Saturday, July 31, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR NEWFOUNDLAND:
NEWFOUNDLAND FIGHTS ON:
While the Vale Inco strike in Ontario has ended with, whatever the claims of the union, essentially a defeat the strike of the USW in Newfoundland continues. Perhaps people in Newfoundland are under less of an illusion that the white knight of a politician will ride to their aid and so depend more upon themselves and find political generosity as a surprise. Something that it should always be taken as. Here's an item from the St. John's Telegram about the 1 year anniversary of the strike in Voisey's Bay.
NLNLNLNLNL
by Lana Payne
by Lana Payne
365 days of defiance. Three hundred and sixty-five days of standing their ground against the second biggest mining corporation on the planet.
365 days of resistance as that employer — Brazilian mining giant, Vale — seeks concessions and holds up its Newfoundland and Labrador employees as an example to temper the expectations of its workers around the globe. After all, if they can beat back the Canadians, imagine what can be done to those workers in Brazil, South Africa and Peru who do not have the same labour rights that we have in Canada.
While Vale speaks of transforming mineral resources into wealth, the question raised by the strike with its workers at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador is wealth for whom? While attacking profit-sharing with its employees, Vale’s dividends to shareholders in the past year have exceeded the company’s worldwide labour costs.
Despite stunning profits, including $1.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, Vale still seeks concessions from its Newfoundland and Labrador workers. Offended by the profit-sharing nickel bonus Inco had negotiated with the steelworkers in the days when nickel prices were in the basement and no bonus was paid out, Vale has demanded the profit-sharing formula be slashed. It managed to do just that in Sudbury, but wanted even more from its Newfoundland and Labrador workers.
The Brazilian company bought out Canadian Inco in 2006 for $18.9 billion. Voisey’s Bay nickel was part of that deal. The Canadian government allowed the sale after the Brazilian company signed a “secret Investment Canada agreement” that has never been made public.
For the members of the United Steelworkers at Voisey’s Bay, it has been 365 days of staring down the boss’s security cameras as every move and action, taken on what has been an incredibly peaceful picket line, is recorded.
365 days of explaining to their families and looking into the faces of their kids and hoping they understand why mommy or daddy hasn’t had a paycheque in 52 weeks.
365 days of highs and lows, of hope and despair.
365 days of unbearable stress, wondering if they and their union have the fortitude to be one day stronger.
365 days of listening to the spin-doctoring coming out of Vale’s high-paid mouthpieces, and to the naysayers who question their rationale for striking against a global giant that is so much bigger than they are, that has extremely deep pockets and that would like nothing better than to break the union and bring the workers to their knees.
365 days of swallowing and swallowing hard as scab labour is flown into their worksite, carrying out their jobs and being paid extremely well to do so.
While Vale speaks of transforming mineral resources into wealth, the question raised by the strike with its workers at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador is wealth for whom?
365 days of resistance as that employer — Brazilian mining giant, Vale — seeks concessions and holds up its Newfoundland and Labrador employees as an example to temper the expectations of its workers around the globe. After all, if they can beat back the Canadians, imagine what can be done to those workers in Brazil, South Africa and Peru who do not have the same labour rights that we have in Canada.
While Vale speaks of transforming mineral resources into wealth, the question raised by the strike with its workers at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador is wealth for whom? While attacking profit-sharing with its employees, Vale’s dividends to shareholders in the past year have exceeded the company’s worldwide labour costs.
Despite stunning profits, including $1.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, Vale still seeks concessions from its Newfoundland and Labrador workers. Offended by the profit-sharing nickel bonus Inco had negotiated with the steelworkers in the days when nickel prices were in the basement and no bonus was paid out, Vale has demanded the profit-sharing formula be slashed. It managed to do just that in Sudbury, but wanted even more from its Newfoundland and Labrador workers.
The Brazilian company bought out Canadian Inco in 2006 for $18.9 billion. Voisey’s Bay nickel was part of that deal. The Canadian government allowed the sale after the Brazilian company signed a “secret Investment Canada agreement” that has never been made public.
