Solidarity March to Support Locked-Out Quebec Steelworkers

BÉCANCOUR, QC, May 23, 2019 /CNW/ - Supporters from across Quebec and elsewhere in Canada and the United States will converge on Trois Rivières, Que., this Saturday, May 25, for a massive rally in solidarity with locked-out workers from the nearby ABI aluminum smelter.

The 1,030 workers, members of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9700, have been locked out of their jobs for more than 16 months ? since Jan. 11, 2018.

The lockout has been prolonged by the smelter's owners, multinational giants Alcoa and Rio Tinto, which have continued to move the goal posts with increasing demands for concessions from the workers.

Alcoa and Rio Tinto also have been assisted in their lockout by their contract with the Quebec government's public utility, Hydro-Québec, that absolves the multinationals of their electricity-purchasing commitments with the utility. The widely condemned contract has deprived Quebecers of huge hydro revenues ? $165 million in 2018 alone.

Saturday's demonstration will begin at 11 a.m. with a rally at the Cogeco Amphitheatre, followed by the solidarity march and a return to the amphitheatre site for a closing rally.

Details of the Community Solidarity March, Saturday, May 25:

Media briefing:

10:15 a.m.
Cogeco Amphitheatre, next to outdoor stage
100, avenue des Draveurs
Trois-Rivières

Community Solidarity March:

11:00 a.m. ? Rally with speakers, Cogeco Amphitheatre site. Speakers to include USW Canadian Director Ken Neumann, USW International Vice-President Tom Conway, and Andrew Murray of Unite, the British and Irish trade union.

11:10 a.m. ? March begins.

12:15 p.m. ? Rally with speakers, Cogeco Amphitheatre site. Speakers to include Steelworkers Quebec Director Alain Croteau, Québec solidaire labour spokesperson Alexandre Leduc, Steelworkers Local 9700 President Clément Masse, Quebec Federation of Labour General Secretary Serge Cadieux, as well as other labour leaders.

The United Steelworkers, affiliated with the FTQ, is the largest private sector union in Quebec, representing more than 60,000 workers from all economic sectors.

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)