Tom Ludwig photos

The bargaining team (from left) – Art Lacroix, Bruce Hawkings, Marilyn Mackenzie, Crystal Ward and Carol Madter – shows off one of the billboard ads the Local has
placed within sight of executive offices at Schneider Foods.

16 February 2005

Strike/lockout of office staff seems inevitable at Schneider Foods

Schneider Office Employees' Association | TNG Canada Local 30009

Guild members at Schneider Foods Corp. have had enough of the company's strong-arm tactics; they're preparing for a strike or lockout early next month.

Art Lacroix, president of the 166-member Schneider Office Employees' Association, says most of the workers at the head-office operation in Kitchener, Ont., no longer buy the company's patronizing mantra of "Trust us, it will all work out." Actions to the contrary have spoken far louder than those assurances, especially since the food products company was taken over in 2003 by the anti-union Maple Leaf Foods.

Schneider management has brought few concrete proposals to the bargaining table since the office employees' contract expired on Oct. 31, 2004, says Lacroix. Four bargaining sessions and two meetings with a conciliator yielded little but requests by the company for a No Board Report, which has now been granted. That will put the company and the union in a "free" position at 12:01 a.m. Monday, March 7.

It is widely anticipated that Schneider will try, once again, to take advantage of the free position to impose new terms and conditions that will negatively affect job security, pensions, pay and benefits. This time, however, Guild members are not in the mood to acquiesce.

In a communique to union members this week, the bargaining team (Lacroix, vice-president Marilyn Mackenzie, Bruce Hawkings, Crystal Ward and Carol Madter) reported that Schneider management's "counter proposal was heavy on absolute control and flexibility for the company but light on any improvements for you." The team advised members that "unfortunately, we are unable to respond to the proposal because of all the unknowns and answers are no nearer today than when we started negotiations many months ago."

Because of the company's refusal to provide information required to bargain salary, pension or health benefits, TNG Canada's counsel, Nelson Roland, is filing a bad-faith bargaining complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

The bargaining team was given a strike mandate on Dec. 11 when 63 per cent of those voting favoured taking that job action if necessary, says Lacroix. The Local's mobilization committee has been busy distributing T-shirts and buttons and generally getting members geared for job action on March 7. The union has placed huge ads on billboards outside the Schneider plant and within sight of the executive suite. News releases and radio advertising are in the works. Secondary picketing will likely take place prior to the 7th.

A survey of Guild members prior to the start of negotiations revealed their biggest concerns are job security and severance packages. That isn't surprising, says Lacroix, considering many of the office staff are long-time employees who do not want to leave Kitchener.

Guild members, who include administrative, finance, information technology and clerical workers, have watched with growing dismay as the Schneider and Maple Leaf merger took effect. The "rationalization" led to (non-unionized) sales staff and then marketing department employees being transferred to Mississauga. The IT staff who are members of the Guild Local have been told they will be relocated by June 2006, but their destination has yet to be decided.

Lacroix says the members' position could be summed up as: "We're tired of the games. Let's get a contract that gives us stability and certainty through the takeover process."

The Guild is seeking increases of four per cent in each year of a new contract, regardless the term, which has yet to be discussed. The office employees' salary grid currently ranges from $21,000 to $76,000.

The employees are also intent on winning indexed pensions and improved health benefits. It was the latter that took a big hit in the last round of negotiations, says Lacroix. "The company put us in flex benefits and reserved the right to change the plan when it came up for renewal." Now Schneider wants to select the provider, determine the coverage and set the employer/employee contributions, he says.

Another sore point for the workers is pensions, he adds. The company has a history of making questionable changes to the pension plan. The Guild Local is considering filing a class-action suit regarding what it considers to be the company's inappropriate use of pension plan surpluses.

Lacroix says employees are losing patience with a company that does not honour its contracts, refuses to abide by pay scales agreed to in collective bargaining, and that generally thumbs its nose at workers' concerns. The Local sees an average of 18 grievances a year and most go to arbitration, he notes.