Montréal, QC – More than 150 IAM members joined other unionized workers in a rally and March through the streets of Montréal to the US consulate to protest Boeing Aircraft’s court battle with Bombardier.
Boeing has filed trade tribunal complaints and taken court action against Bombardier over the sale of 75 C-Series 100 commercial airliners to Delta Airlines. Boeing accuses Bombardier of being heavily subsidized by the Canadian and Québec governments which allowed the Québec-based aircraft manufacturer to dump the planes on the market at bargain rates. “Boeing’s claim make no sense,” explained IAM Québec Coordinator David Chartrand. ‘Boeing doesn’t make an aircraft in this category and it didn’t make a bid for the Delta contract so their claim is groundless.”
“If Boeing wins this case, the tariffs imposed on the C-Series would amount to 160 per cent and double the cost of the aircraft,” Chartrand told demonstrators. “The C-Series is the most technologically advanced aircraft in its class and this court action would not only impact Canadian jobs but American workers too. The C-Series is flight tested at Bombardier facilities in Kansas and components for the aircraft are also manufactured there. This is nothing short of an attack on the Canadian aerospace industry and we will defend the jobs of our members. We must convince the US government that this is wrong and that’s why we’re outside their consulate today.”
