The following day, lawyers from Mométal obtained a Superior Court injunction ordering workers back on the job. At a membership meeting convened that day, striking workers voted by a margin of 98 percent to remain on strike. On November 9, contempt of court charges were laid against the entire union executive and a union counselor.

Four days later the company turned the suspension against Ariete into a firing and suspended for two to three months seven other members of the union executive, as well as another union member. By the end of the month, after the employer sent letters threatening to dismiss those who refused to go back to work, all the remaining 128 strikers were fired.

Since the beginning of December, two court injunctions have been issued, limiting pickets to two workers per gate. Although strikers have been respecting the terms of the injunction at the gates themselves, dozens of other workers were gathered in smaller groups in between the gates and at the picket trailer across the street.

Ariete explained that picketing is organized daily in six-hour shifts from 6:00 a.m. until midnight, with two workers watching the gates every night. Union members each receive Can$200 a week in strike pay, part of which is a loan to be repaid once the strike is settled (Can$1 = $US 62 cents).  
 
The 1999–2000 strike
In October 1999, the union went on strike to force the company to grant wage increases by job classification, to post job openings, and to respect seniority rights. After seven and half months on strike, the union made significant gains on all these demands. As Ariete puts it, "It was the employer's stubbornness [in that strike] that forged the unity of the union."

Since they returned to work in June 2000, the workers have been provoked repeatedly by Joseph Cicarelli, the plant vice president and the owner's son, as well as several foremen. Sixty-two union grievances, over mostly job postings and classifications, attest to the fact that the company has violated the union contract on several occasions.

Bosses have arbitrarily granted better paying jobs to workers who crossed the picket lines during the last strike. It was one of these former scabs who provoked Ariete, leading to his suspension and eventual firing.

According to union vice president Bruno Benzahra, "Bosses have repeatedly imposed disciplinary measures against former strikers, but not against former scabs. Dangerous working conditions," added Benzahra, "also contributed to the antiunion atmosphere in the plant." There have been some 30 serious work accidents in the plant in the last 18 months.

Of the 128 workers who remain active in the strike today, about 50 were hired since the 1999–2000 strike. "These new hires have come to appreciate the union," explained Ariete, "because the gains we made through the last strike also benefited them. They have a lot of confidence in the more experienced union members and have learned that what we need to defend the union is solidarity." Fifteen workers have crossed the picket line since the walkout. Despite the many job notices the company has placed in area newspapers, only a dozen workers have been hired.

Hearings on contempt of court charges, which could lead to fines and prison sentences against union leaders, have been postponed until March 27. The company has also submitted a grievance against the union, claiming compensatory damages of Can$42,000 a day for lost production.

The strikers have received financial support from several unions affiliated to the CSN in the area.

Messages of solidarity and financial contributions should be sent to: Mométal (CSN), Fédération de la métallurgie, Conseil central de la Montérégie, 5110 Boul. Cousineau, bureau 200, St-Hubert, Quebec, J3Y 7G5.

Yannick Duguay is a student at Laval University in Quebec City and a member of the Young Socialists. Sylvie Charbin is a sewing machine operator and a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees.  
 
 
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