Lockout at FCL Refinery in
Regina
FCL Workers Continue Their Determined Struggle for a New Contract Without Concessions
Rally January 20, 2020 in Regina in support of
Co-op Refinery workers.
Federated Co-operatives Limited workers and
supporters picketed the annual meeting of FCL in
Saskatoon on February 29 and the following day.
They denounced the company's unjust demand for
concessions, lockout of workers and use of scab
mercenaries to operate the FCL Regina refinery.
The company locked out the 730 members of
Unifor Local 594 last December 5. In a
provocative anti-worker move, the company built
a multi-million dollar camp for scab mercenaries
on the refinery grounds prior to the lockout.
Right from December 5, the company in concert
with the courts and Regina police power have
tried to make Local 549's picket line
ineffective and allow the refinery to operate
with scabs and a constant flow of trucks.
Earlier on February 26, Local 594 members
attended a picket of Co-op facilities in Yorkton
and denounced the court proceedings that day for
Unifor National President and 14 other union
members in Regina on trumped-up charges of
mischief. The fifteen union members were
recently arrested during a police attack on the
Regina picket line. At the time, workers were
lawfully pursuing their right to enforce an
effective picket line and block fuel trucks from
entering the Co-op Refinery Complex. The police
assault followed the unjust issuance of a court
injunction in December to render any picket line
ineffective and allow the refinery to operate
with scab mercenaries, and for trucks to enter
and exit at will. Brandishing the unjust
injunction, a judge has also fined Unifor twice
for breaching the anti-worker court order.
Executives of FCL want to gut the workers'
Pension Plan and eliminate the jointly funded
Savings Plan. The attack amounts to an
equivalent reduction of wages of 17.5 per cent
and a significant weakening of defined pension
benefits and savings upon retirement. The
company has shamelessly tried to bribe workers
with an increase in wages just over the cost of
living during a four year contract if the
workers agree to the concessions on the pension
and savings plans. In effect, the company wants
to increase profits on the backs of workers by
attacking their pensions. This is unacceptable
and working people across the country should
stand with Regina co-op workers in rejecting the
concessions with contempt.
Workers of Local 549 and their supporters call
on Canadians to join the nationwide boycott of
Co-op gas, groceries, and services as long as
FCL demands anti-worker concessions and
continues the unjust lockout and use of scabs.
Join with One Voice and
Say NO to Anti-Worker Concessions!
Defend the Pensions Workers Have and
Fight for Pension Security for All!
Stand Shoulder to Shoulder with Fellow
Workers Fighting Injustice
at the FCL Regina Refinery!
For further information on the co-op boycott
and other issues concerning the unjust lockout
see boycottco-op.ca/.
This article was published in
Number 10 - March 5, 2020
Article Link:
Lockout at FCL Refinery in
Regina: FCL Workers Continue Their Determined Struggle for a New Contract Without Concessions
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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