Bombardier Thunder Bay union vows to preserve contract

The union representing most workers at Thunder Bay's Bombardier plant thinks the company is trying to set the table for upcoming talks on a new collective agreement.

The president of Unifor Local 1075 said management is looking for concessions.  

Domenic Pasqualino said the main message delivered by the company to workers at a meeting last week was that Bombardier wants to keep costs down.

"The company has been freezing the wages of all salaried personnel. They're getting no bonuses, and there were no wage hikes,” he said.

"I think that what they're trying to do is to prep us for negotiations. The company has made it very clear that they're going to go after our pensions and benefits.”

Pasqualino said workers briefly went on strike three years ago, when the company tried to cut pensions and benefits.

He said this time around, his nearly 1,100 members will not settle for less than what they are making now.

"We're not demanding lots, but on the other hand, we don't expect to come to work for less than we're making now."

Pasqualino said the workers’ pension plan is “middle of the road” to the lower end of the scale, and he doesn't think workers are receiving benefits that are out of proportion.

The current contract expires at the end of May and the parties are in the early stages of arranging for negotiations.

So far there is no comment from Bombardier head office on this story. CBC News attempted to reach the company, unsuccessfully, on Friday.