EMPLOYEES LOCKED OUT
Degelman staff rejects latest contract offer.
Degelman Industries and the United Steelworkers appear to be on a collision course, which will see about 150 unionized employees locked out of the agricultural equipment manufacturing plant at 272 Industrial Dr., on Saturday after serving a strike notice to the Regina-based company on Thursday.
“Degelman Industries regrets to announce that we have received notice from United Steelworkers, which represents the majority of our production staff, that effective 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014, our unionized employees will commence strike action,’’ Degelman general manager Blair Flavel said in a press release Friday.
Sonny Rioux, staff representative for USW, said Degelman’s lockout notice is set to take effect at 1 p.m. Saturday, but the company actually cancelled all shifts on Friday to “facilitate an orderly shutdown. Barring a settlement between now and Monday, the (members) will be out,” he added.
Flavel said the “decision to escalate to strike action is particularly disappointing,” given the fact that Degelman and USW representatives had reached a tentative agreement, which “exceeds the current inflation rate and other settlements in our industry.”
“Both management and union representatives agreed that the proposed contract was fair and reasonable. Despite a unanimous endorsement from the union’s negotiating team, the proposal agreement was not ratified by the membership,’’ Flavel added.
“We want to assure our employees that we value their contributions to Degelman Industries. We know we have dedicated, talented and hardworking employees who produce high quality products. We regret any undue hardship this job action may have on our employees, vendors, and customers. It remains our goal to bring the current situation to a successful conclusion.”
Rioux confirmed both sides had reached a tentative contract settlement in November, but it was rejected by the membership. “It’s not uncommon,” Rioux said. “Usually, we like to arrive at a successful conclusion, but that wasn’t the case in this instance. It was mostly monetary (issues),’’ he said, referring to the reason the membership voted against ratifying the agreement. “And they’re prepared to strike to get it.”
After the tentative agreement was turned down, Rioux said the union asked Degelman officials “if they were interested in going back to the table, but they weren’t. So this Thursday, we issued strike notice. We extended the strike deadline to 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Subsequently, they served us with lockout notice, which wasn’t unexpected.”
USW first organized Degelman in 1999 and held its first strike in 2004.