The Regina Co-op Refinery, Unifor labour dispute so far

Tensions continue between the Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) and its locked out Unifor employees.

About 800 Unifor594 members employed by the refinery were locked out in December.

Since then there have been threats of escalation, reports of vandalism, arrests and more.

Here is a timeline of some of the major events from the more than 100-day-long lockout:

October: Talks breakdown mid-month and an impasse is declared.

Dec. 3: Workers voteoverwhelmingly for a strike and issue48-hour notice of job action. Later that day the CRC respondsby giving a48-hour lockout notice.

Dec. 5: The lockout begins at 5:30 p.m. CST,exactly 48 hours after the refinery gave its lockout notice.

Dec. 6: Workers take to the streets for the first of many rallies the next day.

Dec. 9: Vehicles are crossing the picket lines. The refinery saysit had started using helicopters to transport replacement workers and materials.

Dec 16:The union callsfor a Canada-wide boycott of all Co-ops.

Dec. 23: CRC requests an injunction that would prevent picketers from blocking entrances to the refinery.

Dec. 29: The court grants issues an injunctionordering unionmembers to hold up traffic for no longer than 10 minutes per vehicle. Those 10 minutes are to be used to provide information to the drivers. Anyonewho says they don't want the information is to be allowed through.

Jan. 2 and 3:Tensions continue to escalate. There arereports of vandalism and violence on the picket lines.

Jan. 9: Unifor promises further escalations.

Jan. 10: Unifor releasesa "meet the scabs" video, naming and showing pictures of people working at the refinery during the lockout.

Jan. 20:Unifor members from across the country jointhe picket line.Blockades are erected by union membersthen taken down by police.

Unifor President Jerry Dias and 13 others are arrested and charged with mischief. Diasand the others are members of Unifor but not members in the local Unifor 594. Dias says this means they are is not in breach of the court injunction.

Jan. 21: Premier Scott Moe, Regina Chief of Police Evan Bray andRegina Mayor Michael Fougerecall forboth sides to go back to the table and find a resolution.

Jan. 22:A Regina judge rules that Unifor must pay a $100,000 fine for "intentionally and deliberately" disobeying an interim court injunction which prevented prolonged and extended blockades at the Co-Op Refinery Complex.

Jan. 23:Diascalls for Premier Scott Moe and his government to intervene in the ongoing labour dispute between the union and the Co-op Refinery Complex, but the government isnon-committal.

The union also asksthat a new, separateindependent mediator be assigned to the case, as negotiations have been unsuccessful so far with the currently appointed mediator.

Bray says a meeting with Dias to discussion the ongoing tensions wasproductive.

Jan. 24:ReginaMayor Michael Fougere sits down with president Jerry Dias as members of the union gatheroutside of city hall. Fougere categorizesthe meeting as an "information exchange" and saysDias did not ask him to get involved in the matter.

Fougere sayshe spent the time expressing concern about public safety and access to the refinery in the event of an emergency. He also says he encouraged Dias to get back to the bargaining table with Co-op and resolve the dispute quickly.

Chief Bray saysthe blockades set up by Unifor members are illegal in a video statement released on Twitter.He saysthe police service wouldn't be using tactics that could escalate the situation further like the arrest of Unifor's national president and a handful of membersearlier this week. He saysmore "investigative" measures would be taken instead.

Jan. 27:Unifor says representatives from the union and the Co-op Refinery Complex had a short meeting inSaskatoon.

Jan. 29:Diassays the union made a counter-proposal to the refinery's owner andsays it wantsto get back to the bargaining table on Jan. 30. Dias said the union would also remove blockades and fences obstructing entrances and exits to the refinery, in compliance with a court injunction but only if Federated Co-operatives Ltd., which owns the refinery,agreesto bargain.

Jan. 30: Federated Co-operatives Ltd. andUnifor say the two areset to return to the bargaining table on Jan. 31.

