United Steelworkers Win Eight-Week Strike at Magellan Aerospace

RENFREW, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 300 members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 4820 have voted to end an eight-week strike against global company Magellan Aerospace at its foundry near Renfrew, Ont., an hour west of Ottawa.

A collective agreement between the union and Mississauga-based Magellan includes wage increases of 4.6% over three years, pension and benefit improvements, as well as better working conditions including hours-of-work provisions and other protections.

“Magellan is a global company, whose skilled workforce produces complex specialty products for aerospace applications worldwide,” said USW Ontario Director Marty Warren.

“Our members fought for the respect they deserve and have won a contract that recognizes their ongoing contribution to the company and the community. Magellan is a major economic player in the Ottawa Valley and Ontario as a whole,” Warren said.

“Daring to fight for our rights during a pandemic was both bold and brave,” said USW Local 4820 President Leonard Godin.

“There is real power in the union. The support it provides for workers means we are able to stand up and wage a campaign like this in a community that relies on our members’ work to sustain our families and the local economy. I am proud of what we were able to achieve since our previous collective agreement expired in March,” Godin said.

Magellan workers at the Renfrew facility produce magnesium and aluminum castings.