District of Squamish to lock out unionized employees at some facilities to exert pressure on Union to return to the bargaining table to achieve a collective agreement

Lockout is worst case scenario due to impacts on unionized staff and community, but District needs Union back at the table amidst growing job action and significant challenges to deliver municipal functions to the community

In the 13th day of escalating CUPE 2269 job action, the District of Squamish has communicated to the Union that it will lock out unionized employees at certain facilities to exert pressure on the Union to return to the bargaining table. With no indication from the Union as to when they will respond to the District’s latest proposal delivered October 4, the extreme move is being undertaken to provide an incentive for the Union to return to the bargaining table to reach a deal. The lockout would begin Thursday, October 16 at 6 a.m.

The lockout will impact unionized employees at Public Works, Municipal Hall, the Annex and Cleveland Avenue auxiliary offices. The lockout will impact all unionized employees at these locations except those designated as delivering essential services.

Recreation facilities, RCMP, Bylaw, Emergency Management, and Facilities Operations and Maintenance will not be impacted by the District’s lockout.

“This is an extremely unfortunate situation, and we have not made this decision lightly given the profound impacts to unionized employees and the community, however a lockout is the parallel employer’s tool to the Union’s strike action through which we can pressure the Union to return to the bargaining table to reach an agreement,” says District of Squamish Chief Administrative Officer, Linda Glenday. “No-one wants a lockout, however we need the Union bargaining committee to be focussing their energy at the bargaining table.”

The current job action continues to escalate where unionized employees have stopped performing pieces of their job while continuing to receive full pay. With just 68 non-unionized employees who can be redeployed to do refused Union work, the challenges are growing to keep up with community needs. With an overtime ban by the Union at Public Works, non-unionized employees are being redeployed to various weather-related and operational call outs. A number of community events have been postponed, the 2026 budget workshops are being delayed, and a large list of work in all parts of the organization is being de-prioritized.

“We understand that the point of a strike is to make things very difficult for the organization to function without the unionized employees,” says District of Squamish Mayor, Armand Hurford  “At the point at which the Union is refusing to bargain decisive steps need to be taken as this current situation is not sustainable.”

The District’s most recent proposal increases the wage of the lowest paid unionized employees to $27.50 per hour (not including benefits). It also offers a general wage increase of 3.26% in 2025 and 2.99% in 2026, which would add to the 11.5% wage increase received since 2022. The District has also moved on vacation pay, reducing the years needed to reach four weeks of vacation to four years from five, and is offering compressed work weeks where operational and service levels allow.

“We urge the Union back to the table to work towards a deal,” continues Hurford. “We all benefit when a fair deal is reached.”

View Frequently Asked Questions on the lockout, and find the latest updates and list of current job actions at Squamish.ca/strike.

October 14, 2025