It could be a dry summer for Molson beer drinkers. Jesse Russell reports:

Canadians could soon be experiencing a beer shortage. Workers for Molson Coors Brewing Company in Edmonton Canada are entering their eighth day of a strike. The workers walked off the job after contract negotiations collapsed. 100 workers are off the job and they are now seeking help from transportation unions in slowing the supply of Molson’s coming into the province from outside factories. The Canadian Pacific Railway maintenance staff are already on strike for their own reasons so there is potential that city’s like Toronto and Montreal could also see Molson wells drying up. The workers are represented by the Canadian Auto Workers. The union said the company is trying to reduce wages and pensions to levels that have not been seen since the early 80s.

By Doug Cunningham

UNITE-HERE Canada Director Alex Dagg says a distribution center serving American Eagle Outfitters is violating Canadian labor law in an organizing campaign at the facility in Ontario. So UNITE-HERE is launching a public campaign targeting American Eagle Outfitters in an effort to stop the anti-union actions of National Logistics Services, which bought the distribution center from American Eagle Outfitters.

[Dagg]: “We have gone to almost every single store here in the province of Ontario. There are almost 40 stores here. And we're launching a North American-wide campaign where we will be doing days of action against the AMerican Eagle stores in the next four to five days in more than 20 North American cities."

By Doug Cunningham

Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove says the CAW isn't interested in any "partnership" with billionaire Kirk Kekorian's private equity fund in its bid to buy Chrysler.

[Hargrove]: "Anytime these groups want to offer you a partnership, it's a very junior partnership. And it means you give, you give and you give they get. So we're not interested in a partnership in Canada with Mr. Kekorian."

Hargrove says when financiers like Kekorian make their moves on a company like Chrysler it's essentially a pillaging of the company to the detriment of the workers.

[Hargrove 2]: "They come in, buy as low as they can get and then throw a lot of people out of work, downsize as much as they can, make the organization lean and mean.

When autoworkers in Ontario found out they were going to be denied severance, they sat down on the job. Today they are celebrating a partial victory and looking ahead to the next battle. Jesse Russell has more:

By Jesse Russell

When Canadian Autoworkers at a Collins and Aikmen plant in Scarborough, Ontario found out they were going to be denied severance pay they barricaded the doors and shut down the plant for nearly three days. The result? Automaker Chrysler stepped up and pledged to pay $1.8 million of the $6 million dollars owed. And according to the Canadian Autoworkers Union Collins and Aikmen has pledged to pay $1.4 million.

By Jesse Russell

An increasing number of assaults on bus drivers in Toronto has the union asking members to stop demanding a fare from passengers. The Amalgamated Transit Union represents more than 8,000 employees for the Toronto Transit Commission. The current fare cost for passengers is $2.75 Canadian--roughly $2.45 in U.S. dollars. Bob Kinnear, president of AMTU local 113, said the transportation commissioners have done little to stop the increase of fares and as result has pitted drivers versus passengers:

[Kinnear 1]: The inability of them to secure the proper funding so the public out there wouldn't have to pay the exorbitant amount of fares they are currently paying today.

By Doug Cunningham

A Wal-Mart Tire & Lube store in Surrey, Canada has gone union, voting to join the United Food and Commercial Workers union. It's the second Wal-Mart store in British Columbia to organize and efforts are underway at others, including two storewide campaigns in Quebec. Andy Neufeld of UFCW local 1518 says Wal-Mart workers should take heart that unionization at the world's largest retailer is possible.

[Andy Neufeld]: "We really appreciate the courage it takes to make that call or to have a conversation with somebody from a union, who's interested and then joining the union.

By Jesse Russell

More than 3,800 of the 30,000 North American job cuts announced by General Motors Monday morning will be in Canada. Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove calls the job cuts and closure of two plants "devastating" to Canada and that the reduction in production will soon be felt by Canadian auto parts suppliers:

[Hargrove 1]: This kind of decision of shift reductions and closures in both the US and Canada will have major impact on the automotive parts suppliers.

Hargrove doesn't put all of the blame on the company; instead he saved his biggest criticism for the trade practices of North American governments. He says the free trade agreements have done little to secure jobs for North American workers, while giving an advantage to Asian markets.

By Jesse Russell

On the heels of massive concession demands Delphi has made of workers in the United States... Canadian Auto Worker leadership unanimously voted through an emergency resolution last Friday that reaffirms their position of no-concession bargaining. The CAW sees the potential of the crisis in the United States stretching across the border endangering the entire North American auto parts industry. At the emergency resolution meeting, CAW Council President Ken Lewenza pledged cross border solidarity with their UAW brothers and sisters in the US:

[Lewenza]: Our message to th

An ugly strike against Tyson at Lakeside Packing in Alberta Canada is in its 21st day as 1500 workers struggle to get their first contract. UFCW 401's Tom Hesse.

[Tom Hesse] : "The strike has been ugly. Senior company officials chased the union president down the back roads near the plant, repeatedly hitting his vehicle, driving him off the road. They've all been charged with criminal offenses."

Edil Hassan is a 21 year old striker at Lakeside Packing.

