THUNDER BAY — Unifor is demanding that all three levels of government commit to a sole-source procurement contract to secure jobs for workers at Unifor Local 1075 at Alstom.
"Let's get on with it,” Unifor National President Lana Payne told Newswatch in an interview on Friday.
“We need to get these subway cars built. What is holding things up? We have heard and had expressions of support from the federal government, from the provincial government, from the city of Toronto. This is somehow now, I guess, a decision that is at the TTC board, and we're saying, let's get on with it.
“We need to be using our procurement dollars in Canada to support Canadian jobs and Canadian workers, and what better way to do it than to put this project building these subway cars into Thunder Bay. So, let's get it done now.”
Payne said there is an active tender out for a sole-source procurement contract to build 55 new subway cars, intended to replace the current cars on the Bloor-Danforth line, which will reach their 30-year life service next year.
However, Unifor has not received any word from the TTC board on whether the Alstom plant will be awarded the contract.
“We do have an active tender out there and what we have been calling for, and what obviously you've heard from the premier of the province, you've heard from the federal government, and from the city itself, that they would like to see a sole source project,” Payne said.
“Well, they're the funders of the project, all three governments. So, what I'm saying is why do we need to have this discussion anymore? Let's award the work. Let's get this contract moving. Let's get people working in Thunder Bay, and let's get these subway cars built.”
Back in November, the federal government provided $758 million to the transit project with the expectation that the new subway cars would be built at the Alstom plant.
In January, Ontario committed to spending nearly $500 million to refurbish 181 GO Transit bi-level rail coaches, which is expected to support hundreds of jobs at the Alstom plant.
In April, Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged the City of Toronto to have its subway cars manufactured at Alstom, along with a letter sent by the Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria asking Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow to request the procurement be sole-sourced to Alstom, amid U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war.
In June, Chow announced her support for the sole-source procurement to Alstom.
However, Payne said, “we are now in a place where workers are going to begin to lose jobs in the facility. We've had some layoffs. We're nowhere near operating at capacity in terms of where we should be at the Thunder Bay plant.”
“This is a perfect opportunity for all levels of government to show that when they've been saying we want a more resilient Canadian economy, and one of the ways we're going to do it is by building things here at home.”
Unifor Local 1075 President Justin Roberts stated in a release that his members are “highly skilled and ready to build this transit.”
And with the ongoing trade war with the U.S., “this should be a no-brainer given the times we are in,” he said.
“It's crucial for the economy of Thunder Bay. It's also crucial for this moment in time for Canada. We have been sending a message to the United States in any number of ways. We've been sending a message to the rest of the world that, because of this trade war, we have to look at doing things differently in Canada, and that means using procurement dollars to make sure that we are putting Canadians to work,” Payne said.
“We have the capabilities. We have the skills. We have the workers to build these cars and to build this transit in Canada. There should be no further hold up.”
