On the Picket Line

British Columbia aerospace workers fight concessions

By Ned Dmytryshyn
September 2, 2019

DELTA, British Columbia — Over 150 day-shift workers, members of International Association of Machinists Local 11, walked off the job Aug. 1 to protest Avcorp’s concession demands. These include attacks on seniority rights and vacations, contracting out jobs, and no pay raise in the first year of an eight-year contract.

“The walkout showed we’re united and won’t compromise with extreme rollbacks,” IAM member Mike Smith, a 24-year mechanic at Avcorp, told the Militant. “We have to hold our ground for ourselves and future generations to keep up with the cost of living.”

The company “wants to give us nothing so they can give themselves big bonuses,” added 20-year union member and mechanic Blair Price. Workers went back to work the next day.

Avcorp employs over 250 workers here, who assemble aircraft structural parts for Boeing, Bombardier, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems. Messages of support can be sent to Local 11, IAMAW District Lodge 250, 19005 – 94th Avenue, Surrey, B.C. V4N 3S4.

Ned Dmytryshyn is a member of  IAM Local 11 at Avcorp.