LONGUEUIL, QC – Workers at the Molson Coors Beverage Company production facility in the Montreal suburb of Longueuil have responded to the latest wage offer from the company with a vote overwhelmingly in favour of a strike.
As announced in a press release from Teamsters Canada, approximately 320 of the plant’s 424 employees took part in the vote, with 99% voting “yes” to strike action.
“The members clearly demonstrated their anger at this union meeting,” said Eric Picotte, Local Union President at Molson, in a statement. “Over the course of my career, I haven’t often seen men and women so determined to get their employer’s respect. Enough is enough.”
The announcement also notes that a strike will not be called immediately, and the union is “willing to return to the bargaining table, provided the employer shows openness and a willingness to address and resolve the issues in a lasting way.”
In a response provided to CTV News, an unnamed Molson Coors representative said that the company “has a long history of providing well-paying jobs and we are offering our Montreal employees a competitive wage. We are disappointed that we have not been able to reach a deal, but our goal remains to reach an agreement with our unionized employees that is both fair and equitable.”
The Molson Coors location in Longueuil opened last year, replacing the company’s historic site on Montreal’s Notre-Dame Street which went up for sale in 2018. Preliminary plans for the old site’s development were recently announced, and will take up to a decade to complete.
Source: CTV News