REGINA — The union that represents hundreds of locked-out workers at a Regina refinery is calling for a nation-wide boycott of the facility’s owner, Federated Co-operatives Ltd.
Unifor announced Sunday that it would be launching a national boycott campaign with ads on TV, radio and billboards, and that there will be pickets at Co-op’s retail locations across Canada.
Unifor National president Jerry Dias says in a news release that the union wants local co-ops that own Federated Co-op to “speak out to the FCL board and use their power” to end the lockout.
The union says its TV ad will air at prime time in Western Canada, including during the men’s World Junior Hockey Championships over the holidays.
FCL responded to the announcement with a news release that called Unifor a “Toronto-based union” that “simply doesn’t understand the refining industry or the Western Canadian economy.”
More than 700 employees were locked out on Dec. 5 after Unifor issued a strike notice in a dispute where pensions are a key issue.