For immediate release
Montreal, October 16th, 2017
Judgement of the U.S. Department of Commerce: Aerospace workers reply
Montreal – Following the imposition of a countervailing duty of 220% and an anti-dumping duty of 79.82% by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Machinists Union (IAMAW) has replied by launching a communications campaign aimed at raising awareness and mobilizing the general public.
“We are facing measures that are dangerous for the stability of the aerospace industry in Canada and the U.S.,” said David Chartrand, Quebec coordinator of the Machinists Union. “We have to stand up and make it loud and clear how unjustified this decision is. Boeing representatives are trying to take advantage of protectionist tendencies in Washington to close the American market to the C-Series, aircraft that have no rivals on the market. They’re acting like bullies by manipulating American laws.”
The union invites all political parties to form a common front to defend the estimated 40,000 aerospace workers in Quebec, in more than 200 enterprises, unionized or not. “Let us stand proud to defend our collective interests and come up with solutions so we never find ourselves in this kind of situation again,” adds Mr. Chartrand. His organization proposes adding a mediation and conciliation process before having to resort to the weighty and complex procedures that inevitably surround pursuing legal challenges.
The campaign will be launched in Quebec with the slogan “Tous debout”. It will be disseminated on billboards and on the web. A video will also be disseminated on social media during the upcoming weeks, featuring aerospace workers who are literally “standing up”. In the rest of Canada, the campaign will be disseminated under the slogan “We all stand proud”. Here is a link for both videos:
French: https://youtu.be/jHRE9zj6MbI
English : https://youtu.be/jPV-yHvR_ys
The Machinists Union (IAMAW) boasts more than 700,000 members in North America with 1,143 locals, whose presence can be felt in more than 200 enterprises in the U.S., Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico.
The IAMAW represents 15,000 members in Quebec, and more than 50,000 in Canada, among them 16,000 in the aviation and aerospace industry. It is the largest union for aeronautical workers in the world.
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Pour plus d’informations:
Guillaume Valois
Bureau: (514)-332-1912
Cell: (514)-966-0915
g.valois@aimta712.org
