[LabComm] TALKS SCHEDULED AT RMS TO TRY AND END TWO-AND-A-HALF YEAR STRIKE

[Van Horne, Pat]

18 DECEMBER 2003

United Steelworkers and RMS Equipment Company:
TALKS SCHEDULED TO TRY AND END
TWO-AND-A-HALF-YEAR STRIKE

	KITCHENER, ON -- Following communication from the United
Steelworkers to RMS Equipment Company in Kitchener, talks have been
scheduled in an attempt to end a strike that began on May 14, 2001.  
Collective bargaining will resume with exploratory talks in early February
2004.
"We have kept up the pressure on RMS since our members chose to exercise
their right to strike," said Steelworkers' Ontario Director Wayne Fraser.
"Since the start of this dispute, we have provided support in terms of
strike pay and by targeting RMS's corporate parent in the United States.
These talks are a result of the pressure we have sustained for over two and
half years. We'll keep that pressure on as long as it takes.
"We are glad that RMS has responded positively to our request to re-start
the talks," Fraser added. "We are ready to try and resolve this dispute. We
hope that RMS comes to the table ready to work hard."
"Our members in the Kitchener-Waterloo region have stayed strong. Not one
has crossed that picket line," said Peter Cook, president of the
Steelworkers' Local 80. "I was at the table when bargaining broke off in
2001. I am ready to get back into bargaining."
RMS is part of the Pettibone Tire Equipment Group, which is in turn owned by
the Chicago-based Heico Companies LLC.
The United Steelworkers represents about 180,000 men and women working in
every sector of Canada's economy.
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CONTACT:                 Wayne Fraser      416/243-8792; 416/577-4045
			   Jim Harvey (staff representative)   519/836-2461
			   Garnet Penny (area coordinator)   519/836-2461
			   Peter Cook     519/897-0643 (cell); 519/743-0488
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