IMP Aerostructures workers go on strike in Amherst

UPDATE: Workers reached an agreement with the company on Oct. 16, after more than two months on the picket lines. The new contract is for five years, said union president Mike Blenkhorn.

Around 130 workers at IMP Aerostructures in Amherst, N.S., walked off the job on Monday, hours after 93 per cent of union members voted against the company's latest contract offer.

The aerospace manufacturer founded by billionaire Kenneth C. Rowe offered an initial deal that included a 1.5 per cent raise over three years, which was later renegotiated to two per cent, said Mike Blenkhorn, president of the United Steelworkers Local 4883.

But that doesn't go far enough to keep up with rising prices, he said. The union is shooting for a five per cent wage hike.

"It just gives them a chance to recoup and keep moving forward."

The national inflation rate stood at 2.7 per cent year-over-year in June, according to Statistics Canada.

Blenkhorn also said workers in Amherst are paid less for the same type of work compared to those in other parts of the province, especially Halifax. 

Carla Thibodeau, a USW staff representative for the Atlantic provinces, said the union had accepted a deal with wage increases of zero per cent over three years during the COVID-19 pandemic to help ensure the company would survive in Amherst during a period of economic uncertainty.

Thibodeau said giving the company's workers a fair wage is now long overdue.

"Our members really felt that they deserved more, that they deserve to have a fair contract that would help bridge the gap between their wages and other wages of employees in a similar sector," she said.

"We feel that the offer on the table is not closing that gap. It is not enough to recoup the losses of the last several years."

Blenkhorn said about 90 per cent of the union local's members joined the picket line on Monday.

Some local residents showed their support on Tuesday by providing food, coffee, Gatorade and other goods to the striking workers, he said.

"There was a day when IMP people would leave a government job to come work at IMP because you were respected, you were well paid. Those days are gone," he said. "We care about our membership a great deal and we feel that we've been unfairly treated."

IMP Aerospace did not respond to requests for an interview.

The company is headquartered in Halifax, has contracts with the federal government and serves both military and commercial clients.