Steelworkers
call on Mexican government to peacefully resolve dispute
TORONTO/BURNABY, Aug. 18
/CNW/ - The United Steelworkers (USW) union is calling
on the Mexican government to remove federal and state
police forces from the Grupo
Mexico mine installations in Cananea, Sonora
state.
On
August 11 the National
Union of Mining, Metallurgical, Steel and Allied Workers
of Mexico (Los Mineros)
won a constitutional appeal before the Ninth District
Judge in the State of Sonora. The judge ruled a strike
the union began on July 30, 2007
is still in existence even though police forcibly and
illegally removed the strikers on
June 6, 2010.
The Mexican
Attorney General's office and the Federal Secretary of
Public Security have admitted that police, numbering
over 3,000, were deployed to inspect the mine
installations under a ministerial order - not to
forcibly remove strikers. Since the mine inspection had
already been completed, the police had no legal grounds
to enter the facilities.
In false
statements before a federal constitutional appeals
judge, both the Attorney General and Federal Secretary
of Public Security denied that police occupied the mine
on June 6 - the date of
the workers' forced eviction - even though there is
overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The
August 11 decision grants
Los Mineros a temporary injunction while a date is set
for a hearing on a permanent injunction.
USW National
Director for CanadaKen Neumann called on
Mexican President Felipe
Calderon to assist a peaceful resolution of the
strike, which is mainly over issues of health and
safety.
"Grupo
Mexico has little
respect for the welfare of its workers in Cananea,
whether they are Los Mineros members or replacement
workers," said Neumann.
Since
June 6 at least one
replacement worker has been killed in Cananea. Over 25
have been injured, some seriously.
Police have
helped replacement workers operate the facilities while
Grupo Mexico has
announced it will expand operations.
USW Western
Canada Director
Stephen Hunt says that
Grupo Mexico's plans are premature.
"The police
attacked the miners with clubs, tear gas and helicopters
on June 6," says Hunt. "Now Los Mineros members are
asking them to peacefully leave."
Currently
over 800 Los Mineros members and community supporters
are before the installations' main gates as they
peacefully wait for police to leave the premises.
Help your Union Brothers and Sisters:
UPS is a company many of you will know. And in many countries, it recognizes
unions and bargains with them.
But not in Turkey, where management is fiercely resisting a union organizing
drive. Things have gotten so bad that in one city, a local manager
pulled out a gun and started shooting.
The union in Turkey and its global union federation, the ITF, have issued a
call for an online protest campaign. It will take you less than 60 seconds to
send off your message - please do so today.
Meanwhile in Mexico, unions have won what might turn out to be a victory.
Activists from the electrical workers union ended their hunger strike when the
government finally agreed to negotiate with them.
But they're not stopping there -- they've decided to show solidarity with the
three-year old strike by miners in Cananea. These are huge
struggles -- 44,000 electrical workers, 1,200 miners on strike.
Is your union using Facebook to organize and campaign? It's a great tool --
or is it? In this week's podcast on Labour and Technology, I talk about
five alternatives to Facebook that you should consider. You can
listen to
the podcast here or
subscribe through iTunes.
Have a great weekend.
Eric Lee
USW
Boosts Launch of American-made Sylvania
Super Saver Halogen Light Bulbs
June 03, 2010
New Sylvania Super Saver halogen light bulbs made
with glass from a USW-represented plant in Wellsboro, Pa.
have been successfully launched at one of the nation’s largest home improvement
centers.
Initial sales at Lowe’s home improvements stores
have exceeded expectations, said Barry Mortimer, a member of Local 1001 in
Wellsboro and the local’s Rapid Response coordinator.
“I honestly believe it was totally Steelworker
driven. Our plant manager, Matt Gontarz, has thanked us many times for our
involvement,” Mortimer said.
The familiar incandescent light bulb is being
phased out as a result of new federal regulations designed to increase energy
efficiency.
As a result, some major manufacturers are closing
production capacity in the United States
and producing more efficient bulbs in China
and other countries.
Osram Sylvania, however, has decided to
manufacture its Sylvania Super Saver halogen bulbs at existing facilities in the United States,
including the USW plant in Wellsboro.
Mortimer said the company confirmed 22,000 units
were sold in the first week of the May product launch at Lowe’s with little
corporate advertising behind it.
Lowe’s is considering showcasing the bulbs in end
of aisle displays in all of its stores, a marketing strategy that should
increase sales, Mortimer said.
The USW has promoted the bulb through its Rapid
Response network, the Alliance for American Manufacturing and in
mailings and other publications including USW@Work.
“The success of this lamp in my opinion can be
contributed to all our union Brothers and Sisters who have worked very hard to
get the word out about this union-made product,’’ Mortimer said.
“I would like to take this opportunity, on the
behalf of the Brothers and Sisters of Local 1001, to thank those who have
diligently made a point to buy American-made products. Thank you for all of your
help.”
The new Sylvania Super Saver halogen bulbs can be
produced on existing equipment and do not have some of the potential health
hazards of its main competition, compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs that are
largely made in China with toxic mercury as a key
ingredient.
The Super Saver halogen bulb, if it continues to
sell well, should support USW jobs at Wellsboro as the traditional incandescent
bulb is taken off the market over the next few years.
Wellsboro currently produces the envelope or outer
glass portion of light bulbs that are assembled at Osram-Sylvania’s plant in
Saint Mary’s, Pa.
