Ninety-one percent of the STARF members participated in the strike vote in mid-December. Eighty-eight percent of them gave their union a strike mandate. Roughly two-thirds of STARF members work in Montreal, the rest in other parts of Quebec and in New Brunswick. Almost all of them are French-speaking, either Quebecois or Acadians.

Job security is the key question in the strike, as Radio-Canada is pressing to contract out most work. The company also seeks to undermine job classifications, forcing workers to do a variety of jobs.

The union is demanding that the more than 25 percent of the work force that are temporary workers gain permanent status more rapidly. One lighting technician on the picket line said he is still temporary after seven years, as there is no limit on how long a worker can remain in this status. Radio-Canada does not guarantee these workers 40 hours a week or recognize their seniority rights in job assignments.

Workers are also incensed by the fact that Radio-Canada is offering them less than what technicians of the English sector ended up accepting after a six-week strike last year. "Is a French worker worth less than an English worker?" asked STARF in one recent statement. "In the last eight years my wage has gone up by 8 percent," said Alain Champagne.

Workers are picketing five-days a week, four hours a day. Up to 200 workers are on the picket line on weekdays.

The strike at Radio-Canada has the support of several other unions in the broadcasting industry. Champagne underlined, in particular, the support from the technicians of the English network.While on strike last year, these workers set up picket lines that STARF members respected in front of a hockey game at the Montreal Molson Center.

Workers on the picket line are preparing for a long strike. "This is not a strike about pennies. It's the future of Radio-Canada which is at stake in this strike," said one of them.

Michel Dugré is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees in Montreal. Alexander Geoffroy is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers in St-Blaise-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.  
 
 
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