Tom Cochrane Show Cancelled, No Signs of CUPE Strike Resolving Soon

With sadness, the City of Prince Albert announces that the Tom Cochrane Show scheduled at the EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts this Friday, November 24, 2023, has been cancelled at the artist's request. The decision was made yesterday given the ongoing strike with CUPE 882, which has members that work out of the Centre.

“We, of course, respect the artist's decision, but this is deeply disappointing,” said Kiley Bear, Director of Corporate Services for the City. “Employees at the E A Rawlinson Centre for the Arts are well compensated with full benefit packages and pension plans. These employees are well taken care of by any standard. The City has put a fair offer on the table to raise their annual earnings even further, and, unfortunately, the patrons of the Rawlinson Centre will not be able to enjoy the show because the local union executive wants more.”

This week marks the 11^th week of the CUPE 882 strike, and no signs that a resolution will be reached soon. Last week, meaningful discussions were held with the provincial conciliator, with a tentative bargaining date set for yesterday, Tuesday, November 21.  After indicating Tuesday would work for management’s side, the union executive indicated they would not be available or prepared until the last week of November.

“There were indications that they were motivated to expedite the process and that we might be on our way to find a resolve and be sure our employees were back to work before Christmas,” said Kevin Yates, HR Manager for the City of Prince Albert. “Unfortunately, there is a delay with no explanation. We’re left feeling doubtful there’s motivation on the union’s end to bring this to a close as soon as possible.”

All event-related services are in place at the EA Rawlinson Centre and all shows are supported to perform unless otherwise decided by the artist. The City will continue to update patrons if interruptions occur to the remaining season schedule.

Tom Cochrane Show Refunds

Everyone who booked tickets to the sold-out show will be issued a refund over the next few days.

Tom Cochrane is committed to finding the first alternate date possible to provide the show for our community.

EA Rawlinson Centre Employees

The operation of the EA Rawlinson Centre was taken over by the City of Prince Albert in 2015. Five full-time CUPE positions have been created for previously contracted employees to support the operation. All positions have full health and dental benefits, defined benefit pension plans through MEPP and extensive time off provisions.

Although it has been implied that CUPE 882 members are minimum wage employees, all permanent employees are fairly compensated and will benefit from wage increases due to the City’s 11% offer.

Employees at the Rawlinson Centre:

CUPE 160 Strike

CUPE 160, the union representing the City’s “outside workers,” held a strike vote indicating they would be prepared to join CUPE 882 with a full withdrawal of services.  CUPE 160 is not currently in a legal strike position, which will first require a determination on municipal services that will be deemed essential under the Employment Act. 

CUPE 160 tabled a proposal to Management on November 8 that included a 22% general wage increase plus other monetary items totalling another 8%. This was an increase from a 16% proposal just the week prior.

This wage request is double what has been offered and would require an additional $2.99 million in the 2024 budget, representing an additional 9.4% increase to the budget.

In the meantime, the City of Prince Albert is prepared for the possibility of a CUPE 160 strike to ensure limited service disruptions across all areas.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Kiley Bear
Director of Corporate Services
(306) 953-4367