A wage cut of 50 per cent. An elimination of pensions. Cuts to benefits. These demands led to a major showdown at a locomotive factory in London, Ontario between the 700 unionized workers of Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) and Caterpillar, a massive U.S.-based corporation. The workers, members of Canadian Auto Workers Local 27, responded to the employer’s demands with a positive strike vote of 97 per cent. The employer, Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, locked out the workers on New Year’s Day. The bitter lockout ended when the company closed up shop and moved production to Indiana. We present three videos looking back at the battle at EMD.
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