A strike by workers at Navistar International’s truck manufacturing facility in Chatham, Ontario, has resulted in injuries, the plant being shut down and could lead to workers at other auto-related plants joining the demonstrations.
A van driven by a security guard on Monday hit six members of the Canadian Auto Workers union, critically injuring one man who was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Two other demonstrators were also hospitalized for non-life threatening injuries. The union members were outside the plant as the van was trying to shuttle replacement workers to the facility. The driver of the van has been charged with three counts of dangerous driving. Last week International announced it would bring in replacement workers to continue operations at the plant, but efforts to do so failed, forcing plant supervisors and managers to hit the assembly lines turning out far fewer trucks than usual. They were sent home on Monday following the accident. International spokesman Roy Wiley told Newport's Truckinginfo.com no effort was made to bring in replacement workers on Tuesday and said the company was evaluating the situation “day-by-day” to see what its next move would be. More than 600 CAW affiliated workers went on strike the first of the month after the two sides failed to reach agreement over International’s plans to cut costs. The company says if the cuts are not agreed to they may be forced to close the plant. In the meantime, production at the facility has been transferred to International’s plant in Escobedo, Mexico. Union officials are now threatening to pull auto workers away from other plants in the Canadian province, including employees of DaimlerChrysler, Ford and several parts manufacturers, to help bolster picketing numbers at the Navistar plant. Monday’s injuries aren’t the first scuffle in the labor dispute. Last week, strikers and a security guard with a private firm hired by Navistar received minor injuries in separate clashes.
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