By Jim Selby, AFL staff

[Edmonton] Profitable brewery giants Molson and Labatts seem bent on destroying the jobs and livelihoods of the workers at their jointly owned distribution company, BDL.

The one hundred four employees, members of the Retail Wholesale/Canadian Auto Workers (RW/CAW) Local 285 have been locked out since April 4, 2000 after refusing a company demand for wage and benefit rollbacks of up to 38 per cent.

"Now the company has officially announced that it is permanently closing the warehouse," said Local 285 President Brent Potter. "Even though the union was prepared to continue negotiating and to amend its bargaining position, the company said it simply isn’t interested in coming to an agreement."

BDL is bringing its aggressive anti-worker stance to the severance negotiations – where the employer has absolutely refused to consider a severance package similar to one negotiated in Ontario.

The union is continuing to leaflet cold beer stores – asking customers not to buy Labatts’ or Molson’s products.

Alberta Federation of Labour President Audrey Cormack discussed the BDL lock-out Human Resources and Employment Minister Clint Dunford. "Mr. Dunford insisted that the government would not get involved with the dispute," said Cormack.

"The Federation of Labour pointed out that BDL was essentially avoiding its lawful union obligations by contracting out the work – something we consider as a simple and illegal spin-off," said Cormack. However, the Minister refused to even consider a disputes inquiry board or any other of the many remedies the government seems quick to use when employers demand action."

Meanwhile, the workers are still waiting for a decision about whether or not they can legally picket the MTE warehouse that has taken their work and their jobs.