Bulletin
Asking for your help to support workers in Kelowna
March 1, 2021
To: MoveUP Members in Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton and Lake Country
On Friday, February 26, Kelowna Cabs followed through with their threat to lockout its workers – your fellow MoveUP members – forcibly removing them from the premises just before noon.
In the time since, they have attempted to spread misinformation on the status of their lockout to the local media, arbitrarily allowing some workers to work their shifts but not others, and continue to refuse to return to the bargaining table.
We will be holding a Zoom call tonight to discuss how our union can further support these workers. Please make sure to join us by registering here.
Time: 7 p.m.
Date: Tonight (March 1, 2021)
Click here to register
As members of the community in Kelowna and West Kelowna, we need your help to pressure this company into returning to the bargaining table ready to talk a fair deal for our members.
We are asking you to go to Kelowna Cabs’ feedback site and leave a message: https://www.kelownacabs.ca/feedback/complaints/
These messages are received by their management and relayed to their board of directors. We have drafted some sample statements for you below if you wish to copy and paste them, or you can choose to write your own:
Option 1: As a resident of Kelowna, I am upset and disappointed that Kelowna Cabs would choose to put local jobs in jeopardy and even threaten to replace workers with an app. This type of behaviour is despicable. I will not be supporting Kelowna Cabs until they come to a fair agreement that protects the jobs of its workers.
Option 2: I am disgusted to see a Kelowna-based company treat its local workers as if they were expendable, and to go as far as locking out workers for any length of time in the middle of a pandemic. By turning your back on the people of the community, as a member of this community I will turn my back on you by not supporting your business until you reach a fair deal for your workers that protects their jobs.
Option 3: The way that Kelowna Cabs has treated its workers is shameful. From threatening to replace them with an app to locking them out in the middle of a pandemic, Kelowna Cabs has shown they do not support the community. Therefore, until the workers are given a fair deal that protects their work for the foreseeable future, I will be encouraging my friends, family, colleagues, and other local businesses to stop doing business with Kelowna Cabs.
If you feel comfortable, you can also consider posting publicly viewable comments on Kelowna Cabs’ Facebook page or as a Google review.
Thank you so much for your support and for standing up for the rights of workers in your community.
In solidarity,
Christy Sluarenko
MoveUP, Vice-President, Combined