Four workers charged after scuffle at refinery
Police in Regina have laid four counts of assault following an apparent fight between Unifor Local 594 members and security at the Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC).
A video of the fight shows a group of men — one of whom has his shirt off with “Unifor” written across his back, holding a pylon — near metal fencing at an entrance to the refinery.
One of the guards is seen getting pushed over, falling onto a metal fence.
Police say the fight happened on Thursday, the day after Local 594 members rejected the “final offer” from the refinery.
Officers responded to the scene after hearing a section of 9th Avenue North in front of the refinery had been blocked by traffic.
Police cleared the road and proceeded to a gate at the refinery where “it was clear some sort of confrontation had occurred,” said the police in a press release.
Due to conflicting reports of what started the melee, no charges were laid until Monday.
When asked for comment about the fight, a spokesperson with the CRC said via text “That is now a police matter and we will not be providing any comment.”
James Mohns and Ward Johnson are both charged separately with common assault. Kristopher Atkinson is facing two counts of common assault and Joseph Dulong is charged with mischief under $5,000.
All four men were released and will be back in court on July 20. Unifor Local 594 president Kevin Bittman confirmed all four are union members.
Bittman said the altercation was testament to how frustrated Local 594 members are after being locked out for five months. He condemned the actions of the members but said this far into the dispute and with members hurting from being out work, he isn’t surprised it happened.
“This is the first time that something has boiled over like that,” said Bittman. “It goes to the frustration of where we’re at in these proceedings. Five months is a long time on the picket lines.”
With the offer rejected and with the province taking a hands-off approach to the dispute Bittman said tensions are high.
“They’ve tried to paint us as thugs and they’ve tried to make us into that but we’ve had very good discipline on the lines,” he said. “It’s unfortunate. But after five months things are bound to happen.”
According to police, while the four men were being processed inside police headquarters at 1717 Osler St. on Monday afternoon, a parade of vehicles was circling the block.
“It appeared to be a protest, with vehicles moving slowly, sometimes coming to a complete stop,” said a police media release.
RPS officers ended up ticketing 11 people for participation in an illegal procession after police alleged the protest was creating a public safety hazard because emergency vehicles would not have been able to easily leave the headquarters. An additional ticket was issued near the police headquarters for an illegal turn.
About an hour after the downtown protest dispersed, police started to receive calls about vehicles once again blocking 9th Avenue North in front of the refinery. Police handed out another seven tickets there.
Aaron Marshall, a process worker at the CRC, said he was handed a $230 ticket near downtown after taking part in the earlier procession.
The workers’ route took them around the Legislative Building before going to RPS headquarters.
Marshall said the plan was to protest the police treatment of union members and the role the police have played in the labour dispute.
When he left the procession, Marshall pulled off the road to take down some of the red Unifor signs on the side of his vehicle.
“They gave me a ticket for parading in a 25 vehicles or more parade. An illegal parade they called it,” said Marshall, adding he plans to fight the ticket in court.
The ticket came as surprise, considering his participation in previous vehicle rallies. It also came as a surprise to Bittman, considering that in early February a convoy of more than 80 semi-trucks drove through Regina.
In February, RPS spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich said the trucking group did not apply for a permit ahead of the rally, but it would only be necessary if the drivers were requesting that police block streets.
Bittman said Local 594 did not apply for a permit either, as they were not asking for traffic to be blocked for their sake.
“It wasn’t a parade and with COVID, our resources are limited as to what we can do, so we decided to do an hour around the police station,” said Bittman. “I guess they didn’t like that.”
“We just did a drive, a demonstration,” he added. “I’m not sure if it’s illegal to drive on the roads anymore, or what.”
With social distancing and preventive measures in effect, the members of Local 594 have taken to their cars to demonstrate. Previously, the locked out workers and supporters have taken to the streets to demonstrate without incident or tickets being issued.