AMHERST, N.S. – Struggling under the weight of rising inflation, workers at IMP Aerostructures in Amherst, N.S., are on strike to recover from years of real wage losses.
“We have fallen so far behind, we need to start making up for lost ground, in a big way,” said Mike Blenkhorn, President of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 4883, the union representing 150 workers at the IMP Aerostructures plant in Amherst. The workers manufacture parts and components for commercial aircraft.
“The workers at this plant have made tremendous sacrifices over the years, and particularly during the pandemic, to ensure this company’s success,” Blenkhorn said.
“At the same time, our real wages have actually decreased, while the cost of living has soared. We have a lot of catching up to do, and it’s time for the ultra-wealthy owners of this company to share the wealth.”
In their most-recent collective agreement, which expired at the end of March this year, the workers agreed with the company’s request for a three-year wage freeze. Combined with a previous contract, over the last five years the workers’ wages have increased by a miniscule average of 0.25% per year. Meanwhile, the cost of living has skyrocketed by double digits, meaning the workers’ real wages and living standards have fallen significantly.
One IMP worker with nearly 30 years of service calculated that his hourly wages have increased by an average of only 26 cents, per year, during his entire career with the company.
“Our members clearly understand how their work and their sacrifices have been undervalued and under-appreciated by this company, for years,” Blenkhorn said.
“The decision by our members to strike was a last resort. We’ve given the company every opportunity to do the right thing, but they have refused to acknowledge the reality that our members and their families are facing.”
The workers have held three separate votes on contract offers from IMP, and in each case the offers were rejected overwhelmingly. The company’s last offer was rejected by a 93% margin.
“Our members are just as deserving as other workers in the manufacturing industry who have negotiated major improvements that recognize the value of their work and the cost-of-living crisis,” said Myles Sullivan, the USW’s Director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
“Our members are ready to get back to the bargaining table at any time to negotiate a fair contract with the improvements they need and that they have earned,” Sullivan said.
About the United Steelworkers union
The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of the union’s strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.
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