CAW Local 252 members have been on strike at the Mississauga Lexus-Toyota dealership since July 23 after talks broke down between the two sides in an effort to reach a first agreement.

“The employer is dragging this out, it’s frustrating our union, our members and the local community,” said Sukhvinder Johl, CAW national representative.

Over the last few months, the employer has agreed to meet with the union only once a week to negotiate. The next meeting is scheduled for September 8.

“We will do whatever it takes to make sure these workers have a fair and equitable contract,” said Abbot Harvey, president of CAW Local 252.

In support of the workers, the CAW is organizing a mass demonstration on September 3 at 7:00 a.m. at Toyota Canada – 1 Toyota Place, in Scarborough, Ontario.

The CAW represents 80 workers at the Lexus-Toyota dealership in Mississauga.

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Chatham-Kent’s mayor is hopeful officials of CAW Local 127 and Navistar will soon return to the negotiating table.

Randy Hope said yesterday the “silence is deafening’’ between the two sides in the labour dispute.

Hope said he would be willing to convene a meeting between the two sides at bringing about a resolution.

“But I’m not about to get involved in the bargaining process,’’ he said. “That is none of my business.’’

Hope said the Richmond Street truck assembly plant is the last of its kind in Canada.

“We should be doing all we can to ensure that we don’t lose this very important segment of our local business economy,’’ he said. “It’s too important to lose.’’

But Hope said the municipality would like to know what is in store for the future of the plant.

“Does Navistar plan to continue truck production in Chatham or not?’’ he asked. “We would like the answer to that question.’’

Hope said the municipality relies heavily on the plant for taxes, hydro and water consumption and for providing employment to a large segment of the working population.

“We’ve been after the company for answers but so far there has been nothing but silence,’’ he said.

Hope said he realizes the global downturn in the economy is affecting everything including truck sales.

But he said it has been several weeks since talks between the CAW and Navistar broke off and he would like to see them re-open.

Navistar spokesman Roy Wiley of Chicago said no new talks are scheduled at this time.

“We are willing to return to the table but only if the talks are productive,’’ he said.

CAW national representative Joe McCabe said the union would like nothing better than to sit down with the company.

“We’ve asked for some information from them but haven’t heard back,’’ he said. “No talks are scheduled at this time.’’

McCabe said the company doesn’t appear to have changed its position from earlier this year when it called for a downsizing of the Richmond Street facility.

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Union claims women struck by cars on picket line

For the second time in a week, the union representing striking Betel Home workers is claiming a member was struck by a car while on the picket line.

The most recent incident occurred Wednesday afternoon, said Janice Chase, the business representative for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 987.

“We called the police and we will definitely being laying charges,” said an upset Chase from the picket line late Wednesday afternoon.

Chase said the unidentified drive “sped up on the gas,” forcing one of the striking workers on top of the windshield of that vehicle and then to the ground.

RCMP were called and were interviewing the injured picketer at the scene within minutes of the incident.

This latest incident came just over a week after a striking worker’s foot was run over by a vehicle attempting to enter the Betel home property.

On Aug. 12, Chase said she and other picketers surrounded a woman’s car who they had identified as a security guard.

Chase claims the security guard’s superior then appeared from inside the nursing home and instructed the driver to go forward.

“We held her up for five, 10 minutes … it’s hard to say how long we held her up, but no longer than 10,” Chase recalled. “Then a guy came down. I’m not sure if he was her boss or the guy who owns the security company but he said, ‘Hit them if you have to’ and then she spun through and people were going every which way.”

Chase alleges the driver aggressively drove through the picket line, running over Janelle Buckley’s foot, which remained bandaged while she was out on the picket line this week. Buckley said the incident later became physical between striking workers and security. Her mother, Teresa Michaud, who also is on strike, was also involved in the confrontation.

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Employees get ultimatum on 35% cut in wages, benefits

Close to 300 workers at Tembec’s Powerview-Pine Falls newsprint plant were to be locked out at midnight Monday night only one week after being called back to work after an extensive shut down.

