Mississauga’s parking enforcement officers have unionized.

Following a December vote, which saw nearly three quarters of ballots cast in favour of unionizing, the city’s parking officers will form a 54-person bargaining unit as part of CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) Local 66.

Daniela Scarpelli, a national representative with the union, said this was the third attempt to organize Mississauga’s parking enforcement officers and this was “the right time, the right place and the right group of people.”

“My understanding is that for a long time things were proceeding, maybe not perfectly, but there was more of an ability to reason with the management team that was in place (for parking enforcement),” she said. “Things have changed over the last six months to a year.”

In an email provided through city communications staff, Mississauga’s commissioner of transportation and works Geoff Wright did not address questions about what led to the unionization or if the city’s parking enforcement costs might go up as a result of it.

Wright clarified that supervisors and administrative staff in the city’s parking enforcement section are not part of the bargaining unit and remain non-union.

“The City of Mississauga is committed to work with its collective bargaining units and keeps matters of negotiation confidential,” he said.

According to a report from Ontario’s Labour Relations Board, which oversees labour relation matters in the province, 50 of 54 eligible voters cast ballots in the unionization vote. 37 voted in favour of forming a collective bargaining unit, while seven were against it. Six ballots cast were not counted toward the results.

With the bargaining unit established, the union can now negotiate with the city for a new contract for parking enforcement officers. Scarpelli said that the union is ready to negotiate with the city on a new deal quickly.

Employees in the city’s engineering and works division, which includes surveyors and mechanics, are already unionized under CUPE. The union has also organized Mississauga dispatchers and some animal services staff.