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With the unfortunate election of the Harris Tories as the provincial
\ngovernment in 1995, the Union joined together with the rest of the Labour
\nmovement in the marches, demonstrations, and shutdowns that made up
\nthe Labour Days of Protest.<\/p>\n
These demonstrations protested against the Harris cuts to education
\nand health care, as well as the vicious changes made to the Ontario
\nLabour relations Act. The labour law changes made it much more difficult
\nto organize new groups of workers, and much easier to decertify, and
\nremoved all lawyers from the collective agreements we had negotiated
\nfor them.<\/p>\n
The staff of the largest SEIU Local in Canada, Local 204, joined the
\nUnion. The 1996 negotiations with Labatt were also particularly difficult.
\nThese negotiations were conducted in the shadow of a firm Company decision
\nto close one of the Ontario Breweries, likely Toronto, during the life
\nof the agreement. In consequence, the goal of the bargaining committee
\nwas to dramatically improve the early retirement provisions of the pension
\nplan so that, if one of the plants closed, a high percentage of the
\nemployees could retire at age 55. Building on its experience with Molson’s,
\nthe Union also wanted an agreement that any employee who wanted a job
\nin the brewery remaining in operation be guaranteed a job with seniority.<\/p>\n
After a very intense round of bargaining all those objectives were achieved.
\nThe new collective agreement effectively increased the 85-point pension,
\nand a much higher and fuller pension was established at 25 years of
\nservice instead of 30. In addition, the pension amounts for normal,
\nearly, and 85-point pensions increased by 30%. Wages increased by more
\nthan 15% and employees at both Breweries were guaranteed transfer rights
\nto the remaining plant in the event of a closure. The contract was ratified
\nby more than 96% of the members voting.<\/p>\n
Nineteen ninety-six also saw the hiring of Brother Rui Amorin as Director
\nof Organizing. Over the next two years, the Union grew dramatically
\nas the 1,000 member Med-Chem Laboratories was organized. In 1997, the
\nSEIU International staff and approximately 200 security guards in seven
\nToronto area hospitals, and at Harold’s Security joined, while, in the
\nfollowing year, employees at the Wesley Urban Ministries and the St.
\nJoseph’s Immigrant Women’s Center joined. Our membership topped the
\n4,500 mark.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, that membership level did not last long. The years 1999
\n\/ 2000 saw both the bankruptcy of Med-Chem Laboratories, and the sale
\nby Nestle of its Laura Secord business, which entailed significant downsizing.
\nIn both these cases the Union once again entered the financial markets
\nand made serious, and, particularly in the case of Med-Chem, heartbreakingly
\nunsuccessful attempts to engineer employee-led purchases.<\/p>\n
In the Med-Chem case the Union partnered with the Ontario Teachers’
\nPension Fund to raise almost $100,000,000.00, and made a bid for the
\nbusiness. If successful, we could have kept our thousand members working.
\nWhile our bid was, in fact, as good as the bid accepted by the Receiver,
\nour financing could not be made unconditional until 2 working days after
\nthe Receiver’s deadline. Unwilling to wait, the Receiver accepted the
\nrival bid of Canadian Medical Laboratories which proceeded to close
\nthe lab throwing 850 of our members out of work.<\/p>\n
The sale had to be approved by the Court, and the Union launched a vigorous
\nchallenge, asking the Court to not approve the sale, and to approve
\nour offer (which was as good) and would save the jobs of 850 people.
\nUnfortunately the Court decided that it was more important to uphold
\nthe “good faith business decision” of the Receiver than to
\nsave the jobs. Our appeal to the Court of Appeal was unsuccessful, the
\nsale to CML went ahead, and the lab was closed and 850 jobs lost although
\nwe retained about 150 members in the collection centers, which CML continued
\nto operate. Brother Nelson was elected as one of the Inspectors in the
\nMed-Chem bankruptcy and continues to act in that capacity so that the
\nemployees who lost their jobs get full severance and notice of termination
\npay.<\/p>\n
In the Laura Secord case, the Union partnered with a New York based
\nfinancier – Harrowstone – and made a strong bid of more than $70,000,000.00
\n– which was, unfortunately, not enough. The Laura Secord business (ironically
\nnamed after the famous Canadian heroine who warned of the 1812 American
\ninvasion at great risk to herself) was sold to a Chicago based U.S.
\nCompany. In the result there was a 20% downsizing of the full time employee
\ngroup. The Union’s membership returned to the 3,500 range.<\/p>\n
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