The human impact of layoffs & closures

The human impact of layoffs and closures

President’s Message, Shawn Haggerty

Over the last several months, Members of Local 175 at several workplaces received notice of layoff and closure.

Most recently, Members at Maple Leaf Foods in Brampton and St. Marys received notice their plants would shut down in about three years. There is hope that the new Maple Leaf plant, set to open in London in 2021, will re-employ many of the existing employees who will be displaced by the closures. The Union will work to maintain the good Union jobs at Maple Leaf through the transition, and that includes the new plant when it opens.

In November, 14 Members at Rona in Sudbury received news that their store would close in mid-January. These members are long-time employees in many cases, and have served their community and employer well. The members’ agreement guarantees enhanced severance, and the Union will work to ensure the employer meets those obligations.

In September, Kraus Carpets and Strudex Fibres announced that operations in Waterloo would cease permanently and immediately, putting 190 Members out of work. That facility had been a part of the community for almost 60 years. A number of our Members had been loyal employees for a long time.

The Union will continue to press Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to enact legislation that provides workers and communities affected by transitions like these with assistance. After all, the taxes of working people help provide financial support to companies like this time and time again. Maple Leaf, for example, will receive $20 million from the federal government, and $34.5 million from the provincial government for the new facility.

Your Union uses every available avenue to pursue companies who owe a financial debt to Members and provide as much benefit to the affected employees as possible. With Rona, Kraus, and Strudex, the Union continues to work toward ensuring Members receive everything they are owed. As the transition for Maple Leaf workers happens over the next few years, we will strive to maintain a good working environment in the existing plants and a good Union contract to cover the jobs created at the new plant as well.

The impending closure of the Oshawa GM plant is devastating as well. Twenty-five hundred people will be out of work, and it will be felt throughout the community, which has relied on jobs in the industry for more than a hundred years. After the 2008 financial collapse, GM received a massive bailout of $3.29 billion from the federal government. Now, 10 years later, restructuring will put about 14,700 people out of work as the company closes seven plants across North America.

How do we protect the real, every day people who feel the impact of these closures most desperately?

The ripple effects of job loss, especially on a large scale, are felt in many ways. Financial struggles take a toll on well-being. Multiply that across communities and it can become a crisis. And, it's a crisis that the Ford government is not interested in dealing with.

Too many companies, many of which receive tax incentives and money from the government, can just walk away from the impact of their decisions. And, far too often, these companies provide little notice and get away with never paying employees severance, owed wages or vacation, and hard-earned pensions.

We need legislation that guarantees that employees are the highest priority when it comes to a company paying what it owes.

We need real strategy in place to assist workers, above all else, in job transitions and employment. These real issues will face many, if not most, working people in their lifetime. These are issues to ask your elected representatives about and should be considered at each and every election.

This time of year can bring extra stress to many. Please remember that workers affected by closures and those on strike need the solidarity and support of their Union Sisters, Brothers, and Friends to stay strong and move forward through the tough times.

I sincerely wish all of you an amazing holiday season and best wishes for the new year to come.

In Solidarity, Shawn Haggerty

president@ufcw175.com