Lockout of workers entering fourth week

A local locomotive plant (but always American owned) was purchased two short years ago by Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., and is now facing the threat of possible closure. The approximately 425 unionized workers were given a "take it or leave it" offer; they decided to pass. But, and this is important, they did not decide to strike. When they made it clear that they would show up for work after the strike vote, the company locked them out.

Saturday a rally in support of the locked out workers was held in Victoria Park in London's downtown. The mayor spoke and both provincial and federal representatives were on stage showing support. Although, all the federal Conservative MPs were absent. It appears Prime Minister Harper has put out the word to his minions: Stay clear of this dispute.

I posted more images and a story on the Digital Journal news pages.

Neighbourhood devolution

The Spot restaurant on the right burned the other day.

I don't mind seeing homes converted to businesses. It is possible to do this in a way that respects the former homes. Done properly, these conversions can make for a very pleasant street, lined with heritage properties.

All too often, this is not done in London, Ontario. If an addition is necessary, it is often simply a boxy mass slapped onto the front or the side of the structure. Ugly.

Down the street from The Spot, the residential feel is intact.

A restaurant/apartment complex in the core burned the other day. It is always sad when a building suffers a fire, especially a residence. People can be injured, or killed, and treasured, irreplaceable stuff is lost. When a business is involved, the expense to the owner can put the business out of play permanently.

All that said, maybe the fire that gutted a restaurant and several attached apartments in London's core, causing an estimated $450,000 in damage, can be turned into a positive.

Maybe the restaurant can be rebuilt in keeping with the architecture of the older building. Let's blend the commercial smoothly into the residential.

Let's make this old, heritage structure evolve rather than devolve. Let's honour the past, the present and the future.

Many of the residences in this downtown neighbourhood date are circa 1880.

 All images screen grabs from Google Maps.

Locked out EMD workers facing Hobson's choice

The short story is that the Electro-Motive Diesel plant that has made locomotives in London, Ontario since 1950 has locked out its workers. The CAW, Local 27, members were asked to accept a 50 percent cut in wages, have their benefits chopped and sit by while their pension plan got gutted.

The workers are now out on the street 24 hours a day in shifts. So far the company has not tried to get replacement workers, at least ones who would be there to build locomotives, across the line.

I blogged the whole story with my guess as to its outcome here. [But, I so hope that I am wrong and that the workers win this one. A cut of 50 percent in salary is impossibly large, especially when you consider that Caterpillar, the ultimate owner, is making a bundle even in today's economy.]

An historic battle unfolds in London

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.

Heritage homes overlook the Thames River

At least one of these homes had an historic plaque visible beside the front door. I should have taken the time to read it. I have been unable to find anything on the Internet about Riverside Avenue in London, Ontario.

The name of the street say it all; These homes border the Thames River. They both look like wonderful homes and I'm sure they both have interesting histories. There is a certain similarity to these two places and I wouldn't be surprised that they are in some way historically connected.

I took this picture yesterday while walking back to my car from the London Children's Museum. It is interesting, to me, how neighbourhoods evolve. The museum is in the former Riverside Public School. It was a pretty, three story school in local, yellow brick. If the school hadn't become a museum it would most likely have become a memory.

As children grow up, the enrollment at area schools declines. The city does not mothball under-used schools. They demolish them. This leaves a neighbourhood without a school. It is no wonder that families do not repopulate the neighbourhood with the passing of time.

These two homes hint at the elegance that was once Riverview Avenue. But what sits across from these two grand, heritage homes today? A Salvation Army complex.

London Children's Museum New Years

The London Children's Museum in London, Ontario is a gas. It is even greater fun if you're a kid. My wife and I took Fiona there yesterday when I learned that they were celebrating the new year 12 hours early for the children.

It was great fun. There was music, and dancing kids, and balloons --- lots and lots of balloons. Fiona's first balloon broke and she this really upset her. An older girl heard her distress and graciously gave Fiona her balloon. Fiona wiped her tears and whispered, "Thank you."

The latest display at the museum is My Arctic Discovery. Fiona loved it. The inukshuk display encouraged kids to build their own inukshuk. The little black blocks that Fiona is admiring are made of light, black plastic foam and the sculptures were done earlier by other children. Soon Fiona was making her own "stone" sculpture.

When I was in Iqaluit a few years ago, the Inuit told me that inukshuks were often used to mark trails across the arctic wilderness.

How busy was the museum on the last day of the year? Busy. I took a picture of the cars parked along the street half a kilometre from the museum. There was not a parking spot available anywhere near the museum. I guess kids love celebrating new years early.

Fences up, security guards in place

The fences are up and the security guards are in place. The Electro-Motive Diesel plant in London, Ontario shows every sign of hunkering down for an ugly strike or a nasty lock-out. EMD makes diesel-electric locomotives and has made them in London since 1950.

Until 2005, the plant was part of the Electro-Motive Diesel division of General Motors. It was then that GM sold the entire company to an equity investment group for $201 million. They actually did a good job running the operation and flipped the company to Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., for $810 million just last year.

Caterpillar has a well-earned reputation as a powerful, and successful, union buster. Progress Rail is essentially a non-union company. The unionized EMD workers have been asked to accept a cut of more than 50 percent in wages, slashed benefits and put their pensions on the table.

Many see this not as an offer but as a gauntlet being thrown at the feet of the skilled workforce. The workers have responded by giving the CAW a strike mandate with a 404 to nine vote held Friday.

The question is will the company demand that the workers, returning after Christmas break, accept a cut in pay of 50 percent? If this happens, a strike is sure to ensue. Or will the company simply lock out the staff?

Many of the affected are skilled workers. They can leave London for work in the oil-rich western provinces. The older workers, facing retirement in a few short years, will be left with concerns for their pensions. And the City of London, already reeling from the recent recession and the loss of jobs, will lose another 2000 jobs if the plant closes, if one counts the jobs in the community that are only there to support the plant.

With an unemployment rate hitting almost 10 percent, this Southwestern Ontario city cannot afford to have this plant sit empty. Will the city rally behind their friends and neighbours, the EMD workers, or will the workers stand alone while Caterpillar strips them of their income?

Some have written that Cat is also trying to strip the workers of their dignity. I don't know that I agree. But dignity has certainly been lost here, and it is Caterpillar's. Sad.

I've posted two stories on this to the Digital Journal. These can be found here and here. Click the links.

The local paper, The London Free Press, also has some excellent reports. The ones by Jonathan Sher are especially good.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper once used as the backdrop for a photo-op. The PM toured the plant and briefly chatted with some of the 900 employees then employed there. The number is now down to about 700.


Harper used his stop at EMD to make an announcement on his government's efforts to make Canadian manufacturers competitive in a global marketplace. The London Free Press reports Harper proclaimed, "Ontario is the heart, it is still the engine of the Canadian economy. There's no reason the Ontario economy can't be as strong as the economy in any other part of this country." To spur growth, a $1-billion tax break for Canadian industry was announced.

If the Electro-Motive story plays out as poorly as many believe, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be looking for a new photo-op back-drop in London. A deserted factory, devoid of workers, will not convey the right message --- but it would be an accurate one.

The Electro-Motive Diesel plant is down for the holidays. Will it re-open on schedule?