TORONTO\u2013Fourteen Unifor members are now on a picket line at Battenfeld Grease after being locked out by the company on July 21, after months of bargaining failed to produce a fair contract.<\/p>\n
Members of Unifor Local 1459, who work as kettle operators, packagers, forklift operators and building maintenance staff at the company’s Titan Road facility in Toronto, voted 100 per cent in favour of strike action ahead of the legal strike\/lockout deadline. Rather than negotiate a fair deal, the company chose to lock out workers seeking wages that keep pace with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese workers make the grease that keeps this country\u2019s industries running, and they\u2019re being told their labour isn\u2019t worth a real wage increase,\u201d said Unifor National President Lana Payne. \u201cInstead of coming to the table with a fair offer, Battenfeld Grease chose to lock out its employees. That\u2019s not how you treat the people who keep your plant running.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bargaining unit is a highly experienced workforce with most members having between 15 and 45 years of service with the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur members have given this company decades of loyal service, running the kettles, filling the drums and totes, and keeping this plant going,\u201d said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi. \u201cIt\u2019s disgraceful that the company would put these workers out on the street rather than negotiate a fair deal that respects them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unifor is calling on Battenfeld Grease to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair contract that reflects the contributions of its long-serving workforce.<\/p>\n
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equity and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create good jobs and progressive change for a better future.<\/p>\n