In addition to Lowe’s, the Sylvania Super Saver
can be purchased in Menards and many BJ’s Wholesale Club stores in the Midwest. They can also be purchased on line at:
http://www.sylvaniaonlinestore.com
Unions Denounce President Felipe
Calderon’s Repression of Workers Rights
Workers from the United Steelworkers (USW) gathered
in front of the Mexican Embassy at 1911 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW on May 19 to protest Mexican President Felipe
Calderon’s visit to Washington and, to condemn his
government’s repression of democratic labor unions in
Mexico. .
The USW and the AFL-CIO have denounced the Mexican
government’s four-year long campaign to destroy the
independent mineworkers’ union known as Los Mineros.
Members of Los Mineros have been on strike since July
2007 at the Cananea mine in Northern Mexico over health
and safety and other contract violations.
Grupo Mexico, the mining giant which operates
Cananea, and the Mexican government have continuously
tried to end the strike and crush the union.
USW President Leo W. Gerard states: “We call on the
Mexican Government to withdraw its threat to use
military force to dislodge the strikers and to negotiate
with the Los Mineros to peacefully resolve this
conflict."
Mexico has threatened and jailed union leaders,
illegally frozen union bank accounts and failed to
investigate or prosecute assassinations of union
members. On February 11, a federal court gave Grupo
Mexico permission to fire the striking workers and
terminate the labor agreement. The government has
threatened to use armed force to gain control of
Cananea.
The Los Mineros strikers are resolved to continue
occupying the mine until a fair labor agreement is
reached. Los Mineros is one of the strongest and most
democratic trade unions in Mexico. In a recent
statement, The AFL-CIO Executive Council said: “We call
on the Obama administration and Congressional leadership
to take immediate and decisive steps to hold the Mexican
government accountable for its systematic violations of
fundamental worker rights and its effort to dismantle
independent unions. We also request our Government to
urge the Mexican authorities to peacefully resolve the
situation in Cananea and to completely refrain from the
use of military or police force.”
Steelworkers
and Dow Assist the Boy Scouts of America
- District 2
Tensions have eased near two
Vale Inco sites. A showdown between protesters and police was expected early
yesterday, but deputy police chief Al Lekun says a peaceful solution was reached
and blockades were removed. Striking United Steelworkers members and their
supporters had been blocking the entrances to two mine sites since last Friday,
after the collapse of talks. A judge ruled Tuesday that the blockades had to be
removed, but the strikers refused to leave and instead increased the number of
people on the lines.
Steelworkers Highlight Vale at the Money Show in
Las Vegas
Steelworkers from USW Local 675 put on a show of
their own this week in Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas –
the darker side of Vale. Elena Negrete and Mario
Giron took the time at the “Money Show” to hand out
pamphlets to visitors and set them near exhibits
where they might attract attention.
The flyers outlined the background of Vale, how
they treated their workers and the present situation
with Steelworkers at USW Local 6500 in Sudbury,
Ontario, who have been out of work for ten months.
The slogan on the pamphlet asks Vale to negotiate in
good faith. Money Show security were stumped as to
who were distributing the flyers and how they kept
appearing each day on exhibits.
At one point, Theo Penedo, an investor relations
officer with Vale, discovered a pamphlet on his
booth. Witnesses said that he took time to read a
flyer but then his calm demeanor changed as he
ripped it into pieces.
"These blockades are in direct contravention of the orders made by this
court," the judge wrote.
The order was made in the Superior Court Justice after Vale Inco took United
Steelworkers Local 6500 to court.
Vale was seeking to have an earlier injunction won by Vale against the union
upheld.
Local union president John Fera visited Clarabelle line after the sheriff and
police officer read protesters the order by the judge.
Several protesters say they will go to jail rather than end their protest,
acting on their right under Charter of Rights and Freedom to assemble
peacefully.
Protesters were debating the merit of women going first if police were called to
take away people to jail.
Protesters have heard police might take action at 4 p.m
Star reporters and photographers are at Coleman and Clarabelle. They said
several hundreds protesters remain on the scene, with little police presence so
far.
Vale spokesman Steve Ball told Reuters that milling at Clarabelle and at the
adjoining smelter has been unaffected by the blockades so far.
"(At) Clarabelle right now we're working through remaining inventory, so still
milling, but we (would) be running short very soon, within a week," he said.
Vale's refinery in Port Colborne, Ontario, has also been shut due to the
10-month long walkout, while the company's Voisey's Bay mine in Eastern Canada
has been hit by a separate strike that began Aug. 1.
The operations combined would normally produce about 10 percent of the world's
nickel, as well as significant amounts of copper and precious metals.
Vale has not disclosed production levels during the strike, although it says its
smelter is operating at around 50 percent capacity.
"Bring Las Vegas Wages to Laughlin NOW"
April 28, 2010 from the USW News Breaks
After two years of attempting to negotiate a
contract, workers from the Aquarius Casino, gathered
in mid-April at the Stratosphere, a Las Vegas casino
owned by the same company (ACEP), to demand a
contract. This event kicked off the 100 mile march
to Laughlin: "Bring Las Vegas Wages to Laughlin
NOW!"
The multi-day event was sponsored by United
Steelworkers (USW) Local 675.
CHESTER
— After 40 days of negotiations, hundreds of employees at one of Delaware
County’s major employers ratified a five-year contract Monday night that secured
their jobs and granted them annual wage increases while instilling measures to
make it more cost effective comparative to the company’s other southern
location, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Employees of the Chester operations of Kimberly-Clark Corp. gathered at the
United Steelworkers hall on Walsh Street early this week and voted in favor of
the agreement representing 723 workers spanning distribution, manufacturing and
co-generation departments. The facility is widely known for its production of
Scott household paper products, but it also has a co-generation steam and
electricity plant on-site.