Jan. 31:Unifor confirmsunion leaders and Co-op Refinery Complex management have returned to the bargaining table at about 9 a.m. CST. Uniforremoves fences blocking the entrances to the refinery and begins to comply with the court injunction.

Shortly after 5 p.m. CST, both sides say talks broke off.Unifor reinstatestheir barricades around the Co-op Refinery Complex.

Feb. 3:Premier Scott Moe says he will appoint a special mediator to help in the dispute if Uniforremoves its barricades and follows the court injunction. Moe says he expects the Regina Police Service will enforce the court order calling for the removal of the barricades.

Police respond later in the day, saying they are independent of elected officials and working with public safety in mind.

Both Co-op and the union say they had been prepared to bargain all weekend and are ready to restart bargaining at any time.

Feb. 5: Four people are arrested at the Unifor picket line at the Co-op Refinery Complex early in the morning. All four are charged with mischief under $5,000 and disobeying an order of court.

The refinery says six managers have had their homes vandalized with paint balls.

Feb. 6: Truck drivers who normally work at the Co-op Refinery Complex hold a protest in downtown Regina.

Regina police remove 31 vehicles from outside the refinery gates. Other vehicles taketheir place not long after.

Federated Co-operatives Limited wins an interim court injunction against striking union members who had set up a barricade at its fuel terminal station southeast of Calgary.

Feb. 7: Unifor and Federated Co-operatives Limited make their arguments in a contempt of court hearing at Regina's Court of Queen's Bench. Justice Neil Robertson reserveshis decision.

Lawyers for FCL argued that two members of the Local 594 should receive jail time in addition to a "historic" $1 million dollar fine against the union representing locked out refinery employees.

The union argued they are not breaking any court order and personal liberties were at stake in the court hearing.

Regina police stoptraffic around the Co-op Refinery Complex at 9th Avenue and Winnipeg Street and 9th Avenue and McDonald Street. Police donot allow vehicles through and tellrefinery security to remove fences set up by the union. Police say this was to make the area safer.

Two Saskatoon Co-op gas stations close. They say this is because of a fuel shortage caused by the Unifor blockade at the Co-op Refinery Complex.

Feb. 8: Police allow refinery traffic onto the roadaround the Co-op Refinery Complex and pickets if they walk and only carry their signs.

Feb. 12: Unifor is ordered to pay $250,000 for violating a court injunction that limited picketersto blocking vehicles for a maximum of 10 minutes. Justice Neil Robertson ruled Unifor repeatedly breached court injunctions between Dec. 28, 2019, and Jan. 27.

Local Unifor 594 president Kevin Bittmanis found not guilty of contempt of court while vice-president Lance Holowachukis found guilty and given 40 hours of community service.

The province announces Vince Ready will be the special mediator to try and resolve the dispute between the Co-op Refinery Complex and Unifor 594. The provincial government gives Ready a start date of February 18, and 20 days to complete either reach a settlement orto give recommendations.

Feb. 14: Unifor pickets set up a blockade around Saskatoon Co-op cardlock.

Feb. 17: Public supporters hold a rally at a Co-op gas station. Members of the public and Unifor 594 attend. The union saysthey are cautiously optimistic for the mediator meetings.

Feb. 18: Vince Ready begins his work as a special mediator between the Co-op Refinery Complex and Unifor.

Feb. 26: The lawyer representing 14 Unifor members who were charged with mischief in relation to the Regina blockades appearsin court. The charges stem from an incident at the blockades on January 20, 2020.

Court is adjourned until March 30 to give both the Crown and defence time to review documents.

Feb. 29: Federated Co-operatives Limited hold their annual general meeting in Saskatoon at TCU Place. Unifor members protestthe AGM happening during the dispute. FCL saysit hasno issue with Unifor members sharing information with people entering the AGM.

March 10: The special mediation window endsin the dispute. Mediator Vince Ready had20 days to meet with Federated Co-operatives Limited and Unifor to help the two sides reach a settlement.

March 17: The Co-op Refinery Complex announces it will be delaying spring turnaround due to concerns about the coronavirus.

