'Stand up, fight back': Woodward employees rally against reflagged vessels

About a dozen employees rallied in Lewisporte Tuesday in protest of WoodwardCoastal Shipping laying off 104 local workers to hire low-wage foreign employees.

TheSeafarers' International Union of Canada saidthe company is focused on cutting costs at the expenseof local jobs.

• Foreign crews replace 104 Canadians at Woodward Coastal Shipping, union says

"Our executive board met with the company multiple times trying to work on different leave days systems to reduce travel costs," said Josh Sanders, withthe union.

"We tried to work with the company. We met with them multiple times and the company didn't want to hear it."

Workers chanted "stand up, fight back," at the rally in front of theStenFjord, one of the vessels being reflagged to allow the company to replace the Canadian crew with foreign workers.

Multiple employees told CBC News they found out they were being laid off after they saw a post on Facebook.

• 'Heartless': Foreign workers to replace Canadian crews aboard local shipping company tankers

Some were just days away from their next 45-day term on a WoodwardCoastal Shipping vessel when they found out they were being replaced.

Willimpact local economy, too, says union

Sanders said most were handed lay off notices in theweeks before Christmas.

"This will also impact the local economy because our guys aren't going to be spending their money on goods and services in the area," said Sanders.

The majority of the 104 laid off employees live in central Newfoundland, Sanders said, with others working out of St. John's and the west coast of Newfoundland.

Woodward Coastal Shipping did not immediately respond to a CBC News request for comment.