An international delegation of leaders representing each of the USW's 13 districts in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean rallied to support workers and their families locked out by Indspec since April 5, 2014 at the company’s Petrolia chemical plant.
About 150 members of USW Local 6346-25 offered to continue working under the terms of their expired contract while negotiations proceeded, but Indspec management locked them out instead.
Prior to the current lockout, the plant enjoyed 38 years of labor peace. Over those years, workers made sacrifices to keep the plant viable as an employer in the community.
USW leaders from throughout North America planned the rally with community activists to take place in conjunction with the Local 6346-25 family day and picnic at Petrolia Municipal Park.
Indspec is a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), a global conglomerate with over $6 billion in sales during the first quarter of 2014 alone. Chief Executive Stephen Chazen raked in almost $7 million in compensation in 2013, though the company locked out its union workforce over the management’s demands for concessions.
Speakers at the rally urged Indspec to end the lockout and negotiate a fair contract in good faith with workers in Petrolia.
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations.
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