Labour strife hits Canadian economy
The lockout at the Electro-Motive facility in London, Ont., is seen as a harbinger of heightened conflict between companies and workers in 2012
Anna Wittich (left, standing) and Magdalena Schoenmakers (sitting) join locked-out Electro-Motive workers on the picket line in London, Ont. Workers were locked out by the company, which is owned by Caterpillar Inc., on Jan. 1, 2012. Ms. Schoenmakers’ son-in-law works at the factory.
Locked-out workers and supporters picket at locomotive maker Electro-Motive in London, Ont. The company’s final offer to the employees would have slashed current wages from $35 down to $16.50 an hour.
The more than 450 unionized workers at Caterpillar subsidiary Electro-Motive Diesel refused to accept what the Canadian Auto Workers said were company demands to slash wages in half, along with reduced pensions and benefits.
The fight between Electro-Motive and its workers is emblematic of what is expected to be a tough year for union members in both Canada and the United States.
Ken Lewenza, national president of the CAW, called the deep wage cuts and other proposals from Electro-Motive ‘unprecedented’ in Canadian labour history.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper waves from the cabin of an engine at the Electro-Motive facility in London, Ont. The CAW has demanded that the federal government re-examine the sale of the plant to the U.S. company last year.
Security fences surround the Electro-Motive facility in London, Ont. The lockout of the workers has galvanized Canada’s long-declining labour movement, but is seen by some as a dark sign of conflict to come at workplaces across the country.
Pickets walk the line at the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter in Alma, Que., after the company locked out workers following the collapse of last-ditch contract talks. Some observers believe that companies, unnerved by economic uncertainty and increased global competition, are expected to get more aggressive at the bargaining table this year.
Douglas Oberhelman, CEO of Caterpillar Inc., which owns Electro-Motive, expects a Chinese entrant in the heavyweight class of big-machinery makers within a few years and that has the company looking closely at their collective labour agreements for savings.