"They treat us like animals. They are violating our fundamental rights," said Afe Busuyi, one of the 360 members of Machinists Union (IAM) Local Lodge 26, on strike against Slotex in Toronto since December 13. The company, a manufacturer of store shelving and related products, is a division of the giant multinational Leggat and Platt.

"They are playing with us because we are immigrants," said welder Kiran Patel.

One of the central issues in the strike is the demand for equal pay. Local 26 was certified in 1999. Previously the plant had never been organized. The wage rates show the favoritism practiced by the employers. Patel earns $12 an hour. Other welders doing the same job earn $17 an hour. A formula proposed by the union to begin closing the gap between workers has been rejected out of hand by the bosses.

The unionists rejected the company’s latest offer on January 19. The proposal included a base wage rate already received by 90 percent of the members. It also took away 5 cents out of the four-year offer, as well as 10 cents from the pension offer.

"This offer is the latest and worst one to date," said Jaglall Rabindrana, Local 26 vice-president.

Pickets are up 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in subfreezing temperatures. The strikers have constructed sturdy picket shacks at a number of entrances, equipped with gas heaters. The company is using supervisors as scab labor. About 15 Local 26 members have crossed the line.

Because the pickets can only hold up cars and trucks leaving the factory for a predetermined amount of time under a protocol with the cops and security guards hired by the company, the bosses are able to keep some production going, and get shipments out of the plant. Work is also being contracted out.

"They tried to decertify the union a short time ago, but we won," said striker S. Dookie, who has worked in the plant for 18 years as a sheet metal worker. "They dragged their feet on the negotiations and now they don’t want to talk." He said that the company would be under pressure in February when big orders were due.  
 
Picket line against scabs
Meanwhile in Fort Erie, a two-hours drive from Toronto, 335 Fleet workers have been walking the picket line since October 1 after a nearly unanimous strike vote rejecting company demands to gut seniority rights and replace the plant-wide seniority system with seniority by job classification. The production workers are members of IAM Local 171. Office workers, also on strike, are members of IAM Local 939.

Fleet, the largest employer in the Fort Erie area, is owned by Magellan Aerospace based in Toronto. It produces components for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

On January 19, in a secret ballot, the workers rejected by a vote of 255 to 1 the latest offer from the Fleet bosses. Accepting the offer would have meant an immediate layoff of all employees and a recall based on favoritism and not seniority.

The rejected proposal stated, "For the first six weeks following the resumption of operations, which will be a date specified by the Company following ratification, the Company has the right to recall employees out of seniority based on the company’s need, as determined by the Company."

On January 22 and 23, the scabs escorted by the cops arrived in school buses with blacked-out windows. When about 100 strikers held their ground the cops decided it was too risky to try to break the line and sent the buses away. The workers appealed for help on the line the following morning. Faced with this union solidarity the bosses didn’t attempt to bring the scabs in.

"We had to set an example for the other unions," said shipper Louis Overholt, whose has worked for Fleet for 39 years.

In Ontario it is legal for the bosses to bring in replacement workers during a strike. On January 24, a Superior Court judge granted a temporary injunction stating that strikers can only delay scabs and supervisors from entering the plant by 10 minutes. The company wanted the judge to limit pickets to 20. It will go back to the court February 4 to make this demand for the duration of the strike.

Alexandre Geoffroy is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees in Toronto. John Steele is a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers in Toronto.  
 
 
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