While declining to provide the vote ratio, Carl Jones, the United Steelworkers
chief negotiator, said the vote was substantial in favor of ratification.
“We have a five-year agreement that ensures the viability of the Chester plant
and the jobs there for the next five years,” he said. “Now, that’s very
important.”
Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark representatives reserved their comment to a
statement.
“While confirming that the agreement passed, at this time all we can say
additionally is that the union and management are still in the process of
finalizing the agreement for ratification and signatures,” Stephanie Anderson
Forest, company Senior Manager-Corporate Media Relations, wrote in an e-mail.
“That process can take up to 30 days.”
Jones said parts of the bargaining process were anything but amicable.
“There (were) some very distasteful issues,” he said. “They had to be
cost-competitive with a plant in Mobile, Ala., that’s making the same product.
That’s why it took 40 days to negotiate it.”
Jones explained that the eight-member negotiating committee had to evaluate
where cost savings could be made in their applicable departments as being as
cost effective as the Alabama plant was an issue from the beginning.
“Today, (Kimberly-Clark is) going to manufacture where they can make it
cheaper,” he said. “It doesn’t make it easier for the members, but that’s what
we’re up against. They are a company that will tell you they’re going to produce
a product where they can make it the cheapest and most effective.”
Some of the cost savings were realized through natural attrition.
“People will retire, we’ll operate with less people, not a lot,” Jones said. “I
don’t think it will be any drastic change. They’re operating on a lean basis
right now. I think there will be some attrition cuts, but nobody will be laid
off.”
In addition, the union members who are team leaders at the plant will return to
their workplace to determine where further efficiencies can be made, Jones said.
If certain goals are met, the members stand to gain cash bonuses, on top of the
signing bonuses they received for ratifying the contract.
Another issue of contention was a pension freeze that would become effective in
2015 and be replaced by a 401(k) plan.
“The biggest problem that we had was that there is a mandate … that the pension
plan was going to be frozen and the employees would go to a 401(k) plan,” the
union negotiator said.
Jones added that members would be eligible for two types of contributions to the
401(k) — one that they would make themselves and another which would serve as a
performance bonus if certain earnings per share were reached.
He said Kimberly-Clark officials told the union they had reached these goals for
18 quarters in a row.
“The pension freeze — obviously, the international couldn’t agree with it — it’s
there,” Jones said. “Certainly, we’re disappointed with the offer. Only thing
is, it’s a democracy out there.”
Other terms of the contract include 2 percent annual raises on salaries that
range between $15.30 and $37.01 an hour while the health care benefits remained
the same, Jones said.
While opposed to the pension freeze, Jones said he understood why the majority
of union members approved the contract.
“They’re manufacturing jobs and there’s not a lot of them out there today,” he
said. “People made a decision. I respect that. Life goes on.”
Delaware County Council Chairman Jack J. Whelan, who was not involved in the
contract negotiations but was kept apprised of the situation, expressed
satisfaction that both sides were able to come to an agreement.
“Certainly, we work closely with the unions in the region and the fact that they
ratified their contract is a great relief and benefit to Delaware County,”
Whelan said. “The fact that Kimberly-Clark has ratified it is always beneficial
to the work force in Delaware County.”
Whelan said the ratification was particularly favorable for the employees and
their families, especially as the vote secures the Chester facility and does not
require the families to move.
In addition, he said in contrast to having the company relocate South,
Kimberly-Clark’s riverfront facility is one part of the revitalization of the
city from the Crozer-Chester Medical Center/Widener University corridor to the
Keystone Innovation Zone and the improvements along the river.
“We’re hoping they do stay,” Whelan said. “There’s a lot of great things
happening in the city even beyond the waterfront.”
Union
dubs May 'anti-scab month'
Apr 27, 2010
By: Heidi Ulrichsen -
Sudbury Northern Life Staff - Sudbury, ON, Canada
Steelworkers head
to Queen's Park Thursday for protest
United Steelworkers Local 6500, which has been on
strike against Vale Inco for nine and
a half months, is planning a number of protests over
the next month to demand legislation to ban
replacement workers.
The first in the series of these protests is a
rally scheduled to take place April 29 at 2 p.m. at
Queen's Park in Toronto.
Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas announced last
week she will introduce a private member's bill in
the legislature on April 29 that would, if passed,
ban replacement workers in the province.
Bernie Arseneau, a striking Steelworker who is
helping to organize the event, said Local 6500 will
send a “couple bus loads” of strikers to the rally,
or about 100 people. Strikers from Port Colborne are
also expected to attend the rally.
May will also be declared “anti-scab month” by
the union, with a number of activities and protests
organized around this theme, Arseneau said.
According to a schedule of events provided by
Arseneau, on May 1, Local 6500 will send a bus to
Hamilton to protest the loss of manufacturing jobs
at U.S. Steel.
On May 2, the union will officially announce that
May is “anti-scab month” at their Brady Street hall.
On May 8, the strikers will distribute leaflets
in the Sudbury area (corresponding to Sudbury MPP
Rick Bartolucci's riding) about the problems
associated with the use of replacement workers.
On May 12, they will attend a city council
meeting to ask for an anti-replacement worker bylaw
to be passed.
On May 19, two busloads of strikers are expected
to attend a rally in Sault Ste. Marie. The rally
will focus on saving northern jobs and northern
communities.
On May 20, the strikers will hold a protest
outside of Bartolucci's office “to deliver a message
regarding the use of scabs in our community and the
lack of government involvement.”
On May 26, the Steelworkers will hold a “Camping
on the Hill” protest in Ottawa. The protesters will
stay overnight on Parliament Hill, and will attempt
to bring attention to “the sale of Canadian
resources, infrastructure, manufacturing plants and
businesses.”
