Bombardier union at Ontario plant goes on strike

THUNDER BAY, Ontario (AP) — About 900 unionized employees at Bombardier’s light rail plant in Thunder Bay, Ontario, are on strike after failing to reach an agreement with management about pension changes and benefit reductions.

Unifor’s national president Jerry Dias says there was “no meaningful discussion” leading up to Monday’s strike deadline.

Dias says Bombardier wants to make changes to pensions and benefits that are unacceptable to the employees and are similar to demands that caused a brief strike in 2011.

Bombardier spokesman Marc-Andre Lefebvre says the company believes it has offered Unifor employees a good contract proposal that provides for well-paid jobs.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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