Amid strike, Bombardier moves three Rockets

A strike by 900 workers continues at Bombardier Transportation's Thunder Bay, Ontario, plant, but the company still moved the first three of 420 Toronto Rocket subway cars for delivery to Canada's largest city on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014.

Workers represented by Unifor Local 1075 walked off the job on July 14, following a breakdown in contract talks with management. The union’s contract expired on May 31.

“It’s a very sad day for the plant,” Unifor local President Dominic Pasqualino told CBC News. “It’s the first [transit] car in history that’s been built by management that’s leaving the plant.”

A Bombardier spokeswoman said the company would attempt to deliver as many subway cars and streetcars to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) as it could. “We have contractual commitments to our customers at the TTC and the whole focus is about minimizing that disruption on the customers,” the spokeswoman said.

The company plans to return to court in a third attempt to seek an injunction against striking workers interfering with production efforts. Two previous rulings have resulted in court orders enforcing picket line rules, but not an injunction.