These protest actions come as Vale Inco ramps up
production at its Sudbury operations.
Vale Inco spokesperson Steve Ball recently told
Northern Life the company is planning to bring in a
“couple hundred” replacement workers to help bring
Creighton and Coleman mines into full production by
the end of June.
By staff and wire reports of Pittsburgh Trib-LIVE
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Alcoa Inc. said Tuesday it opened negotiations in
Cincinnati with the United Steelworkers union on a
master contract that would cover about 5,400 employees
at 10 plants in the United States.
The current labor
contract expires on May 31, and bargainers will
reconvene on May 17. Alcoa said that health care, work
place flexibility and total compensation for new
employees are among the key issues in the bargaining.
Alcoa said that it would pay new employees at rates
similar to current workers, but would have flexibility
in placing them in a defined contribution pension plan
and would not include medical benefits for retirees. USW
lead negotiator James Robinson has said the union is
seeking a fair contract.
Striking local to
'stay the course'
April 27, 2010 ADAM RANDELL
The Labradorian
Closing in on Month 10 of an ongoing strike, United Steelworkers Local 9508 is
continuing to get the message out that members are in it for the long haul.
On April 5, members of the striking Local and Nunatsiavut beneficiaries in Nain
took to the ice and stopped a Vale Inco vessel from entering Edward's Cove and
retrieving concentrate ore.
The protest delayed the vessel for a day.
"We didn't want it to come in uncontested," Darren Cove, Local 9508 president
said. "We wanted to send a message that we are still here and still fighting."
Mr. Cove said the protest on the ice wasn't only about the shipping of
concentrate ore, it was also about the vessel destroying the ice.
He said with the vessel coming in, it cut off fishing and hunting routes that
had been used by beneficiaries for hundreds of years.
"The ship was allowed to go in during a closed period, which contradicted the
impacts and benefits agreement, a shipping agreement put in place to prevent
that," he said.
According to a Nunatsiavut press release, the boat was scheduled to move into
the land March 27, but was asked by Nunatsiavut to delay until April 12, so
members could participate in their usually land activities during the Easter
Break.
On April 19, members met with Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources,
in St. John's.
Mr. Cove said the meeting went as well as they expected. He said they emphasized
the importance of an established anti-scab legislation and concerns for
occupational health and safety onsite for the replacement labour.
He feels the replacement labour has minimal training and the amount of heavy
equipment involved onsite has potential to create a very dangerous environment.
Mr. Cove said Minister Dunderdale told the union she would be taking the Local's
concerns to the premier.
As of April 20, Mr. Cove said there are no scheduled dates to resume talks, but
"we are going to fight this battle as long as it takes."
FRANKLIN—International Paper Co. will terminate 350 workers,
most of them hourly employees, beginning over three days in
mid-May as it prepares to shutdown its mill, eliminating 1,100
jobs.
IP made the announcement in a letter dated March 12 to Isle
of Wight County Board Chairman Phillip Bradshaw in compliance
with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Of the 350 terminations, 93 are in maintenance, 69 are in
roll finishing, 63 work in the sheet plant, 31 are in chemical
recovery and 26 work in the fibers wood yard. Another 18
employees to be let go work in the fibers recycling plant, 13
are in the power and recovery department, 12 are in fibers
general operations, nine are paper mill workers, seven work in
the environmental department, five work at the Converting
Innovation Center and four work in the store room.
The company said it would terminate one employee on May 13,
212 on May 14, six on May 15 and 129 on May 16.
Most of the affected workers belong to one of three unions at
the mill. IP said that of the 350 workers to be let go, 154 are
members of Local 505 of the United Steelworkers of America, 144
are with Local 1488 of the United Steelworkers of America and 50
belong to Chapter 176 of the National Conference of Firemen &
Oilers District of Local 32BJ/SEIU.
Two salaried employees, both in roll finishing, will be let
go on June 30.
The WARN letter is the fifth the company has issued so far this
year. IP issued similar notices on Feb. 26, March 18, March 25
and April 16.
The company said it plans to terminate 106
employees on April 30, but did not indicate how many of those
worked were hourly or salaried. IP will let 33 hourly workers go
on May 21, four salaried employees on June 30 and July 31, 38
hourly workers from May 28 through 30 and 89 hourly employees
from June 25 through 30.
The total number of announced job losses through WARN letters
is currently 620. IP has not revealed how many hourly and
salaried employees are still employed at the mill, but in
February there were reportedly about 700 hourly and 110 salaried
employees working there.
The company announced Oct. 22 that it would close the
Franklin mill as part of a strategy of reducing production
capacity. IP shut down the No. 6 paper machine at the mill on
Nov. 9, the No. 1 machine at the end of 2009, and the Nos. 4 and
5 machines on April 15.
LEARN FROM THE PAST; BECAUSE WE CAN
January 24, 2010
USW locals 608 & 712 members, we need to heed the information posted
below. About other Union members affected by greedy corporations.
The success and failures handed to them by corporate types who take from the
laborers and give to themselves; because they can.
We have strange times ahead of us. In the light that CEO's are being
paid more than ever before... listing "Industry standards" for the reasons they
all need to make more than their other brothers in pinstripes (ours posting an
accumulative $9 million) . They also,
in these money-restricted times, feel that unbelievably high bonuses and stock
options are justified.... it's industry standard, ah, well hell yes,
because they can.
