Pickets have been planned in a dozen cities across Canada by the Canadian Auto Workers union in an effort to bring attention to a current month-long lockout of 500 workers by Caterpillar Inc., which is seeking dramatic wage cuts. The workers at the firm's subsidiary, Electro-Motive, have been locked out of their jobs since New Year's day after refusing a 50% wage cut. Some who currently earn $35 an hour are being asked to have their salary lowered to $18 an hour under a new collective agreement. According to Canadian Auto Workers, workers are being asked to swallow these pay concessions while the multinational corporation's chief executive officer recently received a $10.5 million pay packet - double what he had got the year before.