Demonstrators waved union flags and pounded drums as they descended on a London, Ont. park Saturday to protest the ongoing lockout at the city's Caterpillar locomotive plant.
About 500 workers at the American heavy-equipment manufacturer's Electro-Motive plant have been locked out for three weeks.
Organizers estimate thousands of protesters attended the rally, which started at 11 a.m. in Victoria Park, across from London City Hall.
Paul Moist, head of Canada's largest union, was on hand to reiterate the purpose of the demonstration.
"We stand here today supporting good jobs," said Moist, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Workers at the plant were locked out after rejecting a contract offer that would have cut benefits and slashed wages by 50 per cent, while the company is reporting record profits.
Ken Lewenza, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, maintains that corporate greed is at the heart of the Electro-Motive dispute.
Demonstrators have directed the bulk of their frustration at Caterpillar Inc., which owns Electro-Motive through its Progress Rail subsidiary.
Speaking from a makeshift stage, Lewenza called upon Canada's public and private sector workers to stand together.
"Workers together will never be defeated. Stand strong," the applauding crowd chanted at one point.
London Mayor Joe Fontana also attended the rally, where he urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to pay attention to the city, The London Free Press reported.
Harper has yet to comment on the dispute, drawing criticism from union heads and federal NDP leader Nycole Turmel.
For its part, Caterpillar and its subsidiaries have also been tight-lipped since the lockout began.
An Electro-Motive spokesperson refused a request for comment from CTVNews.ca on Saturday.
Speculation about the future of Electro-Motive's London plant intensified last October when Progress Rail opened a plant in Indiana, an action that prompted questions about whether the company was trying to relocate to the United States to take advantage of President Barack Obama's "Buy America" legislation.
"People are fed up with profit-rich foreign corporations destroying Canadian jobs, our economy and our communities," said Ontario Federation of Labour president Syd Ryan in the media release.
"For workers across the province, Caterpillar has become the poster child of the greedy one per cent," he said.
Ontario Premier Dalton Guinty has offered to provide mediation to bring both sides of the dispute to the table.
With files from CTVNews.ca's John Size
