Media Advisory: Labour Calls on Harper to Protect Canadian Jobs in Wake of Electro-Motive/Caterpillar Lock-out

LONDON, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 21, 2012) - With thousands and thousands of union and community members arriving in London today to support locked-out workers at Electro-Motive, CAW President Ken Lewenza is repeating his call for the company to get back to the bargaining table.

"Workers across Ontario are standing together today to call for an end to the kind of corporate greed from companies like Caterpillar that is putting at risk these 500 jobs in London," said CAW President Ken Lewenza. "It's time for management to get back to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair and equitable contract for these workers."

"The Harper Conservatives must stand up for Canadian jobs," said Lewenza. "A first step is a complete overhaul of the Investment Canada Act to ensure more Canadian jobs aren't lost when foreign companies buy businesses in Canada."

"People are fed up with profit-rich foreign corporations destroying Canadian jobs, our economy and our communities. For workers across the province, Caterpillar has become the poster child of the greedy one percent," said Sid Ryan, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour. "Caterpillar represents everything that is wrong with a Harper government that rewards greedy corporations with public tax dollars while they exploit their own workers in pursuit of obscene profits."

The Day of Action against Electro-Motive/Caterpillar is being organized by the CAW, with the support of the London and District Labour Council, the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress.

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