WINNIPEG – As 91 farmer delegates gathered inside the Winnipeg Convention Centre for the inaugural annual meeting of Agricore, more than 100 of their striking employees marched outside with picket signs.
Judging by the words spoken inside and out, there appears to be no end in sight to the three-week old strike that has disrupted operations at the grain company’s elevators and agro-centres in Manitoba.
“Naturally we’d like to see it settled sooner rather than later, but there are a couple of issues we’re not prepared to give on, especially seniority and bumping,” Agricore president Charlie Swanson told reporters at a Nov. 29 press conference.
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GSU members walking the picket line in the minus 15 temperature were just as adamant in saying they won’t give up seniority rights, which they called a basic part of their collective agreement.
Dean Couvier, the elevator manager from Rosser, Man., said morale has never been higher and the strikers aren’t going to give in.
As of Nov., 29, no talks were scheduled between the two sides, which are far apart on the issues including seniority, pensions, hours of work, rules for seasonal employees, wages and severance.
The union has said its 350 Manitoba members would return to work if the company agrees to put disputed issues before an independent arbitrator for a binding decision.
But Agricore chief executive officer Gordon Cummings said the company won’t do that.
“Arbitration tends to result in an arbitrator picking a middle-of-the-road position and our objective is to have no seniority,” he said.
GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner said the company is afraid to go to binding arbitration because it knows its positions will be rejected.
The strike escalated briefly last week to include grain moving grain terminals at Vancouver. Six GSU members flew to the West Coast and set up picket lines outside the Cascadia and Pacific Elevators Ltd. terminals Nov. 26.
Agricore owns 50 percent of Cascadia in partnership with Cargill Ltd. and owns 70 percent of Pacific in partnership with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
Terminal workers, longshoremen and grain inspectors refused to cross the lines and the terminals were shut down for two shifts before the employers received a court injunction the next day ordering an end to the picket.
Meanwhile, RCMP in northern Alberta are investigating an incident at Agricore’s Rycroft terminal, in which a truck crossing the picket line knocked down a picketer.
He was taken to hospital and released later.
Some Western Producer staff, including the writer, are members of a separate local of the Grain Services Union.
