The strike by the 475 members of Local 593 of the Communications, Energy and Paper Workers Union (CEP) began April 1. The stakes over the past four months have escalated as the company has intensified its attacks against the union.

"I'm ready to stick it out to the end. We're doing this for all labor," said striker Larry Gauntlett in an interview. "Labor's weak right now. Big business has eroded all these gains we made. But there's got to be a stop to it. I'm just filled with anger."

No negotiations are currently under way between CEP officials and Petro-Canada. On August 3 the workers at a Mississauga unit meeting dismissed out of hand the company's latest offer, which deepened the concessions demanded in the first offer.

A CEP leaflet explained that the new offer "contained rollbacks such as longer hours, wage freezes, mandatory overtime, layoffs, management wants to do members work, and still no pension changes."

What started out as a strike in solidarity with striking Petro-Canada workers in Alberta and British Columbia over the issue of pension parity with the salaried and nonunion employees has become a struggle to defend the existence of the union. Petro-Canada succeeded in breaking the bargaining chain when the workers in Alberta and British Columbia won pension parity and the Petro-Canada workers in Quebec stayed on the job.

"We thought we would be back soon after," said one striker. "But the company refused to let us go back and went after us. This decision was not made locally."

The company drive to undermine the union was well under way at the time of the walkout. Strikers report that before the strike about 180 nonunion "temporary" contract workers were working side by side with union members at the Oakville and Mississauga terminals.

"Basically it boils down to [the company attitude that] 'I don't like your face and you're out of here'--and I'm only slightly exaggerating," said Larry Gauntlett.

A recent letter from the CEP to federal Minister of Finance Paul Martin underlined Petro-Canada's goals. The Canadian government is the company's biggest shareholder, with 18 percent of the shares. It states, "The tactics that the company has employed to date are those that can be wielded by a corporate entity with deep pockets; high-priced lawyers who show up to shut down legal proceedings, the use of replacement workers whose qualifications to work at an oil refinery are questionable, the 'shady' individuals hired as drivers to intimidate pickets who are involved in a legal strike, and stall tactics that are meant to place the membership in financial hardship."

The union's letter added, "The labor environment of Ontario...is skewed towards management and conducive to what Petro-Canada intends to accomplish--bust the union."

The company is maintaining some production with a number of the contract workers and management personnel brought in from across the country. A court injunction against the union limits to five minutes the time pickets can hold up tankers from leaving and entering the plant. A regular schedule of shuttle buses brings scabs into the plant, although some are for show, carrying few or sometimes no replacement workers.

Some of the strikers state, however, that production is far from up to full steam. There are a lot fewer trucks moving in and out by the sign that says "No left turn across picket line." The unionists point out that by looking at the back tires you can see that many of the tankers are carrying light loads when they leave the plant. A number of strikers estimate that the company has lost up to $70 million dollars since the beginning of the strike.  
 
Reaching out for solidarity
The unionists at Petro-Canada have reached out to other workers for solidarity. A "Boycott Petro-Canada" campaign has been reinforced with flying pickets at gas stations and banners hung by strikers on bridges over busy highways.

Petro-Canada strikers have bolstered the picket lines of Christie Bakery workers, who settled August 12. A strike by workers at Coca-Cola, which recently ended, also received picket-line support from the CEP strikers. Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union have helped out on the picket line by replacing CEP pickets when they have attended union meetings.

Oil and gas workers in Algeria, who are members of the National Federation of the Oil, Gas and Chemical Workers union, sent a solidarity message to the Petro-Canada strikers. The Algerian union "remains, rest assured, committed to all forms of solidarity action with the CEP in its struggle to stop the take-backs from the Ontario workers," wrote union general secretary Mohammed Bedreddine.

Petro-Canada operates in the oilfields of Tamadanet, in southern Algeria, and has announced plans for expansion. In a letter to Petro-Canada president and CEO Ronald Brenneman, Bedreddine said Petro-Canada's approach to the CEP would have an impact on the Algerian union's approach to Petro-Canada's Algerian operations.

"We are grateful for the assistance of our Algerian brothers and sisters," said CEP president Brian Payne. The CEP hopes Petro-Canada "will realize there are consequences, even beyond Canada's borders, for its antiunion actions in Ontario."

Twenty-four hour picket lines are being maintained at the Mississauga and Oakville terminals, covering at least six gates. The CEP web site contained a new item August 11 calling for volunteers to "upgrade and begin winterizing the picket shelters at the refinery gates."

Annette Kouri and John Steele are meat packers and members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union in Toronto.
 
 
Related article:
British Columbia government orders end of strike  
 
 
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