One-week strike by Glass Workers 139B at Vancouver Iron & Steel

About 85 members of Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers (GMP) Local 139B waged a week-long strike May 8-14 at Vancouver Iron and Steel, a truck parts foundry. The workers, had been without a contract since March 1.

The May 7 strike vote was 61 to 12.

Negotiations over a new three-year contract broke down over numerous proposed changes to contract language. The company wanted to end time-and-a-half pay for work on Saturdays, it proposed to restrict conversations with shop stewards on work time, and to offer lower health benefits for new hires.

The company reportedly recruited about a dozen strikebreakers, hired off the street and through a temp agency. Ten members of the union crossed the picket line.

After the two sides met again May 14, members voted to accept the offer they had rejected the week before.