TORONTO - The Canadian Auto Workers union says it's taking a campaign against heavy equipment giant Caterpillar to a national level to protest a 50 per cent wage cut and other concessions being demanded of its members at a locomotive factory in southwestern Ontario.

The union said Thursday it would set up pickets in a dozen cities across Canada to bring attention to the company lockout of nearly 500 employees at the construction equipment giant's Electro-Motive subsidiary in London, Ont.

The CAW's campaign, which follows several weeks of local protests and calls for political intervention, coincided with Caterpillar's announcement Thursday it had record high sales and a profit of nearly US$5 billion last year.

The union said it believes the company is being greedy and immoral given that Caterpillar chief executive Doug Oberhelman received $10.5 million in pay last year, twice what he got the year earlier.

"At a time when inequality is rapidly growing it's vital that we take a stand with this company," CAW national president Ken Lewenza said in a statement.

"Company claims that the workforce is too expensive simply don't add up,"

"This is all about greed," says Bob Scott, union plant chair at Electro-Motive. "How are workers supposed to go back to earning wages last paid nearly 25 years ago, while the company is richer than ever?"

Among the cities where the CAW will hold pickets are St. John's, N.L., Dartmouth near Halifax, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.

There are also demonstrations planned in several Ontario cities including Windsor, St. Catharines, Sudbury and the Toronto area community of Concord.

At Caterpillar headquarters in Peoria, Ill., the company announced its fourth-quarter profit jumped 60 per cent, boosted by a steep increase in global demand for its products.

Caterpillar's profit for all of 2011, expressed in U.S. dollars, was $4.9 billion, up 83 per cent from $2.7 billion in 2010. Profit per share was $7.40, up 78 per cent. Revenue was a record $60.1 billion, up 41 per cent from 2010.

It also said 2012 is shaping up for another year of growth. It estimates sales and revenue will be in a range of $68 billion to $72 billion for the year. Profit per share is expected to be about $9.25.