The vote for the latest company offer was tied after 316 ballots were cast. George Redmond--the business agent who helped negotiate the seven-year contract--was asked by Randy Tapp to vote for the deal. Tapp is the president of the London local of the Brewery General and Professional Workers Union (BGPWU).

The two main issues for the union were the bosses' expanded use of temporary workers and the outsourcing of existing jobs. Temporary workers earn less than half of what full-time workers do, receive few benefits, and have little possibility of becoming full-time, permanent employees. Temporary workers had the right to vote on the latest offer, although none picketed during the lockout for fear of losing their jobs.

As workers left the meeting, several expressed their disgust with Labatt and the contract, calling it less than what they were offered before being locked out in January.

"It is brutal. We're very angry," said union member Jim Root. "They are the most profitable brewery in the world. They have the highest production plant in the country right here and all they put on the table is a concessionary contract. I don't understand it."

Kelsey Lawson, who has worked at Labatt for 25 years, said it was a classic "hold-your-nose-and-vote" contract because the workers feared being locked out for several more months. Workers were told the company threatened it would not bargain again until September if the latest deal was rejected.

Luc Guens, Labatt Breweries Ontario president, sent a letter to workers the day before the vote. "The cost of supplying the market during this dispute has reduced money available for wage and pension increases for this contract period," Guens claimed. "Each day the labor disruption continues the Company incurs more costs and the amount of available money shrinks." The letter also threatened that the company had to make long-term decisions that would impact "when the London brewery will be needed to begin full production again."

Randy Tapp said that some retirees had been contacted at home by Labatt, asking if they would work if the lockout continued.

The seven-year deal offers a 14.6 percent base salary increase, which will rise if production targets set by the company are met. This would bring the average wage for full-time employees at the end of the deal to around Can$30 an hour (Can$ = US 65 cents). Several workers said that workers in the United States who are employed by Interbrew, a Belgium-based company which owns Labatt, get pay packages of Can$40 an hour.

The contract includes a pension increase of $600 over seven years. The number of temporary workers the company can have in the plant at any one time is restricted from 15 percent to 25 percent of the workforce, depending on the department. There previously were no restrictions on how many temporary workers the company could hire. The company will also hire six full-time workers from the temporary pool, which currently stands at about 80 people.

A return-to-work agreement will override the collective bargaining agreement for 45 days while the bosses recall workers. The pact says workers are considered to be on "an unpaid leave of absence" until they are back on the job.

It also states that "if not offered recall to work within 45 days of ratification, his/her status will change to layoff from leave of absence," and allows for supervisors to continue doing the work of unionized employees for that period.

Mike Derrough, who was in charge of organizing picketing for Ontario during the lockout said that since the contract passed "it's not very friendly in there. They laid off a bunch of workers this week and they're ineligible for unemployment benefits for 45 days and the union can't file any grievances for 90 days after the 45-day period." Derrough said about half the workforce has been called back to work, temporary workers first, and that the company "pretty much controls the situation right now."

Several workers spoke about how their fight will continue. Dave, a truck driver with 15 years seniority, said that "the company is reaching beyond borders so we have to reach beyond borders. I would like to know how they are treating their workers in Belgium. We need to reach out to them. There is Montreal. Their contract is up in January. They are next on the list."  
 
 
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