Bombardier Bizjet Plant On Strike

About 1350 workers at Bombardier’s new business jet factory in Toronto are on strike and production of backlogged long-range Global series aircraft has halted. The company and Unifor, the union…

About 1350 workers at Bombardier's new business jet factory in Toronto are on strike and production of backlogged long-range Global series aircraft has halted. The company and Unifor, the union representing the workers, failed to reach an agreement by Sunday's strike deadline and the workers hit the bricks. Negotiations are continuing and both sides seem to think an agreement is close.

“The union’s bargaining committee members are working towards an agreement and both parties remain committed to continuing the bargaining process,” Unifor said in a statement. Bombardier echoed the sentiment, saying both sides are working to “swiftly reach a mutually beneficial agreement.” Neither side discussed the hangups in the talks. The company recently moved to a 770,000-square-foot factory at Toronto Pearson International Airport after selling off most of its other assets to concentrate on big business jets.

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.