Bombardier workers to stage rally in Toronto over Boeing dispute, will walk out

By The Canadian Press

The union representing Bombardier’s production workers says employees at the company’s aerospace plant in Toronto will walk out Wednesday – a move meant to pressure Boeing to drop a trade complaint against Bombardier.

Unifor national president Jerry Dias said in a statement that the rally is intended to give workers a voice during the ongoing dispute between the two companies.

He said Bombardier workers “are well aware that Boeing has no case, and that workers will end up paying the price as corporations fight this out.”

The rally is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. at the facility in North York.

Boeing has filed a trade complaint accusing Bombardier of selling its C-Series passenger jets to a U.S. airline at an unfairly low price with help from government subsidies.

The U.S. International Trade Commission will release the preliminary results of its investigation next week, and a finding against Bombardier could result in fines or tariffs.

Last week, Dias and Boeing officials met in Washington, D.C., where Dias encouraged Boeing to drop the complaint and seek a resolution with Bombardier.

The union says Bombardier employs more than 24,000 people in Canada directly and at supplier facilities, with an estimated 40,000 spin off jobs created as well.

“We cannot sit by while jobs are put at risk by these high-stake corporate games,” Maryellen McIlmoyle, president of Unifor Local 673, said in a statement.

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