Tensions are mounting in negotiations for the signing of a first working agreement between the Cascades paper mill and some 120 employees at its US plant in Niagara Falls, New York.
Represented by the Machinists, these aspiring union members have been trying in vain for two years to come to a first working agreement with their employer.
However, the negotiations are stretched to such an extent that the leader of the majority in the American Senate, Chuck Schumer, and the American senator Kirsten Gillibrand have just got involved by formally asking the Quebec company to negotiate in good faith. with its employees.
Respect first
“It has been going on for over two years,” laments Ronald Warner, the business representative of the AIMTA union, which Cascades employees chose to join in the spring of 2019. This kind of thing normally takes 6 to 12 months to settle. . Not two years as is currently the case, ”he maintains in an interview with The newspaper, claiming to have already negotiated a hundred contracts of this type in 16 years.
Workers at this factory, formerly known as its subsidiary Norampac, voted to unionize in April 2019.
In the weeks that followed, the National Labor Relation Board endorsed the result, triggering a process of negotiating a first employment contract.
A “embarrassing” flagship
Two years later, not only do the union members no longer believe in Cascades’ desire to come to an agreement, but they accuse it of having substantially reduced their payments, by way of profit sharing, simply for the sake of reprisals. .
“We have reached the summer of 2021 and Cascades still refuses to negotiate, regrets Shawn Reed, union representative and Cascades employee for 20 years. It is time for Cascades to treat us as it treats its shareholders, that is, with respect. We are proud to work at Cascades […] Our salaries are decent, but there are some things money cannot buy, including respect and dignity. “
David Chartrand, Canadian vice-president of IAMAW, is also seeking to break the deadlock.
“It’s frustrating and embarrassing to see a Quebec flagship act in this way, especially since Quebecers are shareholders through the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. All workers deserve to be treated with respect […]whether they are from Quebec, New York State or elsewhere. “
Called to react, the vice-president of communications of Cascades, Hugo D’Amours denied that the company was able to reduce the sums paid to workers as a contribution to the profits of the company by retaliation and rejects the idea that she would deliberately drag her feet.
On the contrary, Cascades maintains that the tone of the negotiations is “good and courteous”, that they are continuing and “progressing well”.
Cascades shares rose 0.19% yesterday to close at $ 15.74 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Since the start of 2021, the value of its share has grown 9.92%, but 3.55% for 12 months.
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