Locked out Le Journal de Montreal employees have accepted an offer from Quebecor, in what some are reporting as a defeat for unions. Canada’s longest-running media dispute began on Jan. 24, 2009, and triggered a recent legislative review on the use of teleworking strike breakers.  

Uncontent to sit quietly on the picket line, the locked-out employees launched a rival tabloid and daily website, despite being barred from the Quebec government press gallery. Meanwhile, the company seemed unfazed, posting rising profits and placing its top executives on Canada’s Rich 100 list in 2010. The company also announced ‘Fox News North’ and withdrew from Quebec’s voluntary press council in 2010. Not the most cooperative player in the sandbox, Quebecor pulled out of Canadian Press in 2009. Lock-outs are nothing new to the company, which closed the doors on Le Journal de Quebec employers for 14 months in 2007 and 2008.

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