Conservatives, Liberals Fail Electro-Motive Workers

TORONTO, Feb. 3, 2012 /CNW/ - The sellout of working families by Stephen Harper's Conservatives and Dalton McGuinty's Liberals has taken another shameful turn with the shutdown of London's Electro-Motive plant, the United Steelworkers (USW) says.

"The federal and Ontario governments have done nothing to defend the 460 Electro-Motive workers in London whose jobs have been killed by the greed of U.S.-based Caterpillar Inc.," said Ken Neumann, USW National Director for Canada.

"There is no longer any argument - coordinated corporate attacks on working families are being aided and abetted by the federal Conservatives and the Ontario Liberal government," Neumann said.

"Stephen Harper's Conservatives and Dalton McGuinty's Liberals are absolutely useless to workers whose livelihoods are threatened by multinational corporations," he said. "We see it in London today, just as we witnessed the attacks by U.S. Steel on Hamilton and Nanticoke families and by Brazil-based Vale against thousands of Sudbury and Port Colborne families."

The Harper Conservatives, along with Quebec's Liberal government, have also forsaken nearly 800 workers in Alma, Que., who have been locked out of their jobs by foreign resource giant Rio Tinto in a brazen attempt to eliminate decent jobs, Neumann noted.

"With income inequality continuing to worsen in our society, working families need their governments to stand up for them more than ever," he said. "Instead, the federal Conservatives and provincial Liberals consent to repeated corporate attacks on our working and living standards."

Contacts:

Ken Neumann USW National Director, 416-544-5950
Bob Gallagher, USW Communications, 416-434-2221, 416-544-5966, [email protected]