Canadian Labour Reporter

lAboUr brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 uSW accuses crown holdings of unfair labour practice ToRonTo — The United Steel- workers filed a complaint of bad- faith bargaining and unfair labour practices with the Ontario Labour Relations Board against American multinational company, Crown Holdings. The union claims the compa- ny plans to replace three-quar- ters of its unionized Toronto workers even if they settle a year- long labour dispute. "In my entire career, I have never seen a company make such a demand — to dump workers even if they agree to end the strike," said Marty Warren, USW director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada. "If this bru- tal behaviour is upheld, it sets a dangerous precedent. It threat- ens to undermine the right to strike in Ontario and embolden employers to engage in perma- nent replacement of strikers, as is widely practiced in the United States." Striking began at the com- pany's Toronto factory when the company — one of the world's largest manufacturers of food and beverage cans — called for concessions. The USW's complaint claims the company has purposefully engaged in surface bargaining to prevent an agreement. The pro- posal to replace most employees makes it impossible for workers to agree to a deal, the union said. Workers rejected the compa- ny's demands by a vote of 117 to one in March after the company offered few assurances workers could return to their jobs. The union reports Crown Holdings' most recent proposal seeks to cut wages by as much as one- third. "We believe Crown is out to bust the union and is not inter- ested in negotiating an end to this dispute," said USE international vice president Fred Redmond. uAW eliminates 2-tier wages at auto plant oTTAWA — Unifor applauded a recent push by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to end two-tier wages in American auto plants. Jerry Dias, Unifor's national president, said the move should help improve wages and working conditions in the Canadian auto industry. "This is a positive step by the UAW to eliminate inequities on the shop floor," Dias said. "It is time for auto workers on both sides of the border to share in the recovery of the industry, and I congratulate UAW on taking this step." The two-tier wage system at a Lear Corp. plant in Indiana — in which new hires are paid less than existing employees on a permanent basis — was pre- viously accepted by the UAW when the auto industry faced tough times over contract talks. The union's recent one-day strike resulted in the company agreeing to end two-tier wages. The deal is set for ratification. According to Dias, this prog- ress is a sign the UAW is pre- pared to tackle two-tier wages in its upcoming contract talks with the Big Three auto makers in 2015. "It sends the signal," he said. "The UAW is being very proac- tive and progressive." Because American contracts affect negotiations in Canada, Dias said the UAW's move will take pressure off Unifor to bring two-tier wages to auto plants when contract talks open in Canada in 2016. Workers at German warehouses of online retailer Amazon.com took strike action as labour union Verdi pressed its demands in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. FoRmERLy cLV REPoRTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson Reuters canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $595 per year customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 Email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Website: www.carswell.com director, carswell media Karen Lorimer Publisher John Hobel - On leave Acting Publisher/managing Editor Todd Humber news Editor Sabrina Nanji | (416) 649-9348 sabrina.nanji@thomsonreuters.com news Editor Liz Foster | (416) 298-5129 liz.foster@thomsonreuters.com marketing co-ordinator Travis Chan | (416) 609-5872 travis.chan@thomsonreuters.com © 2014 Carswell, a division of omson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. e publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal or other expert assistanceis required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. e analysis contained herein represents the opinion of the authors and should in no way be construed as being either offi cial or unoffi cial policy of any governmental body. ISSN 0045-5113 Publications Registration 2089 Canadian Labour Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications. Visit www.hrreporter.com for more information. Labour Reporter Canadian www.labourreporter.com Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach (Reuters) lAboUr lens

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