Teamsters against Lowe's Takeover Bid for Rona

We don't share Lowe's values in the area of business and HR management…

LAVAL, QC, Aug. 3, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Teamsters Union is against U.S. home reno giant Lowe's takeover bid for Rona, a Québec jewel in the hardware and renovation industry.

In fact, we learned that Lowe's made a $1.76 billion bid for the Québec company on Tuesday. The provincial government has also come out against the proposal. In this regard, Finance Minister Raymond Bachand made a telling comment:

"Fundamentally, in the long term, selling to Lowe's could mean economic dismantling. We're talking here of 90,000 jobs in Canada, 50,000 of which are in Québec. Many of these jobs are in the network of suppliers. [...] Lowe's has made many promises in its offer, but in the short-term, it only has one obligation and that's to maximize profits," he said.

The politician is also worried about where Lowe's stands on the issue of buying Québec products.

For its part, Teamsters Canada is worried about the survival of jobs if Lowe's bid is successful.

"We're against this potential sale because there are too many unknowns for the members we represent at Rona," commented Serge Bérubé, President of Teamsters Local Union 1999. "We don't want them to end up like the workers at Zellers."

Rona's management rejected the bid but Lowe's could sweeten its offer in the coming weeks.

Moreover, if Lowe's were to insist on acquiring Québec's hardware seller, Teamsters Canada's affiliate, the powerful International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has 1.4 million members, could get involved.

"We don't share Lowe's values in the area of business and HR management," stated Serge Bérubé. "So we're not going to stand idly by and allow a repeat of what happened with the Zellers stores."

The Teamsters Union represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.

SOURCE: TEAMSTERS CANADA

Stéphane Lacroix, Director of Communications, Teamsters Canada
Mobile: [phone]
Office: 450-682-5521 x236
Email: [email protected]