Autoport workers go on strike in Halifax

Replacement workers  SCABS on site at processing facility in Eastern Passage, N.S.

CBC News · Posted: Feb 27, 2024 

  Almost 240 workers at a vehicle processing facility in Eastern Passage, N.S., have gone on strike after negotiations between the union and the company failed to reach an agreement. Paul Palmeter has the story.

Almost 240 workers at a vehicle processing facility in Eastern Passage, N.S., have gone on strike after negotiations between the union and the company failed to reach an agreement.

Unifor Local 100 workers at Autoport started strike action at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. Union members rejected a tentative agreement earlier this month and provided a notice to strike on Friday. 

Autoport has brought in replacement labour. 

"What we're seeing here is scab labour," said Jennifer Murray, Unifor Atlantic regional director. "It's incredibly disrespectful to the employees, our members, who go to work every day." 

Murray said the preparation of replacement labour is evidence Autoport had no intention of reaching a deal on Monday. 

The use of replacement labour highlights the need for the federal government to pass legislation on the issue, according to a news release from Unifor. 

Contingency plan 

Autoport, a subsidiary of CN, processes and ships close to 185,000 vehicles annually, according to the union.

"Today, Autoport enacted its contingency plan at its Eastern Passage facility to protect the continuity of the supply chain. Activities will continue uninterrupted as long as necessary," said Tom Bateman, a spokesperson for CN, on behalf of Autoport. 

Unifor said negotiations with the employer began in September and were ongoing up until the strike deadline

"Here we are on the picket lines while people are performing our work," said Cory Will, president of Unifor Local 100. "People just want a fair reasonable wage to be able to provide for their families." 

Workers at the facility earn between $22.30 and $33.06 an hour after probation, according to a collective bargaining agreement for the Eastern Passage facility that expired in December 2023. The union turned down an eight per cent wage increase over three years. 

A replacement worker at Autoport in Eastern Passage, N.S., drives a vehicle past Unifor members on strike Tuesday. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

"We are always open to going back to the table as long as the company understands that our members, their employees, deserve a fair wage and a fair and equitable deal," said Sean Warnell, a 27-year Autoport worker. 

"It's a nervous way to be. Everybody has bills, mortgages, kids are in university. People are just trying to make ends meet," Warnell said.