March 20: The provincial government confirms to CBC Saskatchewan that Vince Ready's report and recommendations have been released to both parties.

Unifor states it will comply with the recommendations moving forward.

The City of Regina is concerned about safety conditions at the work campsset up to house temporary workers at the Co-op Refinery Complex. A motion at City Council is made to ask for a review of work camp conditions.

March 22: The Co-op Refinery Complex saysit cannot accept all the special mediators' recommendations. The Refinery said it will present Unifor with an offer that modifies some recommendations in the coming days.

March 23: Unifor calls on the province to end the lockout after the special mediation ends without a deal the two sides agree on.

Unifor says Local594 members have voted 98 per cent in favourofaccepting the mediator recommendations.

March 25: The Co-op Refinery Complex presentsUniforwith a new deal based on the special mediators' recommendations. It said this was their final offer and it wants Unifor members to vote on the deal and end the lockout.

Unifor saysit cannot accept the new offer and that the Refinery is using the coronavirus pandemic to ask for further concessions. Unifor saysit will not vote on the new offer because its members have already ratified the mediators' recommendations.

March 26: Saskatchewan's Minister of Labour, Don Morgan, saysthe province will not get involved at this time in the dispute. He said both sides simply need to sit down and end it, and legislation or binding arbitration is not going to happen at this time.

March 30: The Co-op Refinery Complex presents Unifor with its "Best and Final Offer." The new offer includes employees beginning to pay into pensions when the recommendations said. It also includes a 50-50 cost sharing agreement to begin in 2022.

Unifor said is has received the latest deal and is reviewing the offer. It said on social media that it will provide a detailed synopsis for its membership soon.

The Refinery said it will apply to the Labour Relations Board to force a vote on the March 30 deal by usingSection 6-35 of the Saskatchewan Employment Act.

March 31:Unifor says it can not accept the refinery's final offer and urges its members to reject it.

April 17:The Co-op Refinery Complex says it hasreduced production by nearly 25 per cent, inresponse to global market conditions.

April 29: Unifor members vote 89 per cent to reject the refinery's offer. The refinery says it is disappointed in the outcome of the vote.

Unifor supporters and members hold a rally at the Saskatchewan Legislature to urge Premier Scott Moe to step in and end the labour dispute.

Premier Scott Moe sayshe willnot reconvene the legislature to deal with the issue. Moe saysLabour Minister Don Morgan hasbeen reaching out to both sides.

The Co-op Refinery Complex saysit will continue to run "business as usual" with replacement workers.

April 30:Regina's city council votes to ask the province to resolve the labour dispute. Mayor Michael Fougere is the only vote against the motion. He saysit sets a precedent that other disputes of this nature can come to council.

The vote is mainly symbolic as the municipal government does not have jurisdiction in the dispute.

May 5:Four men are charged in relation to an alleged April 30 altercation outside the refinery.

May 9:The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan says it has been fielding complaints from farmers about delays accessing fuel at the Co-op cardlock near Moose Jaw.

Unifor Local 594 president Kevin Bittman confirms fewer than 10 union members were temporarily stopping fuel trucks heading into the bulk station Wednesday through Friday.

May 11:Regina police start restricting traffic onNinth Avenue N., which runs in front of the refinery.Police had previously said they had received a complaint about drivers intentionallyslowing traffic on the street.

May 19:Unifor's president sayshe is livid that the Regina Police Service did not notify union members of a bomb threat that was laterdeemed unfounded.

May 22:A leak isdiscovered at the Co-op Refinery Complex. It led to sludge being leaked into the City of Regina sewage system.

June 2:The City of Regina confirms the leaked sludgemade its way into Wascana Creek.

June 5:The labour dispute hits six months since the Unifor 594 members were locked out of the Co-op Refinery Complex.

June 15:Unifor ralliesat the Provincial Legislature asking the province to pass legislation forcing an end to the labour dispute.

June 18:The Co-op Refinery Complex and Unifor 594 reacha tentative deal, according to the refinery.