Inside workers face Friday strike deadline

CAMBRIDGE — Another labour disruption could hit the City of Cambridge early Friday.

About 140 inside workers at the city, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1882, have been without a contract for more than a year.

The union and city management continued bargaining on Tuesday with a strike/lockout deadline set to arrive at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Last week, the city’s unionized outside workers settled on a new four-year contract to end a six-day strike that shuttered city arenas and swimming pools for a week.

The city says the inside workers union is made up of administrative and professional staff, including building inspectors, bylaw officers, and customer service and technical services staff.

“We’re at the table,” city spokesperson Andrea Montgomery said on Tuesday afternoon. “We want to stay focused on the process. We are working really hard to avoid any kind of disruption. These workers deliver valuable services for us and we want to keep them working.”

Warren Shaw, local 1882 president, declined to comment while in negotiations on Tuesday when contacted by The Record via email.

Montgomery said the city is willing to continue talks with the union past the strike/lockout deadline, if necessary.

“We’re willing to stay at the table as long as it takes,” Montgomery said.

The city is posting updates on the negotiations on its website.