"The members voted the contact down 25 to 3 on April 23 and the next day at noon the company announced they were locking our members out," said local president Don Mathis.

Mark Black, an ATU member with more than 20 years working at the tunnel, was one of many members talking to motorists and handing them informational flyers as they stopped to make the turn into the tunnel. The flyers ask everyone to use the bridge to Canada until the lockout is resolved. "The company wants to hire in new people for about half of what they are paying people now to try and weaken the union," said Black. The tunnel is owned by the cities of Windsor, Canada, and Detroit, but managed by an Australian trust company as a profitable business.

"They are just trying to increase their profits. They are looking down the line because the people who work on the Canadian side are organized by the Canadian Auto Workers Union and their contract is up in January," Black said.

On May 9 several dozen workers from various unions joined the picket line for a solidarity action called by the Detroit AFL-CIO. In addition, about 150 city workers who belong to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers Union briefly joined the action. The workers had just held a rally demanding a pay raise at city hall across the street from the tunnel and were on their way to a city council meeting.

The unionists do maintenance and janitorial work on the tunnel, as well as collect tolls. Bosses have been doing the work around the clock since the start of the lockout.

Don Mackle is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 876.  
 
 
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