TROIS RIVIERES, Quebec — “They were expecting we would enter on our knees but the union is strong,” striker Lucas Breton-Daigle, who has worked five years at the Siemens plant here, told this Militant correspondent on the picket line Oct. 22.
The 105 members of the United Steelworkers, who make electrical transformers, were locked out April 15. Siemens, based in Germany, employs 318,000 workers worldwide. The company reported a profit of $13.18 billion in 2025. Reuters reports its profits have risen to the highest levels ever since they jumped into the scramble over AI.
Striker Alain Lizotte told me negotiations just started up again after the company had suspended them for two and a half months.
Strikers said that in 2025 the company brought in a new director, Chadi Tannous. He is infamous in union circles for shutting down Amazon warehouses in Quebec after the workers first union recognition battle there. Since coming to Siemens, he has aggressively attacked the union.
In May, inspectors from the Labour Ministry learned that Siemens had begun using strikebreakers, which is supposed to be against the law in Quebec. Strikers informed us that nothing has been done about this.
Many unionists have visited the picket line to bring support, including several Steelworkers locals; members of Unifor, a major industrial union; postal workers; the Canadian Union of Public Employees; paper workers; and others. Breton-Daigle said that between the union’s strike pay and donations workers are managing to get by.
Help get the word out about the strike battle here! Visit the picket line up 24/7 at 300 rue Bellefeuille in Trois Rivieres.