TORONTO (Dec. 21, 2011)—The United Steelworkers national director for Canada has sent a letter to suppliers and creditors of Infinity Rubber Technology Group Inc. about the custom mixer transferring the land on which it operates its plant to a holding company.
In his letter to various rubber, carbon black and other suppliers, Ken Neumann claimed that the transfer of the land on the west end of Toronto to BRI Holdings Inc. could impact the firm's ability to pay its bills. USW members representing workers at the plant have been on strike since December 2009.
The directors of BRI are the CEO, chief financial officer and plant manager of Infinity Rubber, according to the USW.
“We think it's important that Infinity's suppliers know about this land transfer,” Neumann said in a statement. “The fact that they removed a key asset out of the company is of significant concern to us and may be of concern to other stakeholders as well.”
Infinity Rubber is the successor company to Biltrite Industries. In July 2009 a group of investors and Biltrite executives led by Biltrite CEO James Chung bought the Toronto operation out of bankruptcy and renamed it Infinity Rubber Technology.
Chung declined comment.
The strike started Dec. 2, 2009, after management demanded workers accept a $5 an hour pay cut and pay for 50 percent of their group insurance benefits.