A battle pitting a giant American multinational against a small group of organized workers in London, Ontario, is presently unfolding in this Southwestern Ontario community.
When the workers would not agree to having their wages cut by half, their benefits slashed and their pension plans gutted, the company, Electro-Motive Diesel, locked out its skilled workers.
The EMD name may not be known to you, nor the immediate owners of the EMD, Progress Rail Services. But the big name behind it all is Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar is infamous for its union-busting tactics and for its willingness to close and move plants to avoid collective bargaining.
Last night, I visited the locked out workers on the picket line and this morning I checked in with them to see if any replacement workers had yet crossed the line. I reported all to the online newspaper Digital Journal out of Toronto.
2 comments:
What a shame! I hope the workers win!
It is a shame; I agree, but I don't think the table is hot for the middle class players at the moment. I think the big money players, the companies, are on a roll. Sad, but change is also the name of the game and a winning streak will eventually visit the middle class workers.
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