News
Judge rejects injunction against Cascade picket lines
June 16, 2014, Vancouver - A judge has upheld the right of striking workers at Cascade Aerospace to picket their Abbotsford employer in a dispute over equal benefits for young workers.
June 16, 2014 By Carey Fredericks
"This judgement confirms workers have a legal right to establish picket lines across driveways at their job site and peacefully communicate the issues of the dispute," said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor's BC area director. "Regardless, the best route to ending this dispute is at the bargaining table, not in the courts. We will continue our legal picket line to protect the benefits of the next generation of Cascade employees."
Unifor Local 114 members at Cascade Aerospace have been on a legal strike since June 4. Two days into the strike, the company sought an injunction to restrict picket lines and prevent picketers from communicating with vehicles entering the worksite, but a judge dismissed the application.
"Thanks to Cascade Aerospace and IMP Group, we spent a week in court instead of a week at the bargaining table. I hope now we can get back to negotiations and end the strike with an agreement that benefits everyone," said McGarrigle.
Wednesday in Halifax, where Cascade Aerospace's owner IMP Group is based, supporters rallied to urge the company to get back the bargaining table and stop the use of back-up labourers on high tech aircraft.
The company has come under fire since the beginning of the strike for deploying back-up labourers to do the work of striking engineers and technicians. Concession bargaining and replacement workers are new aggressive tactics that have only been introduced since the purchase of Cascade Aerospace by Halifax-based IMP Group in 2012.