Union officials said the troubled forestry product company gave workers an “ultimatum” to accept a new contract that included wage and benefits concessions totalling 35 per cent.

“We’re prepared to do our part to cut costs,” said Wayne Skrypnyk, United Steelworkers area supervisor. “But when we asked to see the breakdown of the cost containment measures being made throughout the operation, we were told we had to agree to the concession before they will talk about other cost containment activities.”

In addition to the 260 USW workers close to 20 office workers will also be affected by the lock out.

Skrypnyk said his members were not prepared to shoulder all the cost cutting when, he said, company executives received substantial increased in their bonuses over the past couple of years.

He said the union’s legal advisers are investigating whether or not a claim can be made with the provincial labour board regarding bad faith bargaining.

Workers had already been out on an extended shut down and were called back to work only one week ago which was one week ahead of schedule.

Now Skrypnyk believes company officials were planning on a lock out all along and needed the workers back to allow for an orderly shut down.

Pine Falls workers have been laid off four times this year for a total of 12 weeks. The longest plant shutdown was for six weeks in June and July. The other three — one over the Christmas-New Year period, another in February, and the most recent one that began Aug. 11 — were for two weeks each.

The USW collective agreement ended Monday. Talks to renew the contract only began in mid-August and according to Skrypnyk consisted of the company demanding concessions with no room for the union to negotiate.

John Valley, Tembec’s executive vice-president, business development and corporate affairs, would not comment on the lock out or the collective bargaining agreement situation.

But he did say that the industry in a critical state.

“We have seen a profound structural decline in demand for newsprint,” Valley said. “The newsprint industry is in the most challenging period it has ever faced.”

Valley said low newsprint prices and higher Canadian dollar has negatively affected the market, but “the principal and critical issue is the dramatic over-supply of newsprint.”

He said newsprint sites will have to close and those that survive must be cost competitive.

Tembec’s Manitoba newsprint operations is the largest employer by far in the town of Powerview-Pine Falls, located about 130 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

The newsprint plant has had a rocky recent history with a couple of changes of ownership and more than $100 million in capital investments at the beginning of the decade.

But industry officials say that new Canadian subsidies for pulp plants and a new loop hole that has allowed the newsprint industry in the U.S. to receive tax credits is making it even harder for Canadian newsprint plants to survive.

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‘It is the GOLICO bargaining committee’s hope that the employer will come to the table and negotiate a collective agreement rather than force the members into taking action.’ – MGEU.

Winnipeg (1 Sept. 2009) – Employees of the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) have voted 84% to strike if necessary to reach a fair contract.

The employees are represented by the government liquor commission (GOLICO) Component of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU/NUPGE).

A province-wide vote was conducted over the weekend and the results were announced on Monday. Talks between the union and the commission resume between the two sides Tuesday.

“It is the GOLICO bargaining committee’s hope that the employer will come to the table and negotiate a collective agreement rather than force the members into taking action,” MGEU says.

“What was made clear at the local meetings held yesterday evening is that members are prepared to take action if the Employer does not begin earnestly discussing the issues on the table.”

As was previously reported, after 30 days of negotiations, the GOLICO bargaining committee and the MLCC bargaining committee still had made no meaningful progress. The commission refused to take members’ proposals seriously and, to make matters worse, had introduced several unacceptable concessionary demands.

“The (MGEU) bargaining committee’s goal from day one was to bargain a new contract without resorting to any work disruptions or stoppages. However, the committee determined that the only way to have their proposals taken seriously was to get a strike mandate from the membership,” the union notes.

“Getting a strike mandate from the membership is important for two main reasons. It lets management know that GOLICO members want their proposals taken seriously and it gives the bargaining committee the authority to plan strike action if management continues to drag their heels during negotiations without having to go back to the membership for another vote.”

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada’s largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE

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