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The eBearing News
December 1, 2005
New Contract Averts
Timken Canada Strike
copyright © 2005 eBearing Inc.
Timken Canada LP (formerly Canadian Timken Ltd., Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Timken Company, USA)
and the United Steelworkers have signed a new labor pact, averting an authorized strike.
The new three-year contract covers 300 of the approximately 350 workers at Timken's
St. Thomas Bearing Plant in Ontario. The workers are members of USW District 6, Local 4906.
United Steelworkers is an arm of the U.S.-based United Steelworkers of America.
On the web at
http:/www.steelworkers-metallos.ca.
In operation since 1946, Timken St. Thomas currently produces various automotive sizes of
tapered roller bearings and is part of Timken's reorganizing Automotive Group.
When the plant it was built, St. Thomas' location -- halfway between Detroit and Toronto / Buffalo -- made
it the unofficial Railway Capital of Canada, and rail remained
critically important there through the early 1960's. As rail declined, however, St. Thomas' location
allowed it to attract new business to the corridor, primarily North American auto industry manufacturers
and suppliers. St. Thomas is now as closely tied to the auto industry as it once was to rail.
Timken's Talbot Street bearing plant is one of the largest employers in the St. Thomas area.
In mid-November, after a month of bargaining, Timken's St. Thomas workers voted to authorize a
strike if a new contract was not in place by the existing contract expiration on November 27.
The key issue at stake for St. Thomas workers was Timken's demand for a plan to end the defined
benefit pension plan and an early retirement provision.
In a press release, USW District 6 Director Wayne Fraser said: "The message to the company
was loud and clear. Absolutely no concessions."
The USW claims it was not only able to force Timken to drop its demand to end the defined benefit
plan, but also negotiated improvements to the current plan, along with increased wages, an
updated formula for COLA adjustments, seniority, bereavement leave, and coverage for weekly
indemnity. Dental and vision care benefits were improved; workers
gained coverage for eye exams now excluded under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).
Local 4906 President, Jim Rose, said: "Our members were behind their bargaining committee every step
of the way. They were committed to getting a fair and reasonable settlement that didn't take away
things we had gained over many years. This settlement is a clear victory for us."
Notably, labor contract negotiations in Canada do not include the most difficult and divisive issue
in recent U.S. contracts -- health care coverage. Canada offers a universally accessible, publicly
funded health system.
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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered
trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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