THE SEVEN machinists at Finning here are on strike after negotiations for a new contract between the union and company didn’t pan out last week.
The machinists, who are members of the Local 692 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Northwest District 250, went on strike June 22, the first time Finning workers in B.C. have been on strike in 75 years.
According to union shop steward Ken Dahms, the machinists’ two-year contract was up April 15, and they had taken zero and zero per cent raises in it as the union didn’t have anything to bargain with back then due to the economic slump.
This time, the union wanted to at least get raises that would cover the cost of living, which the union pegged at about 3.7 per cent, he said, adding the union also had pension issues and other issues.
“We went in with a proposal of seven per cent a year for two years,” said Dahms.
The company wanted a four-year contract with raises of 2.75 and 3 per cent, but the union asked for four per cent, four per cent, six per cent and six per cent on a four-year contract, he said.
Finning did settle with its workers in Alberta, who have the same union but a different local, with the company and union agreeing on a contract last year, but Dahms didn’t know the terms of that contract off the top of his head.
The company is in the process of bringing in a new computer system so maybe there’s less money to go out, he added.
“This [strike] has the makings for a long one,” said Dahms about how long the strike could last.
Finning corporate communications manager Jeff Howard, who’s based in Edmonton, said the company sat down with the union in March before the last contract expired to negotiate a new contract and continued to negotiate until June 22 when the union said it didn’t think the company was offering enough.
The union went on strike that same day, he added.
“We thought what we’d offered was fair and equitable for the employees and the company,” said Howard.
Finning began in 1933 and a union organized in 1951, albeit a different union than the one that’s there now.
He acknowledged that there hadn’t been a work stoppage at Finning in B.C.; the union that represents Alberta and Northwest Territories Finning employees, which negotiated a new contract last year with the company, has had two labour stoppages in its history.
“We’ve had a great relationship with our union,” said Howard, adding the company is committed to collective bargaining and hopes to get back to the negotiating table with the union.
The company applied for a BC Labour Relations Board mediator June 24 and as of June 29, the union agreed to participate so the company and union will meet with the mediator the week of July 4, said Howard.
As for what the company was offering in its first round of negotiations, Howard said he wanted to leave the details of the negotiations with the bargaining committees and wasn’t going to make it public.
While the strike is on, Howard said the company is still open and selling equipment to customers and its other services as management takes over the work of the employees on strike.
The company is hopeful that the strike will end soon, he said.
In B.C. and the Yukon, there are 700 union members, consisting of mechanics, parts department and support personnel who repair and overhaul heavy equipment for mining, forestry and construction industries, who are out on strike at Finning, according to the union website.
