Tuesday, Mark Hancock, CUPE's national president, visited about 56 CUPE Local 71 members who work for the Town of Cochrane and have been on strike for 23 days.
Some of them have worked for the town for more than 30 years and say this strike is the town's first.
“Garbage is not picked up, roads are not graded. Child care, nobody has child care and that will impact the economy," said Lynne Nolet, president of CUPE Local 71.
Nolet said the members are asking for a three per cent wage increase each year for the next four years.
Hancock said if employers are offering less than that, workers are losing money.
“Employers and governments that were calling our members and other frontline workers heroes during that pandemic are all of a sudden turning on those workers,” he said.
“If you’re talking about a one per cent, two per cent wage increase and inflation is four, five, six, seven per cent, workers in fact are losing money. So it’s important that workers do what they can when they have these opportunities at the bargaining table and that’s what we’re seeing here and in other parts of the country as well.”
“We’ve always been able to find a compromise during negotiations but this time we’re a little farther apart," said Nolet.
"Hopefully next week they (will be) ready to sit down with us and we can negotiate and get on with it.”
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Mayor Peter Politis said negotiations have been ongoing and he told CTV News the workers are being offered the highest settlement yet.
He said a balance must be struck between what the workers are offered and being responsible to taxpayers.
