From July 27 to Oct. 25, 700 aerospace workers courageously held 24/7 picket lines at their Downsview facility in the north end of Toronto to fight back against layoffs and the bosses’ attempts to move production out of province. The workers stopped scabs from flying in to take jets out of the facility. They defied court injunctions against their democratic right to strike. But by Oct. 25, a deal was struck between Unifor and De Havilland to end production—and end the struggle in defeat. Why did this happen and what went wrong?
For months, the slogan popularized among members by Unifor national president Jerry Dias was “No Dash, No Deal”. In an August rally, in the middle of the strike to keep production at the Downsview facility, Dias said: “This plant is a part of who we all are because I was hired here with 1,500 other people for the Dash 7 program… [T]his is personal because you trusted me… and I’ll be damned if I am going to let you down today.”
In the end, Dias did not manage to fulfill these words.
For those three months, activists and allies joined Unifor locals across the country to attend the picket lines at the Downsview facility. Fightback was there on a regular basis. On the picket lines there were lively conversations about how to fight for working people inside and outside the workplace: discussions around how to connect the labour movement to the defense of the homeless encampments in Toronto; chats about how to build links with other unions, historic examples of successful labour struggles and the current state of the Canadian economy in relation to workers’ rights. Speaking on behalf of our members, we were inspired by how far the workers were willing to go to defend their jobs—not just for themselves and their families, but in their words, “for future generations”.
In August, we went into detail about the heroic struggle of these workers. Despite using their right to strike, they were forced to break through a fence onto the facility to stop the boss from using scabs to undercut them. The Ministry of Labour used this as an excuse to enforce a draconian injunction and use state power to limit the picket lines. However, the workers defied this injunction and kept the lines strong.
The workers were ready and willing to fight. All they needed were leaders with the right tactics to push the struggle to victory.
After weeks, and later months, of waiting for their leaders to escalate the struggle, demoralization started to set in as physical and mental exhaustion became a common complaint. Along with this complaint was frustration that the Unifor head office did not communicate next steps to those at the pickets for over a month, until the very last moment when they announced the defeat.
The announcement of the defeat was also a shock to many on the lines, as the company had used the threat of the facility closure to force concessions since the 1980s.
Negotiations between De Havilland and Unifor primarily centered around the company’s plans to leave its current production location at the Downsview plant, ending production of the Dash 8 aircraft. The final contract covers both Unifor 112 members who work in production and Unifor Local 673 members working in office, technical and professional positions at the plant. According to the Unifor website, the final contract agreed upon only includes:
“…financial compensation, including retirement incentives, restructuring packages, and enhanced severance packages that double the Employment Standards Act minimum. The agreements also include preferential hiring provisions for union members should production of the Dash 8 resume.”
However, the only announcement from the De Havilland bosses around production has been their intention to leave Downsview and sell the land to wealthy condominium developers.
Unifor Local 112 President John Turner admitted: “We know severance doesn’t replace a good-paying job or help pass on highly valuable skills from one generation to the next. That’s why our union will continue advocating for protecting our advanced manufacturing jobs.”
But the best way to protect manufacturing jobs is to win on the picket lines.
Unifor leaders also mistakenly entrusted the Tory government to solve their problems. In August, Dias went as far as to thank Conservative Premier Doug Ford, who shamelessly pretended to care about the workers.
Unsurprisingly, Ford, who represents the wealthiest in Ontario, including De Havilland executives and other billionaires, did nothing to stop the layoffs and closure of the facility.
What also contributed to the defeat, aside from poor tactics, was a poor understanding of economic perspectives. In a statement on the union’s website,, Unifor Local 673 president Maryellen McIlmoyle said: “We know the economy will recover in the future and, when it does, this space will be an important opportunity to rebuild.”
But anyone seriously following the Canadian and global economy knows this is very unlikely in the next period. With inflation on its way up and governments planning to cut back all the money they have spent, the future for the Canadian capitalist economy is one of austerity, job losses and factory closures.
With the fight of De Havilland workers having come to a defeat, it’s important to learn the lessons of what could have made it a successful fight. A strike can be an incredible use of energy and time for workers who have families to think about. Unless it escalates and has a leadership willing to fight for its demands by trusting in the power of its ranks rather than friendly negotiations with billionaires, it will fizzle out.
Another critical mistake Unifor made early on in the negotiations, as we have highlighted before, was that the union allowed 1,500 out of the 2,200 workers to settle. This left the remaining 700 workers isolated. Even after 1,500 workers settled, they could have still been led to walk out in solidarity. There was a decisive separation in what could have been a stronger collective strike and escalation of public support beyond the pickets, by holding a solidarity rally for example.
The 2,200 workers should have been led together. The leaders should have announced that none of them are going back to work unless production stays in Downsview. The leaders should have made calls to unions and non-unionized workers across the city to mobilize around a fight for good unionized jobs. This would have galvanized tens of thousands of workers across the city and province who are already facing the same issues as those at De Havilland.
The next time a picket line goes up, whether it includes 70, 700 or 7,000 workers, a leadership with the correct tactics and economic perspectives must do everything it can to leverage members against the bosses and their puppets in the government and courts. Unifying as many workers as possible in hard picket lines and escalating the strike is the best way to win.
