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Workers, Mayor Infuriated Over Plant Closure

Friday, 3 February 2012 08:36

"Bottom line...they just want to pay as little as they can for quality work. They don't give a shit about people, just money." Roy Andrigo is out of a job today, after working for London's Electro Motive as an Electrician for the last 17-years. Andrigo is one of 450 workers to find out the news today that his job is headed state-side, as parent company Caterpillar announced the closure of the London train plant. The company had asked the employees to take a 50 per cent pay cut at the start of the year, leading to an extended lockout. London Mayor Joe Fontana showed up to speak to the workers this afternoon outside of the plant. "I really feel for them. I'm disappointed, I'm disgusted, I'm ticked off. They've given their blood, sweat and tears to this company and the ones before it that have made a lot of money. They produce a great product and it's shameful, it's despicable how Caterpillar has treated these employees." The jobs are believed to be headed to Muncie, Indiana at another Caterpillar outfit where workers are willing to work for half of what the Electro Motive workers were getting. Fontana questioned why the federal government didn't get involved before it was too late. "I'm sure Obama...you know...he's proud of his industry, he's proud of his workers. Where the hell is Stephen Harper in speaking up for Canadian workers?" There's no timeline for the plants closing date, but for workers like Brandy Damm, the damage is already done. "For the last 6-weeks we've had no income from here, so that's half of our income gone."

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