The strikers of the glass manufacturer Owens Illinois marched in the Southwest of Montreal on Friday, then demonstrated in front of the factory in the Pointe-Saint-Charles district, accompanied by colleagues from other major unions affiliated with the FTQ.
They are 330 workers, members of the Steelworkers union, who went on strike on May 10.
The Quebec director of the Steelworkers union, Dominic Lemieux, came to walk with them in a sign of support.
“People feel like they’ve agreed in the past to negotiate a little looser. The factory is old, it is a factory that dates back many years. There wasn’t a lot of investment,” says Lemieux.
“We also had the challenge with the supply of recycled glass. We had a big campaign, the Steelworkers, at the time, across Quebec. We won that battle. We had the deposit law. It led to investments; the company invested 76 million. She recycles glass. It is a factory of the future. (Minister Pierre) Fitzgibbon was here a few months ago, with investments and all that.
“Now what we’re saying is: we helped save that plant and now we want to see the pendulum swing back and protect our purchasing power,” adds Mr. Lemieux.
Although the parties are now in conciliation, the meetings are not making much progress, according to the president of the local union, Éric Dumas.
The glass maker offered a 1% raise, followed by two more 1% raises a year, which union members rejected in the face of sustained inflation, Dumas said.
Salaries are the main point in dispute.
Owens Illinois manufactures glass containers, including brown bottles.
Reached by email, the company had not yet commented, at the time of this writing. Owens Illinois, an American company, describes itself as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of packaging, particularly glass.
