Plans for a July 20 strike were aborted when the Alberta provincial government declared the strike illegal and ordered a 60-day “cooling-off period.” Gil Dufresne, a shop steward, said this move “stopped us cold. Then the company launched open efforts to get rid of union supporters.”

At the end of the 60 days a government mediator submitted a proposed contract, which workers voted to accept. But Tyson rejected the pact and submitted its own proposal.

UFCW Local 401 president Douglas O’Halloran branded Tyson’s offer an insult and raised the specter of a long strike. He is calling on the Alberta government to use emergency powers to impose a settlement. Without such a step “the strike will go on forever until we run out of bodies,” he said.

The mediator’s proposal and Tyson’s counteroffer both recognize the union as the workers’ representative. Tyson’s proposal would squeeze more out of workers and includes union-weakening provisions. Tyson has petitioned the government to organize a vote on its proposal.

Some members of the union’s bargaining committee told the Militant that they would vote “no” on Tyson’s proposal, but they would not campaign among the membership for a rejection. If Tyson’s proposal were accepted, “that is when the real work to organize and strengthen the union starts,” said Reuben Mayo, a member of the bargaining committee.  
 
 
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