Bombardier, unions discussing strategy to deal with U.S. duties
by The Canadian Press
The meeting with Canadian and Northern Ireland union representatives and Bombardier president Alain Bellemare was set to devise a plan to protect jobs while the U.S. trade dispute is being deliberated
MONTREAL—A meeting between Bombardier management and union leaders is taking place today with the U.S. Commerce Department’s proposed 300 per cent duty on all imports of its C Series planes on the menu.
The meeting with Canadian and Northern Ireland union representatives and Bombardier president Alain Bellemare is being held in downtown Montreal.
Unifor president Jerry Dias, Unifor’s Quebec director Renaud Gagne and Steve Turner, assistant secretary general of Unite, representing workers in Northern Ireland, are attending.
The unions from both sides of the Atlantic are meeting to come up with a common strategy to protect jobs as the U.S. is to decide next week whether the 300 per cent duty will come into effect.
The U.S. government intervened after a trade complaint against Bombardier was launched by rival U.S.-based aerospace giant Boeing.
Boeing was set to sell 18 of its Super Hornet fighters at an estimated cost of $6 billion to temporarily augment Canada’s fleet of aging CF-18s until they can be replaced.
In the aftermath of the dispute with Montreal-based Bombardier, Ottawa abandoned that plan and announced this week its intention to purchase used F-18s from Australia.
