Jagmeet Singh joins Kal Tire protest [Video]

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has thrown his weight behind a campaign fighting for better work rights for Kal Tire employees, joining a picket line of workers in Burnaby Saturday morning.

The company has locked out members at several branches across the Lower Mainland after the union refused concessions it was seeking. Singh joined the protest at the Grimmer Street location.

“We’re here to send a clear message. These workers are fighting for fairness. We have their back every step of the way,” said Singh in front of a crowd of more than a dozen workers Saturday.

The union members, donning rain jackets and placards bearing “Machinist Union Locked Out” messages, had gathered to demand fair wages and better treatment of employees of the B.C. tire business.

According to a release from the Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers issued Friday, Kal Tire had proposed a two-tiered wage schedule at seven …