Work stoppage averted for Richmond, B.C., boating production workers, machinists

RICHMOND, B.C. — A union representing 320 production workers, machinists and maintenance personnel for a boating manufacturing company in Richmond, B.C., say it has averted a work stoppage.

It says it reached a bargaining agreement with Dometic Marine Canada Inc. after a yearlong negotiation process.

Christian Labour Association of Canada Local 501 says, after meeting more than a dozen times and having two mediation sessions with the BC Labour Relations Board, its members took a vote in May and issued a 72-hour strike notice in June.

It says the company responded by issuing a 72-hour lockout notice, but a work stoppage was averted after an arbitrator met with both sides and issued a decision last month.