“We are here for as long as it takes!”

“We are here for as long as it takes!” Those words were from Andy Mitchell Saturday morning.

Early this morning, members of Unifor Local 103 entered the North Bay Motor Coach Repair Centre to make a clear statement that the work belongs to its members.

Standing on the side of Wallace Road, the president of Unifor Local 103 explains the current situation with Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

"Right now, we own that building. We got in and now Unifor has taken over that building. No buses will be coming in or leaving."

Mitchell says the ONTC broke the law when they locked out the 200 members that work in the rail and motor coach divisions.

“It was illegal. Now, we will be securing the protest line here 24/7 unless the company gets an injunction to get rid of us."

The Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled this week that the ONTC had illegally locked out the workers on Remembrance Day. The union says the company had already arranged to bring in replacement workers.

Mitchell added that Saturday's action at the Motor Coach Repair Centre is designed to protect local jobs.

"They had us the locked out once before for 88 days. They had contractors coming in for $120 an hour to do our work. We are not going to let that happen again. "

Mitchell has worked for Ontario Northland for 34 years and has been president of Unifor Local 103 for about eight months. "What the company is trying to do is to create something like an MTO (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario). They would have managers overseeing contracts. More and more of our work is going to be contracted out. They'll lay everybody off and bring in contractors. That is their offer on the table."

350 ONTC employees who work in clerical, on-board service, stores, shops and the Cochrane Station Inn across Northern Ontario are represented by Unifor Local 103.