The Globe and Mail

Sarah Smith and Vince Gugliotta were both assemblers at Electro-Motive Diesel’s locomotive assembly plant in London, Ont. Together they have four children under the age of nine. On Feb. 3, 2012, Caterpillar’s Progress Rail Services unit announced it would cease operations at the factory. Vince and Sarah were among 700 workers who lost their jobs.

Before the announcement, Caterpillar had demanded pay cuts of 50 per cent in many job categories, elimination of a defined-benefit pension plan, reductions in dental and other benefits and the end of a cost-of-living adjustment. The Canadian Auto Workers Union refused to meet the company’s demands and 450 unionized employees, including Vince and Sarah, were locked out of the plant for a month.