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20 October, 2026Forty-two Unifor Local 12 members at Saint-Gobain’s sandpaper factory in Plattsville, Canada, have been on strike since 24 July over pensions. Workers say the company has not moved from its offer.
Laura Gillespie has worked at the plant for 30 years. “I felt stupid, because I thought they might have cared about us a little bit,” she says. “But this shows me they really don’t care about us at all. We’re just numbers to them.”
The funds are there
Laura Gillespie says workers voted to strike because the company would not share the pension fund’s strength. “We know the funds are there for our pension and the company just wasn’t willing to give us a fair increase,” she says.
Unifor, an IndustriALL affiliate, asked for a CA$10 (US$7) increase in the monthly pension multiplier, the amount of pension earned for each year of service. The company offered CA$3 (US$2). “They didn’t even come up. It was just no, CA$3, that’s it,” she says.
Unifor national president Lana Payne says the plan holds $1.71 in assets for every dollar owed to members.
“That strong financial position strengthens our case for meaningful benefit improvements,”
she says.
The proposal covers workers retiring under the next agreement, not current retirees.
Living on savings
Just before the strike, Laura Gillespie received money from her late father’s estate. She planned to buy a car but is using it to get by.
“I’ve asked my mortgage lender to defer some of my payments until I get back to work. It’s getting very tight,”
she says.
Many colleagues are looking for other work. Laura Gillespie has applied for part-time work with no luck.
Replacement workers
Replacement workers arrive by bus every morning. “They’re very smug. They laugh at us,” Laura Gillespie says. “I tell them: you’re taking food off my kids’ table.”
Closer than ever
The picket line runs round the clock and has brought together colleagues who rarely met because of different shifts, Laura Gillespie says. The union has provided food, tents, heaters and gift cards.
“It’s very comforting to know that we really are all brothers and sisters,” she says of messages of support from around the world.
Lana Payne has a message for workers abroad. “While pension arrangements differ between countries, we share a common goal, which is fair compensation for our work and security in retirement,” she says.
“These workers are not asking for the impossible. They want a fair share of a pension plan that is in good financial health,”
says IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie. “Their courage inspires workers across our global union and we will keep backing them.”
We can’t cave now
Laura Gillespie’s message to the company:
“We’re not going to back down. You think we’re small and we are. But we’re mighty. Get talking and get us back to work.”
To her colleagues: “We’ve come this far. We can’t cave now. We have to stand together.”