For Toronto Can Factory Workers, a Tellingly Long Strike

Drawn-out dispute a worrisome example of what’s next for Canadian workers.

Imagine you’ve worked hard for the same employer for nearly 30 years, and seen your factory colleagues honoured as top producers.

Now imagine that your employer wants to freeze your pension, cut cost of living allowances, and bring in a divisive two-tiered wage system.

Then imagine that when you go on strike to stop it, your employer brings in replacement workers to do your work.

Welcome to Cheryle Dollimore’s world.

Dollimore is one of 120 employees at a Toronto beer can plant embroiled in a long strike against their employer, Crown Holdings Inc. On strike since September 2013, Dollimore and her colleagues, members of United Steelworkers Local 9176, rejected proposed changes to their collective agreement, including the introduction of a two-tiered wage system and a salary and pension freeze. (The company later changed its wage proposal to a 30 per cent across the board wage cut.)

Dollimore, who’d worked for the company 27 years when the strike began, said that she and fellow strikers were barely scraping by while replacement workers did their jobs and Crown Holdings profits continued to soar. The U.S.-based packaging giant, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of beer and soft drink cans, posted net sales of over US$9 billion and a gross profit of over $1.3 billion in 2014. CEO John W. Conway was paid US$9.6 million last year.

“The worst day was when the replacement workers started to cross our lines,” Dollimore said. “If the company gets away with doing this to us, they’ll come after other unionized workers next.”

Complete article in The Tyee

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