Lockout at Aluminerie de
Bécancour
Inc
Support for ABI Workers
Continues as Alcoa/Rio Tinto
Cartel
Abruptly Breaks off Negotiations
Unifor Local 175 workers from Suncor in Montreal visit locked out
workers at ABI in Bécancour, February 19, 2019. (M. Bedard)
Support for the locked out workers at ABI
continues as
the
owners abruptly halted negotiations on February 15. A round of
negotiations began on January 31, but the company representatives
walked away without a word of explanation other than to say they
wanted to "think" and would give news whenever they had something
to say.
Workers are extremely angry at this arrogance and
contempt for the workers, who have been locked out for no reason
for
more than 13 months, with the region as well suffering from the
effects
of the lockout. Alcoa/Rio Tinto demands all kinds of
hydroelectric and
other privileges for their presence in Quebec, but they do not
recognize any social responsibility to the workers who create the
value
that they covet, or to the local community and society.
Workers across Quebec find the ABI lockout
contemptible
and
senseless. In response to the irresponsible dictate of the
owners, workers are increasing their support for ABI smelter
workers and their community. Workers throughout Quebec are coming
to visit ABI workers on their picket line and also receive and
welcome them in their areas to learn more about the conflict and
express their support.
Workers who have been locked-out themselves, or
live in
a region that has experienced one, make a point of assisting the
ABI
workers. A delegation from Unifor Local 175, which represents 260
workers at the Suncor refinery in Montreal, visited the
locked-out
workers on February 19. Suncor refinery workers themselves were
locked
out for 14 months in 2007/2008 and know from experience how the
mobilization of all workers is important to wage these battles.
They
were accompanied by union presidents from other refineries
including
the giant Valero refinery in Lévis.
The 73 union members represented by United
Steelworkers
Local 9190 who work for the Roberval-Saguenay Railroad on
February 15
unanimously renewed their recurring contribution of $10 per week
per
worker for an additional six months. In one year, the railway
workers
sent a total of $38,700 to Bécancour.
USW Local 9190 President Daniel Girard, from the
Rio
Tinto Alma plant said, "It's a war effort that everyone is doing
together. Rio Tinto owns 25 per cent of ABI. We have the same
employer
and we operate in the same type of industrial environment. In
2012,
there was a lockout in the area, in Alma, and in 2015, we faced
some
provocations in our bargaining and we are going back to
negotiating in
2020. We want to send a message to these big companies: when they
are
fighting against the workers they are fighting against all
workers at
the same time, not just one group."
Recently, the Unifor Youth Committee, together
with
members of
the Bibby Ste-Croix Foundry Workers Union affiliated with the
Federation of Manufacturing Industries (CSN), invited a
delegation
of ABI workers to speak to their members.
ABI workers are holding a general membership
meeting on
Saturday, February 23, to assess the situation.
This article was published in
Number 6 - February 21, 2019
Article Link:
Lockout at Aluminerie de
Bécancour
Inc: Support for ABI Workers
Continues as Alcoa/Rio Tinto
Cartel
Abruptly Breaks off Negotiations
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