[Edil Hassan] : "They can do whatever they want to do to you, they can say any word that they need to say to you, they can fire you any minute. So it doesn't matter, it's one person rule, dictatorship."

By Jesse Russell

The labor dispute between the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and its workers has officially ended with 88.4 percent of voting members in favor of ratifying a new deal with management. A lockout began on August 15 when the CBC shut out talent and production staff after 15 months of unsuccessful bargaining. The major sticking point was contracting out work - a major issue that was settled when management agreed to cap the amount of contracted work at 9.5 percent of the fulltime staff. Wages will also increase by 12.6 percent between now and 2009.

By Jesse Russell

The Canadian Auto Workers have struck a deal with the Ford Motor Company that could result in the loss of nearly 1100 Canadian jobs. By agreeing to a smaller workforce, the CAW was able to keep wages and benefits as well as get a small pension increase for retirees as well as bonuses for workers opting for early retirement. Most of the jobs will be cut in Windsor, a border city of Detroit. Negotiators noted a drop in Detroit's share of the automarket, down from 71.5 percent in 1996 to 58.2 percent this year.

By Jesse Russell

In Canada, shots have been fired at the Port of Vancouver where more then 1,000 truckers have been on strike for nearly a month. While it is unclear if the gunfire was related to the strike, it is symbolic of the tense relations between the truckers, who are seeking fair compensation in the face of rising fuel costs. More then $75-million is being lost each day.

By Jesse Russell

A two-week strike at the Port of Vancouver will continue, despite attempts at mediation on Wednesday. More than 1,000 drivers represented by the newly formed Vancouver Container Truckers Association are on strike demanding an increase in rates for hauling. Talks broke down with shippers saying the drivers are asking for too much. The shippers say they would be willing to increase rates by 18 percent this year followed by 10 percent next year. They claim the drivers are demanding a hike of nearly 60 percent. The Truckers Association could not be reached for confirmation. The truckers haul everything from grain to electronics and Vancouver is Canada's busiest port.

As a container truck strike enters its fifth day at the Port of Vancouver, the docks are becoming congested. Nearly 1,200 owner-operators walked off the job on Friday almost completely shutting down Canada's busiest port. The drivers, represented by the Vancouver Container Truck Association, are seeking a fuel surcharge to cut back on the impact of rising diesel prices. The Ministry of Transport has refused requests by the Vancouver Port Authority to step in.

Opposition to Wal-Mart's labor practices continue to grow as a group of nuns in Quebec are pressuring the company to improve its public image and allow union organizing. The response of the nuns has sparked a chain reaction through clergy across North America. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has now added its voice to a contingent that plan to urge shareholders at today's meeting in Arkansas to call on the company to ensure fair treatment of its employees. While the nuns support the right of Wal-Mart workers to organize, they are not working with any unions. They told Toronto's Globe and Mail that they are "acting out of concern for human dignity and a workers' right to be treated fairly."

Concerned for their well-being, sixty administrators at a paper mill in the Canadian province of News Brunswick were forced to spend the night at work. Anywhere from 400 to 600 workers are blocking the exits to a mill owned by UPM Miramichi and refusing to let anyone leave. Represented by the Communication Energy and Paperworkers Union, have been on strike since December when the the company announced it was going to close a section of the mill. On Monday, UPM announced the closed section of the mill was going to be torn down. The workers gathered on Tuesdaydefying a injunction that says no more than six picketers can gather at each gate. Up until the announcement they had respected the injunction.

And then there were two. A second Wal-Mart in the Candian province of Quebec has seen a majority of employees signing union cards indicating they wish to be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers. The Saint Hyacinthe store joins a store in Jonquiere, Quebec as the only two unionized Wal-Mart's in the world. Under a ruling by the Quebec Labour Relations Board, both stores were automatically certified because a majority of employees wanted representation. Wal-Mart representatives called the ruling "undemocratic" because a secret ballot wasn't required and employees may have been intimidated into signing.

Nearly 3,800 workers for United Parcel Service in Canada went on strike yesterday. Represented by the Teamsters, the workers are protesting the newest contract offer from the U.S. based package delivery service. The strike does not directly effect deliveries and shipping within the United States. The Independent Pilots Association has announced it will not cross any primary picket lines The pilot's union issued a statement on Monday saying they will not fly into or out of Canada as long as the Teamsters are on strike and the Pilot's issued a statement on monday saying they will not fly into or out of Canadian airspace as long as the Teamsters are on strike. IPA represents close to 2,500 pilots who fly for UPS. The union has been in negotiations with UPS for five months.

The world's only unionized Wal-Mart may soon see it's doors closed. The world's biggest retailer is threatening to close it's store in Jonquiere, Quebec if the employees do not accept it's contract proposal. Wal-Mart has said that delays in contract negotiations are making the store increasingly unprofitable. The United Food and Commercial Worker's union argues that it is the store that caused the delays by trying to usurp the employees decision to unionize. In addition, the company also recently opened a second Wal-Mart less than 30 miles from the Jonquiere store, which could be drawing away some clients. Three other Wal-Mart's in Quebec are currently attempting to unionize.