More Powerful Than God — an Ashley Walters documentary
A small but steadfast band of Canadian workers marched on a picket line for 22 long months. Their strike against Crown Can, an American-based multinational company, came to a distressing end. The workers settled, but it came at a steep price.
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Workers on strike against Crown Metal Packaging. (Credit: John Beechey, United Steelworkers Local 9176)
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Sunday Edition24:33More Powerful Than God - an Ashley Walters documentary
Originally published on Aug. 21, 2016.
Crown Metal Packaging is a highly profitable American multinational that makes cans for all the major beer companies. One of its plants, located just north of Toronto, was the site of a painful, protracted strike.
In September, 2013, 120 workers took to the picket line, after Crown demanded pay cuts from its workers and declared that new hires would receive 40 percent less than current employees.
The strike lasted 22 months and in the end, the union made no gains. In fact, anyone who wanted to return to work had no choice but to accept a significant pay cut.
Ashley Walters spent time with the strikers. Her documentary, which first aired in October 2015, is called "More Powerful than God."
Clockwise from left: Rob DiPippo, Cheryle Dollimore; Cindy Sullivan (Credit: John Beechey, United Steelworkers Local 9176)