Also, industry standard is, in lieu of these accounting-defying payouts, is
to fire, lay-off, re-nig and steal benefits promised to their dedicated
employees to pay for these bonuses. The employees who have given life and
limb for their beloved company. Benefits that were promised when young men
and women answer the company's solicitations in local papers.
What makes corporate leaders, who makes more money in one year than most of
the employees of these companies make in a lifetime of employment...including
the benefits they receive, think that they need the 90, 100, 200 thousand; some
times upwards of millions of dollars in bonuses and other compensations?
Even when these companies post losses in the most recent quarter. GREED
doesn't even cover it. Hoarding? Call it what you will, they do it just because they can.
Remember the one with the most marbles at the end of the game wins. No
conscience. It's just business.
I know it truly doesn't mater that they have so much wealth that it could
choke an elephant; but it's the lives of many that are not only affected; but
destroyed. Example in 2008 when GM shut down plants in the east,
laid-off 10's of thousand employees to save the "high price of union wages and
benefits" only to move the plants to Mexico, under a government agreement, and
pay the locals pennies on the union dollar.... and they not only jacked the
price of their cars up; but took huge double digit-millions in bonuses ... oh,
yeah, BECAUSE THEY CAN.
REMEMBER, UNION MEMBERS, BUY UNION MADE! Research which of your future
purchases are still produced by Union Brothers and Sisters and support them and
they will support us.
Jeff Welle
Steel Plants all over the Eastern US and Canada are laying off steel workers by
the thousands...Get Involved
January 22, 2010
Vale, Union Plan
Voisey’s Bay Talks Starting Jan. 22 (Update1)
Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) --
Vale SA, the world’s second-biggest nickel producer, will hold talks with
striking workers from its Voisey’s Bay nickel mine between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24
in a bid to resume normal operations, a union official said.
United Steelworkers’ Union negotiator Boyd Bussey said in a telephone
interview today he’s “sure” a labor accord is possible during the three-day
talks in St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador. A previous agreement expired
in March 2009 when Vale’s offer was rejected by the union.
About 250 of Voisey’s Bay’s 420 unionized employees are on strike at the
mine, where output was halted Aug. 1 to support strikers at Vale’s Sudbury
nickel and copper mine in Ontario. Talks will now proceed with Voisey’s Bay
strikers after the Rio de Janeiro-based company presented a new offer, Bussey
said.
“Vale has removed some of the concessions of its previous offer,” Bussey
said. “They still have a contentious concession on the table, which is the
proposed removal of the nickel bonus to be replaced by a performance-based
bonus.”
The nickel bonus, based on world nickel prices, “paid out handsomely” during
the previous labor accord, he said. Use of contracted labor will also be
discussed, Bussey said.
Nickel futures climbed almost 40 percent in the past year on the London Metal
Exchange.
MMC Norilsk Nickel is the world’s biggest nickel producer.
For 30 years, the eight-and-a-half-month strike by United
Steelworkers Local 6500 against Inco was the yardstick by which all labour
disputes at the nickel company were measured.
The only strike that even came close to that historic 261-day battle lasted
121 days in 1969.
There was a 91-day strike in 1958, but it can't be included in USW record
books because workers then were members of Local 598 of the Mine, Mine and
Smelter Workers Union. They wouldn't become Steelworkers until three or four
years later after the fabled Mine Mill raid.
In 2003, USW Local 6500, led by president John Fera, took to picket lines for
89 days in the third longest strike in the union's history.
As the strike by 3,000 USW Local 6500 members in Sudbury and 130 in Port
Colborne's Local 6200 nears the six-month mark Jan. 13, observers and insiders
fear a new record for longest strike will probably be set.
It is not a milestone that either Steelworkers or the new owner of the
company, Vale Inco Ltd., will take pride in achieving, but it seems virtually
inevitable given each side's position in the labour dispute.
"It almost seems like each party doesn't understand what the other guy is
saying," said Fera, who remains president of the local after winning by seven
votes earlier this year over challenger Patrick Veinot.
"It's a different language," charged Fera. "I don't think this company, this
Brazilian company, understands negotiations."
The union is asking Vale Inco to put aside "pre-conditions" that were on the
table in three months of bargaining and start from scratch to negotiate a new
deal.
Vale Inco spokesman Steve Ball says that is not about to happen.
"They (USW) want to go back to the table as if the first three months of
negotiations (never happened) ... they want to dismiss all of that and say,
'Let's start again from scratch.' "
The biggest hurdle is the union's refusal to accept the
company's "proposal" to replace a defined benefit pension plan with a defined
contribuion model. To make that pill easier to swallow, the company is proposing
existing employees continue under the guaranteed, define benefit plan and only
new hires be enrolled in the new plan.
"In the rest of the province, USW members are accepting DC plans," said Ball
in an interview with The Sudbury Star. "It seems to be one a month right now. It
only seems to be in Sudbury where it's a non-starter. And that is a big barrier,
regardless of what the Steelworkers are saying.
"They are not willing to go back to the table while the DC plan is still
there, and the DC plan is going to be there."
(Despite repeated requests by The Star to interview Vale Inco president and
chief executive officer Tito Martins or Ontario operations manager John Pollesel,
only Ball was authorized by the company to speak on its behalf.)
The new pension is just one of the proposals the company calls "changes" and
the union calls "concession" that have them stuck at an impasse.
Unlike other strikes in the company's history, no bargaining whatsoever has
been conducted since Steelworkers walked off the job July 13 at 12:01 a.m.
In its final offer, the company also proposed changes to a nickel bonus that
paid handsomely for workers in three years of the last 10 when nickel was at
record prices. It also wants to increase the time during which Steelworkers can
transfer from one job site to another.
