as automation and jurisdiction of maintenance work may be 91裸聊视频渆xistential91裸聊视频� for the long-term viability of these workers91裸聊视频� jobs.

91裸聊视频淭his isn91裸聊视频檛 just about dollars and cents or a pension increase,91裸聊视频� Eidlin said. 91裸聊视频淣ot that those things aren91裸聊视频檛 important, but these are really some fundamental issues about the future of what work on the dock is going to look like.

91裸聊视频淓ven if you have the threat of back-to-work legislation looming over the whole process, I think the issues at stake are of such import that members are going to think really hard about what the language in this contract is 91裸聊视频� and whether or not they can live with it.91裸聊视频�

He said similar issues facing workers in other industries, along with the mounting challenges of cost of living and workplace flexibility, may be changing the labour movement91裸聊视频檚 calculations on whether to use strike action as a negotiating tactic 91裸聊视频� something that has essentially flatlined since the 1990s.

91裸聊视频淚 think the current moment that we91裸聊视频檙e living in suggests that we could have reached some sort of breaking point, where enough workers are saying, 91裸聊视频榃e91裸聊视频檝e had enough, we need to do something.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Thousands of workers at British Columbia91裸聊视频檚 ports took Tuesday91裸聊视频檚 8 a.m. shift off to attend meetings and learn details of the union91裸聊视频檚 tentative agreement with the employers.

At one chapter, members filed into meetings at Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 Croatian Cultural Centre to hear from leaders of Local 500, representing longshore and other port workers in the city.

Both the front and back parking lots were packed to capacity, and vehicles filled street parking for several blocks as members continued to stream into the building after the meeting91裸聊视频檚 scheduled start at 10 a.m.

Several workers attending the meeting declined to comment to media.

The labour dispute triggered a 13-day strike that started on Canada Day, stopping billions of dollars91裸聊视频� worth of goods from moving in and out of some of the country91裸聊视频檚 busiest ports.

Strike action was suspended when the contract was reached with the help of a mediator two weeks ago, but it was then reinstated when the union leadership turned down the plan early last week.

A labour board then ruled the second strike action was illegal, prompting the union to issue 72-hour strike notice, which it then reversed hours later.

Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law assistant professor Liam McHugh-Russell called the tumultuous developments 91裸聊视频渦ncommon but not unheard of91裸聊视频� in labour negotiation.

McHugh-Russell said while there had been calls from provincial and business leaders for back-to-work legislation had the union fully relaunched strike action, the federal government has been hesitant to go down that path since landmark Supreme Court rulings in 2007 and 2015.

Those rulings are reflected in the government91裸聊视频檚 handling of the port dispute up to this point, he said.

The 2007 decision makes collective bargaining a constitutional right, and the 2015 ruling added the right to strike.

91裸聊视频淲e are seeing to some degree a playing-out of a shift and a change in the constitutional context in which strikes are played out,91裸聊视频� McHugh-Russell said. 91裸聊视频�(The Supreme Court decisions) have really put the brakes on the ability and willingness of government to bring in legislative solutions to these problems.91裸聊视频�

Union members are expected to vote on the offer later this week, but there91裸聊视频檚 no word yet on when the results could be made public.

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