More large-scale disputes like the industrial action at British Columbia香蕉视频直播檚 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 it香蕉视频直播檚 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 香蕉视频直播� 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 香蕉视频直播渄oesn香蕉视频直播檛 send a strong signal香蕉视频直播� about the quality of the deal and gives the impression it is instead getting 香蕉视频直播渞ammed through.香蕉视频直播�

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 香蕉视频直播渆xistential香蕉视频直播� for the long-term viability of these workers香蕉视频直播� jobs.

香蕉视频直播淭his isn香蕉视频直播檛 just about dollars and cents or a pension increase,香蕉视频直播� Eidlin said. 香蕉视频直播淣ot that those things aren香蕉视频直播檛 important, but these are really some fundamental issues about the future of what work on the dock is going to look like.

香蕉视频直播淓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 香蕉视频直播� and whether or not they can live with it.香蕉视频直播�

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 movement香蕉视频直播檚 calculations on whether to use strike action as a negotiating tactic 香蕉视频直播� something that has essentially flatlined since the 1990s.

香蕉视频直播淚 think the current moment that we香蕉视频直播檙e living in suggests that we could have reached some sort of breaking point, where enough workers are saying, 香蕉视频直播榃e香蕉视频直播檝e had enough, we need to do something.香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈��

Thousands of workers at British Columbia香蕉视频直播檚 ports took Tuesday香蕉视频直播檚 8 a.m. shift off to attend meetings and learn details of the union香蕉视频直播檚 tentative agreement with the employers.

At one chapter, members filed into meetings at Vancouver香蕉视频直播檚 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 meeting香蕉视频直播檚 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 dollars香蕉视频直播� worth of goods from moving in and out of some of the country香蕉视频直播檚 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 香蕉视频直播渦ncommon but not unheard of香蕉视频直播� 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 government香蕉视频直播檚 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.

香蕉视频直播淲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,香蕉视频直播� McHugh-Russell said. 香蕉视频直播�(The Supreme Court decisions) have really put the brakes on the ability and willingness of government to bring in legislative solutions to these problems.香蕉视频直播�

Union members are expected to vote on the offer later this week, but there香蕉视频直播檚 no word yet on when the results could be made public.

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