Fera admits the time was not ideal for a strike, but said the union had no
choice.
Vale Canada Nickel Miners Don’t Plan Strike End ‘Any Time Soon’
--
Vale SA workers, back on December 7th, are set to extend a strike at a
nickel mine in Canada after a five-month walkout that took about 10 percent of
world supplies off the market and pushed up prices.
Vale and
United Steelworkers’ Union negotiators are at an impasse on issues that
prompted workers to walk off the job in July, with no talks planned,
Cory McPhee, a Vale spokesman in Toronto, said today. Rick Bertrand, a USW
vice president in Sudbury, Ontario, said there’s no sign of a return to work
“any time soon.”
About 3,300 of almost 4,600 employees at Sudbury halted work on July 13 after
talks broke down over a labor contract, paralyzing output and leading to the
longest strike in Vale’s 67-year history. Workers joined the strike in August at
its Voisey’s Bay mine, Labrador. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale is the world’s
second-biggest nickel producer.
Tight supplies of nickel because of the strike have boosted by 25 percent the
premium paid for the metal in the U.S. Midwest, Maartje Collignon, an analyst at
research group CRU in London, said in an e-mail today. The fee is added to the
spot price of London Metal Exchange traded nickel for
immediate delivery and reached 36.2 cents a pound in November, according to
the CRU.
Nickel output at Sudbury, Vale’s biggest nickel mine, slumped 74 percent in the
third quarter from a year earlier to 5,000 metric tons, while Voisey’s Bay
output shrank 88 percent to 3,000 tons, Vale said in its third-quarter
production report.
“The strike has quite clearly tightened up the market in the U.S.,”
David Wilson, a Societe Generale SA analyst, said Dec. 4 by telephone from
London. “There is quite a big tonnage that has been removed from the market.”
PITTSBURGH Sept. 125, 2009 — As China and some American companies
denounce President
Obama’s decision to impose tariffs on Chinese tires, the Obama
administration can take solace that at least one important Democratic
constituency is enthusiastically applauding the move.
At the A.F.L.-C.I.O.
convention in this city haunted by the ghosts of shuttered steel mills, Thea
Lee, the labor federation’s chief economist, praised Mr. Obama’s decision,
saying it would help preserve American manufacturing. She said a surge in
Chinese tire exports had contributed to the shutdown of several American tire
factories and the loss of thousands of jobs.
“The trade decision was the president’s first down payment on his promise
to more effectively enforce trade laws, and it’s very much appreciated,” Ms.
Lee said on Monday, a day before Mr. Obama is to speak here at the convention of
the nation’s main labor federation.
But while union leaders are hailing Mr. Obama for, as they see it, finally
standing up to China, he is having to navigate pressures from China, corporate
America and the labor movement that are likely to recur in coming trade issues.
Mr. Obama’s balancing act will be especially delicate as some of the most
vocal unions, like the steelworkers and auto workers, are politically powerful
in Midwestern swing states.
Last Friday night, Mr. Obama, responding to a complaint by the United
Steelworkers, imposed a 35 percent tariff on Chinese tires for cars and
light trucks. China quickly responded by threatening to retaliate against
American auto products and chicken meat, raising fears of a possible trade war,
an especially unwelcome prospect just as the global economy is struggling to
recover.
But organized labor, having tasted success in this case, is pressing Mr.
Obama to take tougher stances on a number of upcoming trade issues.
Manufacturing unions, in particular, are pushing for penalties on China’s
steel exports, for strong Buy America provisions in future green jobs
legislation and for rejecting trade pacts with Colombia and South Korea.
The prospect that labor might succeed scares many American companies. For one
thing, any of these policies — bound to vex America’s trading partners —
could increase chances of a trade war.
“Retaliation is definitely a concern,” Jeremie Waterman, senior director
for China at the United States Chamber of Commerce, said of Mr. Obama’s tires
decision. “Our view is that there are many more American jobs at stake if the
United States fails to adopt forward-looking policies on free trade agreements
and fails to resist policies like Buy America.”
China has deplored the administration’s decision, suggesting it caved to
domestic support for protectionism.
The Tire Industry Association, which represents American tire retailers, said
the decision was ill-advised and would lead to higher prices for consumers.
Asserting that the decision would hurt tire retailers, the association said
it “believes this was a politically motivated decision that will end up
costing more jobs than it saves. These tariffs will not bring back the jobs that
the union claims have been lost.”
In a speech he gave Monday on Wall Street, Mr. Obama took a nuanced view of
trade, saying a healthy economy “depends upon our ability to buy and sell
goods in markets across the globe. And make no mistake, this administration is
committed to pursuing expanded trade and new trade agreements.”
He added, “When, as happened this weekend, we invoke provisions of existing
agreements, we do so not to be provocative or to promote self-defeating
protectionism. We do so because enforcing trade agreements is part and parcel of
maintaining an open and free trading system.”
Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers, which filed the trade
action over Chinese tires, asserted that trade policy helped the nation lose 5.6
million manufacturing jobs this decade, or nearly a third of the total.
His union, which represents steel, tire, paper and chemical workers, has
brought repeated trade actions. The steelworkers union got 78,000 workers to
write letters to the White House on the China tires issue and more than 50
members of Congress to speak out on it.
“We’ve watched almost every major sector we’re privileged to represent
get decimated by unfair trade,” Mr. Gerard said. “I hope this position that
President Obama took reflects his view that we need to go back to redesign an
overall trade policy that works for American workers and not just for American
multinationals and Wall Street.”
Mr. Obama ordered the tire tariffs after the United States International
Trade Commission, an independent government agency, determined that a more than
tripling of Chinese tire imports had disrupted the $1.7 billion tire market. It
called for imposing tariffs on Chinese tires for three years.
