New representation

Union workers at Thunder Bay’s Bombardier plant have a new president representing them at the corporate level.

Outgoing Canadian Auto Workers union president Paul Pugh, who spent 12 years at the Local 1075 helm, on Wednesday introduced his successor, Dominic Pasqualino, a veteran of 24 years at the transit car manufacturing facility.

“They’re big shoes to fill,” Pasqualino said. “I hope that I can do a good job to promote the plant and be fair to the workers and support everyone.”

With membership nearing 700, Pasqualino said he also wants to see that grow, despite rumblings in Toronto that a multi-million transit car deal will be scrapped in favour of Mayor Rob Ford’s own transportation plan.

Ford and Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty announced in March a $12.4 billion Toronto Transit Commission deal to replace the Transit City project, which entailed installing light rail lines all over Toronto and would have had Thunder Bay’s Bombardier plant producing potentially 368 light rail vehicles.

The new plan would see a new underground subway line and the Transit City light rail tracks scaled back from 52 kilometres to 25 kilometres, leaving only 130 of the 185 light rail vehicles already ordered from Bombardier still needed.

Pasqualino is still hopeful.

“We’re going to have to go ahead and show (Ford) that these street cars are really a good product. They’ve been proven throughout the world and they are the solution and we’re going to have to show him that we have the answer at this plant,” Pasqualino said.

There are plenty of other challenges threatening Bombardier’s prosperity in Thunder Bay, he added, none of which can be overlooked.

“We have a high Canadian dollar that’s definitely going to be a problem right now. The Conservative majority government is going to also be a problem. And (so will convincing) the governments to go ahead and realize they need to spend money on infrastructure and build infrastructure so we go out and get these cars built,” he said.

The retiring Pugh, who served four consecutive terms at the head of Local 1075 and is now a city councillor representing the McKellar Ward, said the membership has expressed its confidence in Pasqualino and that he’s leaving the local in good hands.

“I think Dominic will do a very good job in moving us forward and making sure the plant continues to have work and the members have a decent collective agreement that they can work under,” Pugh said.

“I’ve worked with Dominic for quite a few years. He’s in his second term on the bargaining committee, so I’ve been able to see how he does things and the attention he pays to looking after members’ concerns; and also the attention he pays to political issues because political issues are important in this industry and any other industries. I think he’s more than competent to carry out the duties.”