Over 10,000 people come out to support 'locked out' engineers in Canada. Their employers (Caterpillar) are reporting record profits yet are aiming to impose a 50% pay cut with immediate effect. If workers refuse the offer, Caterpillar are planning to shift all production to the United States.
Between ten and fifteen thousand workers have joined a protest in support of locked out workers in Ontario.
Electro-Motive Engineering, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. has locked out around four hundred workers since New Year’s Day. The lock out is part of an on-going dispute over plans to cut wages and benefits by 50%. Wages are currently at $35 an hour, yet management are insisting they be reduced to $16.50 an hour.
Canadian Auto Workers Union Leader Ken Lewenza, said that, “The dispute is the latest assault on manufacturing jobs in Canada. This struggle started three weeks ago, but in the last five years, 450,000 manufacturing workers in Canada were asked to go home and say to their young children they lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Workers are losing their jobs because of public policy of Stephen Harper (Prime Minister) that protects the interests of corporations.”
Workers were locked out after the rejected the final offer by Caterpillar. The attack on wages, terms and conditions are despite Caterpillar reporting record profits. Yet another example of a highly profitable business using the cloak of economic crisis to fuck over their workers.
Caterpillar has stated that if the workers refuse to accept the new terms, then they will shift all production to Indiana, were they have already imposed the new terms and conditions.
The Canadian government have declined any involvement or any comment.
Solidarity with the Canadian Engineers.
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Comments
It would be interesting to
It would be interesting to know when and how the Indiana Workers accepted this crappy deal and what if any contact was made at the time with Canadian Workers. Extending the dispute back to indiana now might prove difficult in the circumstances but not impossible.
Quote: Caterpillar has states
Technically, this is incorrect. As far as I know (from talking to workers at the picket line), the plant in Indiana was started with the conditions. And production can't simply be shifted to Indiana because the workforce there is unskilled. The workers at the London plant, however, is very skilled. The plant builds custom-order locomotives, which requires all kinds of engineers (welders, electricians, plumbers etc.). In Indiana there is no such workforce, but the state did actually subsidize training programs so that Caterpillar built the plant. Part of the problem with that training program is that as soon as workers get skilled they very often refuse to continue working for $16 an hour and simply go where they can get a higher wage.
On top of that, the plant in London has apparently a lot of raw material, finished and semi-finished goods. Some workers are talking of occupying the plant/taking it hostage to at least get a severance package. Short story is: it won't be that easy for CAT to move to Indiana.
I've been meaning to write something up about this, but I've just got no time at the moment.
London Free Press
London Free Press
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/01/23/19284006.html
http://www.wsws.org/articles/
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/cana-f04.shtml
Caterpillar to close Ontario locomotive plant where workers resisted wage cut