Members of the Canadian Auto Workers (C.A.W.) Local 3018 have voted 99 per cent in favour of striking at Taseko's Gibraltar Mine near Williams Lake.
Voting took place by union members on Nov. 21 and 22.
"We're hoping that it will get some momentum in terms of bargaining," C.A.W. national representative Pete Smith said this morning (Nov. 23). "We're meeting again with the employer on Dec. 3 and 4."
While Smith wasn't willing to pinpoint main issues presently at the bargaining table, he said there are "a lot of outstanding issues pending both in the non-monetary and the monetary components."
There are approximately 470 C.A.W. members presently employed at the mine. Prior to the expansion of the mill there over the last couple of years there were around 250 C.A.W. employees. The number has almost doubled.
At this point, the workers are not in a legal position to strike.
They will have to serve 72-hour notice, but won't consider that until after the outcomes of the meetings with Taseko in December, Smith said.