Firefighters paint fire trucks black in pension protest
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In Montreal today (Wednesday) fire trucks that were once red suddenly were black. The new paint scheme was part of the latest protest by firefighters protesting pension reform. Thanks to Brigitte O’Driscoll for sending this to STATter911.com.
CJAD:
Municipal workers across the province are staging a series of disruptive actions Wednesday as part of what they’re calling ‘Le Grand Dérangement’ (‘The Big Disruption’).
It’s their latest salvo against Bill 3, the Couillard government’s contentious pension reform legislation.
A couple of fire trucks painted black have been parading around the west end, and firefighters’ union head Ronald Martin — one of the dozens of firefighters suspended for his role in a raucous demonstration at Montreal City Hall on Aug. 18 — says that’s just one of many actions his union has planned for the day.
“You will see…all during the day,” a defiant Martin says.
Could black be the new red for #Montreal fire trucks?? #cptt #GrandDerangement #PressureTactics pic.twitter.com/Li8uAbkoo7
— Cosmo Santamaria (@cosmoBT) November 26, 2014
Some 5,300 municipal employees in 18 cities across Quebec took part in the one-day strike.
Dozens of protesting workers blocked the entrances to Montreal city hall and the city’s finance building as the municipal budget lockup was to begin at 9 a.m. As the one-day strike dubbed “Le Grand Dérangement” began, about two dozen demonstrators blocked the entrance to the Port of Montreal with two small school buses, preventing trucks from entering along Notre-Dame St. E. and Pie-IX Blvd.
Several hundred off-duty firefighters attended protests in Montreal, and fire trucks were painted black to show support for the strikers. Also, some buses and métro stations were plastered with orange protest stickers, and some people got free rides on city buses.
And here’s the fifth fire truck I see… black is the new red #Montreal #cptt #GrandDerangement #PressureTactics pic.twitter.com/T6nx4ALHRw — Cosmo Santamaria (@cosmoBT) November 26, 2014