President George
W. Bush had rejected four similar recommendations from the trade commission,
angering organized labor.
Last week the Commerce Department, concurring with a commission finding of
improper subsidies, said it was imposing duties ranging from 10.9 percent to
30.6 percent on imports of Chinese pipes used to transport oil. The department
is also investigating a complaint that Chinese steel manufacturers are selling
pipe in the United States at unfairly low prices, with a decision due in
November.
Fred Bergsten, director of the Peterson Institute for International
Economics, an independent think tank, criticized Mr. Obama’s tires decision,
partly because he said it came when the administration had taken few steps to
expand trade. Even so, he said China had violated trade rules by requiring some
foreign-owned tire factories to export a high percentage of their output.
“The administration has not really enunciated a trade policy,” Mr.
Bergstein said. While noting that “they have indicated rhetorically their
opposition to protection,” he added, “I don’t think you can resist
backsliding on trade unless you’re moving forward.”
Tentative Goodyear deal reached
Photo 1 of 2
Scott Tummons, a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. employee, returns
picket signs to a storage garage on Saturday at the United Steelworkers
Local 307 hall in Topeka. Local union members ready to strike received
word about 8:06 p.m. that a tentative contract agreement had been
reached with the company.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. workers preparing to go on strike Saturday
night were stopped short as they arrived at the United Steelworkers union hall
in Topeka with word a tentative new contract had been reached.
Jody Juarez, vice president of the United Steelworkers Local 307 in Topeka,
said union members were ready to stage a walkout at the plant if a contract
agreement wasn't reached by the 11 p.m. deadline. About 1,400 Topeka Goodyear
employees are represented by the union.
"It wouldn't surprise me if we had a couple hundred people here
tonight," Juarez said about 8 p.m. while opening the hall. "I try not
to get stressed -- there's nothing you can do about it."
At 8:06 p.m., Juarez received word of the contract from Cincinnati by Local
307 president Robert Tripp.
"We've got a tentative agreement," Juarez said. "We don't have
any details yet, but we've got a tentative agreement."
The four-year deal addresses wage and benefit issues for about 10,300
employees represented by the Steelworkers union. The Steelworkers had made job
security their top priority in talks covering workers in Akron, Ohio; Buffalo,
N.Y.; Danville, Va.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Gadsden, Ala.; Union City, Tenn.; and
Topeka.
The expiration deadline had been extended twice previously.
Wayne Ranick, a spokesman with the union headquarters in Pittsburgh, said
details of the agreement won't be released until the bargaining committee has a
chance to get back to the locals and have information and ratification meetings.
Local union officials said the main issues revolved around the salary
agreement.
Juarez said initial indications are that employees won't have to take a cut
in salary. He said salary reductions ranging from $1.50 to $11 per hour would
have led bargaining members to reject the contract.
"In 2006, there was no wage increase," Juarez said. "Now we're
in a bad economy, and we weren't expecting a wage increase this year
either." To be voted on September 15th.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published: 06:30 AM, Fri Aug 28, 2009
Goodyear union head optimistic about deal
By Michael Futch
Staff writer
A local union leader said Thursday he believes negotiations with Goodyear
Tire & Rubber will lead to a contract agreement before Saturday night, which
would avert a possible strike.
Darryl Jackson, president of Local 959 in Fayetteville, said negotiators for
both sides are making movement toward a deal. He is in Cincinnati where talks
have been ongoing for weeks.
The union contract under negotiation would cover about 10,300 workers at
seven U.S. sites, including about 2,500 of 3,000 workers at the tire plant on
Ramsey Street. The talks will likely continue around the clock through Saturday,
Jackson said.
The deadline, which has been extended twice since July 18, is set to expire
at 11:59 p.m. Saturday.
"I think we'll get it done," Jackson said Thursday. "It could
change. I feel optimistic we'll get it done in the time frame. There's still a
lot of issues that need to get resolved between now and then."
Ed Markey, a Goodyear spokesman, said negotiations are going along in "a
very professional manner," and that the company remains optimistic that an
agreement will be reached.
Three years ago, union members at the Fayetteville plant went on strike for
three months, the second walkout in the plant's history. The first was for 17
days in 1997.
Tracy Hunt, who has worked at the plant for a dozen years, said he's
optimistic about the bargaining.
"I do really feel like we'll get something worked out," said Hunt,
48. "But there's also the lingering possibility there could be a strike.
Nobody wants a strike, but everybody has to stand strong and be united for fair
labor practices."
Hunt lives in Robeson County and has three children, including a 22-year-old
in college and a 16-year-old in high school. "Based on the last time, it
brings in some financial worries," he said.
He said workers plan for the possibility of strikes.
"We do plan," he said. "We don't want this, but the president
(Jackson) all the time is telling us to plan ahead and save something just in
case."
Jackson said representatives on both sides aren't discussing the possibility
of another contract extension that would prolong negotiations. Markey said, at
this point, discussions are focused more on the issues than an extension.
"We are working through issues that we have," Jackson said,
"and I think the company understands. I think the union understands it is
time to bring this to an end. There are a lot of issues on the table. I don't
want you to think we're close to getting an agreement. In negotiations, some
things don't leave the table until the 11th hour.
"But I believe we will reach an agreement before the deadline."
Jackson declined to discuss the issues being bargained.
Wayne Ranick, a national spokesman for the United Steelworkers, has cited job
security, keeping plants open and issues related to employee health care as
among the main points. Generally speaking, Markey said, the key issues include
productivity, pensions and health care.
