Hundreds of northwest B.C. residents took to the streets in Kitimat, yesterday, to try and get labor negotiations back on track between Rio Tinto and their unionized aluminum smelter workers.
Before the rally – which was called ‘save the northwest’ – a gathering was held at Centennial Park where some employees of Rio Tinto, members from the local union and other small business owners addressed the residents that had gotten together in the park.
The event was also meant to call on both parties involved in this dispute – Rio Tinto and Unifor 2301, the group that represents over 900 smelter workers – to return to the table and create a new collective agreement before the strike causes large repercussions in the economy for not just Kitimat, but for the surrounding northwest communities as well.
This strike which began back on July 25 in Kitimat after seven weeks of previously failed negotiations between Rio Tinto and Unifor Local 2301 is currently in its second week.
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