“Before the lockout we kept pretty much to ourselves, but this lockout is the best thing that could have happened to us because it brought the union together,” said Carmel Gaugeal, a Haitian-born composite mixer who has worked at Ipex for 15 years.

“Morale is still good despite everything that’s happened,” said Christian Martin, 27, president of Local 1205.

Workers brought in the union in 1998 and signed their first contract in 1999. Martin said the union’s main demands include wage parity with the other plants in Quebec, which for some jobs would mean increases of up to Can$2 an hour (US$1=Can$1.35); the same number of paid sick days as the Edmonton, Alberta, plant; and ending the practice of bosses working production jobs. Other demands include a $2.50 an hour wage raise and a decrease in annual deductions for health benefits.

Across the street is a lot full of Cabano trucks. Drivers from this company used to deliver Ipex pipes, but they have refused to cross the picket line since the beginning of the lockout, as have most drivers who deliver material to the plant from Canadian National railway cars.

Over the course of the last two months, four other conflicts erupted in Montreal and the vicinity, most in the form of employer lockouts.

These include the lockout of 360 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada at the Old Port Tourism installations in Montreal (see report below). At Novabus, a bus assembly plant in St.-Eustache, 330 members of the Confederation of Democratic Unions at Novabus were locked out June 23. The company had previously announced that on that day it would permanently lay off 157 of the 330 workers in the plant and begin a major restructuring of production. And in Laval, just north of Montreal, 170 members of the Union of Multi-marques Distribution Workers of Laval were locked out May 18 at Multi-marques Distribution Center (Canada Bread). They are trying to prevent the company from using replacement workers, which is illegal under Quebec law.

In addition, 950 members of the Union of Labatt Brewery Workers (CSN) have been on strike since June 16. The Labatt plant is located in the Montreal suburb off Lasalle. Workers there have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2002. They affiliated with a new union in February of this year. Pensions are a major issue since some 400 Labatt workers will be retiring over the next four years.

The union is also demanding more permanent jobs and protection against contracting jobs out. Some workers at the plant have been in temporary posts with lower wages and no benefits for over 15 years. On June 25, for the second time in less than 10 days, union members rejected Labatt’s latest contract offer by a vote of 97 percent.

Sylvie Charbin contributed to this article.
 

A group of students representing the Quebec Federation of University Students (FEUQ) brought a large banner to the march. Henri Massé, president of the Quebec Workers’ Federation (FTQ), addressed the rally following the march.

The union members working for the Old Port Corporation provide services on the many installations located on the mile-long harbor front, which includes a marina, locks, an Imax cinema, information booths, guided tours, and a science center. Since their functions fall under federal jurisdiction, Quebec law, which prevents employers from using replacement workers, does not apply to them. So far, scabs have been hired at the Imax cinema and the marina.

Old Port workers have been circulating a petition demanding that the federal government ban the use of replacements. The petition has been posted on several union web sites. About 9,000 signatures have been collected so far, many from tourists who are also encouraged to boycott the harbor front. The union bulletin cites the example of one group of union-minded tourists from the United States who turned away from the entrance, contributed $40 to the union, and pledged to post information on the lockout on their union web site. An injunction limits pickets to six workers at each of the eight entrances.

The union’s main demands are job security and a wage increase, which they have not had since 1997. Only about 20 percent of the 360 union members have permanent jobs with benefits. The rest are considered part-time or seasonals, with no job security and few benefits. Martin Rose, 22, said that he has been working there five and a half years, but because he gets laid off for about three weeks twice a year, he is considered a “seasonal” worker.

On June 27, the corporations’ latest offer was sent to union members by mail without the knowledge of union negotiators. Before they were slated to vote on it, and following the July 1 rally, the employer agreed to go back to the negotiating table. A tentative agreement was reached July 4 and endorsed by union members three days later.

“We want to go back to work”, said Amélie Séguin, 19, an information booth agent, at the July 1 action. “But we want to go back only with our heads held high.”

Yannick Duguay contributed to this article.  
 
 
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