Jackson said the atmosphere in Cincinnati is different from past rounds of
negotiations. In 2006, he said, both sides "just locked horns and were not
willing to talk about issues."
Donna Atkins, a plant employee for 23 years, has an 18-year-old in college
and a 16-year-old at home.
She's confident that Jackson will bring home a contract by Saturday, avoiding
a strike. The contract would have to be approved by the union membership.
"Of course, the possibility of a strike is always tough," she said
Thursday. "You have to have your finances in place in order to strike.
That's tough in the economy the way it is. Not knowing how long we may be on
strike - that's a concern."
Atkins works on first shift, providing vacation coverage in the shipping
department. She also has a side job at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, but she said
she would suffer financially in a Goodyear strike.
"It would be very hard," she said. "Just worrying about making
sure he's ready for the next (college) semester is a concern. My 16-year-old and
myself, that's a concern, definitely. Especially if no income is coming
in."
Tembec Refuses to Work with Unions to Save
Mill Jobs in Pine Falls
POWERVIEW-PINE FALLS, MB, Aug. 27 /CNW/ - Representatives of the United
Steelworkers and the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union say
Tembec Inc. is refusing to share information on its cost reduction demands or
share any records of its efforts with other stakeholders to reduce production
costs at the company's Manitoba Newspaper Operations here. The operations,
which employ over 250 Local 3-1375 union members, is currently covered by a
collective agreement that expires on August 31, 2009.
"Our unions are prepared to continue to bargain to find a viable
agreement that helps all parties concerned but Tembec isn't cooperative," says
USW area supervisor Wayne Skrypnyk.
COPE Local 216 staff rep Don Talarico says it's "extremely frustrating
when employer representatives refuse to provide adequate information that
would allow us to make informed decisions."
Instead of working with the unions, company negotiators have set an
ultimatum that workers must accept wage and contract concessions, estimated by
the unions to be well over 35 per cent, by August 31. If concessions are not
agreed to, Tembec management says the plant will not operate on September 1.
"Tembec is trying to gut our collective agreement and, at the same time,
does not want to share how many dollars savings, per tonne, its concessionary
demands would amount to," says USW Western Canada Director Stephen Hunt. "This
company should also be willing to let its employees know what it is willing to
do in production and market innovation and in cooperation with the Manitoba
and federal governments, to improve sales and reduce overall costs for Pine
Falls."
The mill produces newsprint by thermo-mechanical means, which has in
recent months been put at a greater economic disadvantage by federal
government subsidies to pulp producers aimed at offsetting the advantage US
mills get under the so-called "black liquor subsidy program," Unfortunately,
Pine Falls and other mills that use thermo-mechanical pulping processes don't
qualify.
"The Steelworkers are certainly willing to help Tembec get some sort of
assistance under the Canadian program," said Hunt.
Collective Bargaining commenced on August 13 and continued this week.
The Steelworkers is Canada's largest industrial union with 250,000
members in all sectors of the economy.
For further information: Stephen Hunt, (604) 683-1117, (604) 816-2554;
Wayne Skrypnyk, (204) 677-1710, (204) 232-7335
Laid-off steelworker sings blues on YouTube
March 16, 2009
Elisabeth
Johns The
Hamilton Spectator (Mar
16, 2009)
A laid-off U.S. Steel Canada worker has traded his hard hat for a guitar,
making a searing YouTube tribute video for thousands of his former colleagues
who are also on the unemployment line.
Remo Cino, a 10-year employee who was laid off from the former Stelco in
November, composed a song he calls Everything Comes At A Price. It is played out
against a backdrop slideshow of current and past images of the steel plant and
workers.
"Everything Comes At A Price" (the video...see above)
The video, made March 10, has been viewed about 1,600 times in just five
days.
It's just Cino and his guitar in what he called a "raw" performance
meant to evoke the pain of what has happened in the city.
He wrote it in 20 minutes after being inspired by "the big layoff."
That refers to the announcement on March 3 that 1,500 U.S. Steel Canada
employees would be out of work indefinitely, adding to the 684 people who were
already laid off.
"It makes you realize it's not just you," the 40-year-old said.
In Hamilton alone, 3,900 manufacturing jobs have been shed since last
October, according to the Ontario Federation of Labour.
While Cino's tribute is directed at U.S. Steel Canada workers, he has
dedicated it to all those who have been laid off due to the current recession.
Cino is composing more music in hopes of following his dream of becoming a
songwriter while he continues to look for work .
‘Bargaining in bad faith’
By Rosalie Currier/Journal
White Pigeon Paper Company workers are
on strike against what they say are unfair labor practices.
By Rosalie Currier currier@sturgisjournal.com
Sturgis Journal
Tue Mar 03, 2009, 02:48 AM EST
White Pigeon, Mich. -
Seventy-nine workers at White Pigeon Paper Company,
members of United Steel Workers Local 1034, went on strike Sunday.
“This is an unfair labor practice strike,” said Dan
Davis, Local 1034 president. “They were bargaining in bad faith, taking
advantage of hard economic times. They are a financially sound company.”
The strike is not about increased pay, he said, but the
language of the contract the union rejected was attacking the worker’s job
security, pension and health plan, he said.
Monday morning, production at White Pigeon Paper had
stopped.
Plant controller Nick Schiffli had no comment Monday
about the strike.
CHESTER
— After 40 days of negotiations, hundreds of employees at one of Delaware
County’s major employers ratified a five-year contract Monday night that secured
their jobs and granted them annual wage increases while instilling measures to
make it more cost effective comparative to the company’s other southern
location, officials confirmed Tuesday.
