Windsor Salt says its suspending further negotiations with the union after an alleged assault at the Ojibway mine facility early Thursday morning.
The company says at around midnight three masked individuals armed with baseball bats unlawfully entered the mine facility and brutally ambushed one of Windsor Salt's employees, striking him repeatedly.
Windsor Salt says the victim's injuries are not life threatening and the victim is expected to make a full recovery.
Nearly 250 unionized workers walked off the job February 17 to back contract demands, with Unifor officials saying that contracting out unionized positions and job security were key issues.
The company says it has stayed silent out of respect for the bargaining process, but says after repeated mischaracterizations by the union and others as to the company's intentions at the bargaining table, and in light of the alleged attack, they believe it's time to set the record straight on certain issues.
In a release, Windsor Salt says it's never been their intention to eliminate Union jobs through subcontracting. They say the company's proposals limit the company's use of outside contractors to supplementing the current work force when its Union workers do not have the skills or availability to do certain kinds of work. They say the company's proposals expressly state that Windsor Salt will not use contractors to eliminate Union jobs.
Windsor Salt adds that they have been bargaining in good faith from the start of the process, and their sole goal in bargaining is to operate a safe and competitive business that will continue to provide good, high-paying Union jobs into the future.
Windsor Salt says, until now, they believed they were making slow but steady progress at the bargaining table.
As we reported Thursday morning, bargaining was set to continue between the union and Windsor Salt next week.
Windsor Salt says the company intends to focus on identifying the suspects as well as anyone who acted along with them. The company is offering a $50,000 award for anyone who brings information to the police that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the alleged attackers.
AM800 News has contacted Windsor Police Service and Unifor officials for comment on this story.