Bombardier office workers in Montreal try to form union

MONTREAL Bombardier Aerospace office workers and a major international union are working to organize three plants in the Montreal area that make commercial and business jets.

A spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers says it was approached by staff who are frustrated by cuts to benefits, outsourcing to low-cost countries, increased work loads and lack of job security. The Machinists union represents 4,500 shop floor workers at the plants and is aiming to sign about 2,000 more employees who do office work.

Union representative Dave Chartrand says the Bombardier workers are fed up about lacking a voice as the company has shed jobs in an effort to improve its financial health. Chartrand says workers were angered by this week’s news that compensation for Bombardier’s five top executives and executive board chairman went up by nearly 50 per cent last year.

Bombardier spokesman Bryan Tucker said the union drive is a matter it will “manage internally, not in public.”

The union says each employee received a letter from Bombardier urging them to maintain the current work relationship.

Chartrand says the biggest challenge for the unionization efforts is employee fears of reprisals if they are identified as joining the effort.