‘I hope they hurt’: Unifor irate over early idling of Crown Royal factory in Amherstburg, Ont.

Amherstburg Diageo workers were sent home earlier than expected on Wednesday ahead of the plant’s closure.

Unifor is upset over the early idling of the Crown Royal factory in Amherstburg, Ont.

The workforce of 100 people was expecting to work until Saturday, but they were all sent home mid-day Wednesday.

According to the union, the members will be paid for the missed worked days, but Local 200 President John D’Agnolo says they’ve been denied a chance for a “final goodbye”.

“Usually they (employers) would give us the heads up ahead of time,” D’Agnolo said Wednesday in an interview with CTV News.

He said the union leadership was working on how they would commemorate the last shift before their members walked away from the factory; many of them have worked for Diageo for decades.

“I have this suspicion that they (Diageo) didn’t want all the press there as the workers are leaving the plant. Diageo doesn’t want to see all the press, watching the workers leave and saying they no longer have jobs,” D’Agnolo opined.

“It’s devastating.”

CTV News has reached out to Diageo for comment but has yet to receive a response.

$23 million deal illogical

On Feb. 13, Ontario announced it had inked a $23 million deal with the company.

The deal, in part, calls for Crown Royal and all Diageo products to stay on LCBO shelves in exchange for $1 million invested in Amherstburg for “economic development” and “community projects.”

The company also agreed to go into business with a spirit maker in Eastern Ontario, along with contracts with “co-manufacturers” in Scarborough and Toronto.

“They backdoored us,” D’Agnolo said Wednesday.

“It’s so disappointing that this company would do that.”

D’Agnolo said the deal did not save the Amherstburg factory from closing, nor does it offer direct assistance to the people who lost their jobs today.

“When you see money is going to FIFA as part of the agreement, instead of going to the workers that won’t be able to feed their families or take care of their car payments or their house payments? There’s no logic to this,” he said.

The deal calls for a $5 million investment in “Ontario-based marketing and promotion”.

D’Agnolo said Ontario Premier Doug Ford should have made good on his threat to pull Diageo products off LCBO shelves.

“It made no sense to me to wait till the plant closed and all the workers were out of a job,” D’Agnolo said.

Plant Chairperson Doug Benekritis was scheduled to update the union Wednesday on their plans to commemorate the plants closure, but D’Agnolo told him to be with his members.

“It’s so sad that this is happening to that community that is wrapped their arms around that company,” D’Agnolo said.

“I’m pissed off. I really am.”

‘I hope they hurt’

While not calling for a boycott, D’Agnolo said he hopes Diageo “feels some pain” for shifting production out of Amherstburg.

“‘Don’t worry we’ve kept product in Canada with your Canadian whiskey. Don’t worry.’ That’s their statement. It’s very frustrating,” D’Agnolo said.

At the time of the announcement, Diageo said they were maintaining a “significant footprint” in Canada, with bottling and distilling to continue in Manitoba and Quebec.

That’s of little comfort Wednesday to workers in Amherstburg.

“I hope they hurt,” D’Agnolo said.

“It wasn’t right to do this.”

• READ ALSO: $23M deal reached to keep Crown Royal on LCBO shelves