CAMPAIGN Bombardier


‘NEVER GIVE UP’


Unite’s tireless fight sees Bombardier tariffs-threat quashed


Tireless union campaigning has paid off, as Unite and its Bombardier members celebrated a massive victory at the end of January after US trade authorities ruled against crippling tariffs on imports of the company’s C-Series jet that would have risked thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland.


The US International Trade Commission rejected Bombardier rival Boeing’s complaint in January which claimed that Bombardier had benefited from illegal subsidies from the Canadian and UK governments.


The final ruling follows previous decisions late last year by the US Department of Commerce to slap nearly 300 per cent tariffs on imports of the C-Series, whose wings are manufactured in Northern Ireland. Production of the wings directly employs about 1,000 workers and a further 3,500 are employed by Bombardier in Northern Ireland.


Despite the initial rulings, Unite members and reps piled on the pressure on politicians here in the UK, in Brussels and across the pond and pressed their case that Boeing’s complaint was baseless and amounted to corporate bullying.


The USITC’s final decision was to rule whether or not Boeing had been harmed by Bombardier’s sale of its C-Series to American airliner Delta.


In what many considered a surprise decision, the independent government trade body unanimously voted 4 to 0 that Boeing had not been harmed and so overturned the tariffs.


The USITC agreed with Bombardier’s argument that the C-Series never posed a threat to Boeing because the US aerospace company does not produce planes similar to Bombardier’s C-Series – it never put in a bid for the Delta order to begin with.


Blow to Trump The decision is seen as a blow to the Trump administration’s nationalistic ‘America First’ rhetoric – Bombardier called it “a victory for innovation, competition, and the rule of law.”


Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner hailed Friday’s decision and congratulated Unite members for never giving up.


“It is a right and just decision which is in


no small part down to the tireless campaign by Unite members and shop stewards,” he said.


“Unite left no stone unturned in our campaign to protect jobs in Bombardier and the supply chain across the UK,” Turner added. “When the going got tough Unite did not throw the towel in – our members and shop stewards


12 uniteWORKS Spring 2018


redoubled their efforts in bringing pressure to bear on politicians in Washington, Westminster, Brussels and Northern Ireland.”


Unite regional officer Susan Fitzgerald agreed – and highlighted the remarkable victory won by workers even in the absence of support from the UK government. The decision, she said, “shows the power of our union and of a mobilised workforce.


“When the story is told of this dispute it will be one of how, in the absence of a genuine effort by politicians and the UK government, workers themselves had to take the fight on,” she noted.


Unite has long criticised the UK government for standing on the side lines as the trade dispute unravelled.


Whereas Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau took decisive action and cancelled a multi-billion dollar order of F-18 fighter jets from Boeing – vowing to not work “with a company that is trying to sue us, eliminate tens of thousands of jobs and put our companies out of business” – UK prime minister Theresa May reportedly only made two phone calls to US President Donald Trump.


Unite shop steward Gaye Partridge said the news of the ruling was “amazing” and that the workforce was “elated.”


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