FENNER DUNLOP ‘LOCKOUT’ HAS EMPLOYEES OUT ON PROTEST PICKET LINE

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

BRACEBRIDGE — A cold, sunny afternoon on the picket line is no place to be on Valentines Day.

But more than a dozen of the 60 employees of Fenner Dunlop, who were out again Sunday protesting a “lockout” by their employer, said they would sooner have been home with their families and sweethearts.

Instead they were manning picket lines at two entrances to the factory that produces the huge black conveyor belts that drivers see being transported south on highways.

It was day two of their information picket, which drew many honking horns of support from passing motorists in just a few minutes talking with them about their plight

Ted Eade, a negotiator with the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7949, said he was “out supporting his brother” due to a contract dispute.

And “because our company would rather have us stand out in the cold rather than continue talks.”

He said “we’re not trying to bug anybody. We’re just here to support each other.”

“We just want to pretty much keep what we have.”

With 60 employees now, he says “we produce a lot of conveyor belts and a lot of money passes through here.”

“We’re just here trying support each other and weather the storm.”

He said a press release, from the USW, will explain a bit more.

 

Ted Eade, who is on the union negotiating committee, said workers were “locked out becasuse the company would rather have us out in the cold than continue talking.”
Protesters were at two entrances to the factory with propane tank here at south end and a fiery barrel at the north end.
More than a dozen of the company’s 60 employees were still protesting at mid-afternoon on Valentines Day. It’s the second day of their information picket.

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