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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.  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

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.

To contact the reporter on this story: Diana Kinch in Rio de Janeiro at dkinch1@bloomberg.net

January 11, 2010

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.”

Tire Tariffs Are Cheered by Labor

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.

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

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.

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.