The last strike at Magellan Aerospace Haley's, in 2021, seen above in this file photo, lasted eight weeks. (Renfrew and District Labour Council photo)
It’s been just three years since workers at the Magellan Aerospace plant in Haley Station were on strike but it appears they’re headed back to the picket line as of tonight at midnight.
About 330 workers belonging to Local 4820 of the United Steelworkers are affected. An overwhelming 81 per cent vote took place on Wednesday, March 20, rejecting the company’s latest offer.
Union president Jennifer McMaster, who has worked at Magellan since 2006, said there are several concerns with what was being offered.
“The company was not offering anything in the form of benefit improvements. And pension improvements were pretty scant and only in the third year of the contract. It would have only improved our pensions by pennies and that’s not what people want when they retire, they want to feel secure,” said McMaster.
In a meeting before the vote, union representatives laid out the latest offer and recommended against accepting it.
According to Magellan, what was being offered over the three-year contract was 12.5 per cent. However, said McMaster, because the work force operates on a wage scale and the proposed increase was calculated on the base wage, the 12.5 per cent figure is not accurate.
“It was actually quite a bit lower for some job classes,” she said.
In the meeting before the vote, union reps recounted the back and forth that has taken place in the 11 days of negotiating that have taken place since Dec. 15. The current contract expired March 15.
“We also talked a lot about the strike we had three years ago and explained that with where we are with inflation right now, this might look like a really nice offer but it doesn’t account for how far we’ve fallen behind in the past three years and it doesn’t account for how much farther we might fall behind in the next three years,” said McMaster.
She said the union and workers would have preferred to keep working but the company didn’t commit to any significant improvements if they were coming back to the table.
The 2021 strike lasted eight weeks and some of the membership felt the return to work might have happened too soon.
“People are upset. They feel that this company has jerked them around. Since Magellan bought Haleys in 2002, many feel they haven’t gotten a really good fair shake from this company,” said McMaster.
And while at one time a job at the plant was sought-after and offered a sense of security, that is not the case any longer.
“We have a hard time attracting really good, quality employees and they can’t seem to retain the people they do hire. People are quitting and going to other jobs,” she said.
As for Thursday morning (March 21), the plan was to meet at the plant and prepare, complete scheduling and get set up.
“We’re going to dig in and get ourselves prepared to be on the line. We’ll have tents and shelters set up for the employees,” said McMaster.
Magellan Aerospace provides complex assemblies and systems solutions to aircraft and engine manufacturers, and defense and space agencies worldwide.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)