Violence feared as strike looms at Alberta meatpackers

[CHIMO]

Violence feared as strike looms at Alberta meatpackers
Last Updated Tue, 11 Oct 2005 18:55:19 EDT
CBC News

An impending strike at a meatpacking plant in southern Alberta has raised concerns about violence, spurring the RCMP to bring in a labour policing expert.

More than 1,500 workers plan to walk off the job Wednesday at the Lakeside Packers plant in Brooks, located about 160 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

Many people in the city are concerned that the racially charged atmosphere at the plant could turn any labour dispute violent.

About 60 per cent of the employees at the town's biggest employer are immigrants, many from Sudan. Some people believe locally-born workers would report for work in the event of a strike, while the new Canadians remain on the picket line.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/10/11/alberta_strike_051011.html