Locked-out unionized workers at Southern Railway of B.C. (SRY) got a morale boost from the national union heads at the New Westminster rail yard on Wednesday afternoon.
Canadian Union of Public Employees' national president Paul Moist and secretary-treasurer Charles Fleury - in town for meetings - turned up at the picket lines to support the workers who have been lockedout since Jan. 5.
"We want a wage increase. We want compulsory overtime to stop - they should hire more employees, and now that we are on the street, we'll go back to work when our issues get solved on your behalf, and not before that," Moist told the crowd.
Moist and other CUPE heads visited the locked-out CUPE local 7000 workers, 126 employees in total, at the Southern rail yard near 20th Street and off Stewardson Way, along the Fraser River on a dry but chilly afternoon. About 50 locked-out unionized workers on the picket line were boosted by the visit, cheering when the union head spoke.
Southern Railway wants the CUPE employees to take reductions to pension and benefits and make changes to overtime that the union says could jeopardize workers' safety.
"We have a saying in CUPE, 'We will last one day longer than the employer,'" Moist announced proudly.
During his speech a noisy train rode by, muffling out parts of his talk. Work continues at the rail yard, though at a less productive rate, as Southern Railway's managers are running the trains during the lockout.
Moist noted that a unity strike is being held at the yard on Saturday, Feb. 14 to show support for the Southern workers.
"There's going to be a lot of people here on Saturday, because you are not alone," he said. "You belong to the largest union in Canada."
The union won't be "out-lawyered" or "out-spent" in the fight to get back to work with a negotiated contract, Moist insisted.
"We wanted to come here and say, 'We are proud of your unity; we don't think they are very smart business people, but if it takes them another few days before they come to their senses, we will stay here - every violation of the B.C. labour code we will challenge in the B.C. labour board, and we will keep the pressure on them," he said.
His members are "managing," CUPE Local 7000 president Bill Magri said, adding that, along with strike pay, many of them racked up a lot of overtime pay over the fall when they were required to work overtime.
Many of them were working 12 hours a day, six days a week, Magri noted.
"These members will get supported for as long as it takes," Magri said. "There will be a deal."
Locked-out worker David Hutchinson has worked for Southern Railway for 40 years.
"The attitude of the company, to me, it's like they want to ram a contract down our throats," said the locomotive engineer. "They don't want to negotiate."
Last month, when Southern announced the lockout, company president Frank Butzelaar said, "SRY believes in the collective bargaining process. Unfortunately CUPE has not shown similar commitment.
"SRY cannot remain competitive without amendments to the current collective agreement with CUPE 7000," Butzelaar stated. "We believe our offer is fair considering the current economic circumstances."
The company's 34 managers have been looking after operations during the job action, Butzelaar told the Record.
CUPE Local 7000 is part of the same union that represents SkyTrain workers.
The union isn't accustomed to listening to private sector companies when it comes to contracts, Butzelaar said, adding that Southern Railway doesn't have the government's deep pockets.
One of the sticking points, he said, is the company's desire to pull back on post-retirement benefits for new employees. Current employees who have the benefits would retain those after retirement, so the contract change would only impact new hires, Butzelaar said.
Southern Railway is based in New West and serves the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, providing freight transportation services to markets throughout North America. It is owned by an American company.
