BY GEORGES TURCOTTE
TORONTO - Workers at Quality Meat Packers voted January 29
to end their eight-week strike. Of the 80 percent of workers
who voted, 68 percent voted to accept the six-year contract.
The same contract, with a few minor differences, was rejected two weeks earlier by a 58 percent majority. The contract includes wage cuts of up to Can$6 per hour (US$4), with laborers, the lowest paid workers, taking the biggest cut in pay. Overtime premiums, formerly paid after eight hours worked in a day, will only kick in after 42 hours worked in the week. The initial contract offer by the company proposed paying overtime premiums after 44 hours. In addition, the agreement eliminates long-term disability insurance.
Luis Teixeira, who has worked at Quality Meats 11 years, waited along with dozens of others to hear the result of the vote. He told the Militant the contract was "a disgrace to humanity." Quality Meat is "cutting our legs and arms and pushing us up against the wall."
The pattern for the Quality Meat concessions was established last year when 900 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers lost a four-month strike against similar wage givebacks at food giant Maple Leaf Foods. The Quality Meat contract originally expired at the same time. But workers there voted to give the employers a one-year extension of the contract. During their strike, many Quality Meat workers expressed the view that this was a big mistake that weakened both their fights.
After the defeat at Maple Leaf, similar concessions were won by the employers at Fletcher Fine Foods.
Under the pressure of this concession pattern, most workers at Quality Meat said that even if they had to take the pay cut, they should fight to get the same signing bonus as the Maple Leaf workers. At Maple Leaf, workers received a minimum of $10,000 for signing the contract.
At Quality, the workers rejected the employers' offer January 12, of a $1,000 signing bonus, to be paid in December 1999 to those who returned to work. The offer also proposed paying workers the equivalent of the difference between their new wage and their current wage for a 12-week period. This would be paid in a lump sum.
The new offer keeps the signing bonus at $1,000, but every worker is to receive it whether or not they return to work. The bosses also reduced the 12-week payment of the wage differential to 10 weeks.
Immediately after the January 12 contract rejection, the company also threatened to close the plant. Striker Harry Ponte said, "People were afraid of the shutdown of the plant. It was in the news."
Striker Jose Pereira added, "Some other people voted yes because they're just going to take the money [the signing bonus] and run. Because how can you work for another six years and only get 15 cents more. How can you take care of your family?"
In a letter sent to strikers calling for another vote on the contract, union officials echoed this threat. The letter explained the unanimous recommendation of the negotiating committee to accept the contract.
Many workers who opposed the contract were angry that the vote was called without a meeting to discuss the contract offer and that the negotiating committee was campaigning for a yes vote.
Both workers who voted for and against the contract told the Militant that it was important that they had waged a fight.
Ponte said, "I think it was worth it to go on strike. But last time we should have voted yes.... If I had a part-time job it would be different. I would have been ready to stay on strike until the end of the year."
Pereira said he was proud that they had voted the contract down not once but twice. "For the next strike, maybe we'll reject the contract three times," he said.
Davi Sinde, a picket captain had advice for other workers facing a strike. "When you go on strike you can't get scared by the company. You need to keep on fighting."