The strike at Simplot’s fertilizer plant in Brandon, Man., continued this week, with about 190 members of the United Steelworkers of America union still off the job as of July 13.
Simplot’s human resources manager Ed Kokoski issued a statement July 10 saying no negotiations have been held with the union and none were planned.
“There’s been no change,” said Reid Lumbard, a company spokesperson, on July 13.
The strike began July 5, when workers walked off the job after a strike vote was taken a day earlier. A union spokesperson said the key issues are pension benefits, wages and job security for part-time workers.
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The union wants about 15 casual workers at the fertilizer plant to have permanent status, said Wayne Moyer, president of Local 7184. “It gives them some dignity,” Moyer said, while walking a picket line at the Simplot plant Monday. “They’re good workers. The company keeps calling them back.”
The union also wants a “bridge” package for workers taking early retirement. The bridge would add to their pension plan until they turned 65.
Simplot maintains it has already made a fair offer to its workers. The company offered improved benefits and a wage increase of five percent in the first year and four percent in the second and third years of a three-year agreement.
However, wages remain an issue, said Moyer, because Brandon’s Simplot workers are paid less than their counterparts at competing fertilizer plants. Even though the Brandon workers are paid less, Simplot wants them to be as qualified as their counterparts elsewhere, Moyer said.
“We’re not asking for parity but we would like to close the gap.”
Management at the Simplot plant stepped in to keep it operating at full capacity after the workers went on strike. However, a new ammonia plant that was to start operation remains in a standby mode. Construction work on a major upgrade at the plant has been curtailed as well.
The last strike at Brandon’s Simplot plant was in 1986.