For the members of the United Steelworkers at Voisey’s Bay, it has been 365 days of staring down the boss’s security cameras as every move and action, taken on what has been an incredibly peaceful picket line, is recorded.
365 days of explaining to their families and looking into the faces of their kids and hoping they understand why mommy or daddy hasn’t had a paycheque in 52 weeks.
365 days of highs and lows, of hope and despair.
365 days of unbearable stress, wondering if they and their union have the fortitude to be one day stronger.
365 days of listening to the spin-doctoring coming out of Vale’s high-paid mouthpieces, and to the naysayers who question their rationale for striking against a global giant that is so much bigger than they are, that has extremely deep pockets and that would like nothing better than to break the union and bring the workers to their knees.
365 days of swallowing and swallowing hard as scab labour is flown into their worksite, carrying out their jobs and being paid extremely well to do so.
While Vale speaks of transforming mineral resources into wealth, the question raised by the strike with its workers at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador is wealth for whom?
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365 days of listening to the company’s threats and intentions to resume full production and being allowed to do so because no law prevents the erosion of the right to strike — one of the few tools workers have in the huge imbalance of power with their employers.
365 days of not just fighting for themselves and a better standard of living, but for all of us who believe that corporations are too powerful and need to be taken down a notch.
365 days of defiance; of not settling for whatever the boss decides they deserve.
365 days of being punished for daring to dream of a better life for themselves and their kids, of daring to dream to be respected for the work they do, and daring to stand up for a world of work that they have a say in, for daring to say democracy in our workplace matters.
365 days of reading the nasty comments from those who anonymously post to media sites and who fail to understand that it is struggles exactly like this one being waged by these workers and their union that have built Canada’s middle class; that have forced a sharing of the wealth generated from our economy, especially from the natural resources of our province and nation. It is struggles like these that push health and safety standards to a higher level.
365 days of wondering, when push comes to shove, if their government will be there for them. Or will their government, like so many others, including the Ontario government, cave under the pressure from big capital and big mining? They wonder if a premier who so dislikes being pushed around, especially by big corporations, will join them and push back.
365 of reading the business pages and knowing that as they struggle to feed the kids their bosses rake in millions and millions in salaries and billions in profits.
365 days of defending against a company that has been breeding discontent in many northern communities, pitting neighbour against neighbour.
365 days when solidarity has been tested, but is given new life because the company pushed one inch too far. 365 days, 8,760 hours, of incredible resolve. The time has come. The time for the provincial government to stand with the workers is now. No more counting days.
Lana Payne is president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour. She can be reached by e-mail at lanapayne@nl.rogers.com .
365 days of listening to the company’s threats and intentions to resume full production and being allowed to do so because no law prevents the erosion of the right to strike — one of the few tools workers have in the huge imbalance of power with their employers.
365 days of not just fighting for themselves and a better standard of living, but for all of us who believe that corporations are too powerful and need to be taken down a notch.
365 days of defiance; of not settling for whatever the boss decides they deserve.
365 days of being punished for daring to dream of a better life for themselves and their kids, of daring to dream to be respected for the work they do, and daring to stand up for a world of work that they have a say in, for daring to say democracy in our workplace matters.
365 days of reading the nasty comments from those who anonymously post to media sites and who fail to understand that it is struggles exactly like this one being waged by these workers and their union that have built Canada’s middle class; that have forced a sharing of the wealth generated from our economy, especially from the natural resources of our province and nation. It is struggles like these that push health and safety standards to a higher level.
365 days of wondering, when push comes to shove, if their government will be there for them. Or will their government, like so many others, including the Ontario government, cave under the pressure from big capital and big mining? They wonder if a premier who so dislikes being pushed around, especially by big corporations, will join them and push back.
365 of reading the business pages and knowing that as they struggle to feed the kids their bosses rake in millions and millions in salaries and billions in profits.
365 days of defending against a company that has been breeding discontent in many northern communities, pitting neighbour against neighbour.
365 days when solidarity has been tested, but is given new life because the company pushed one inch too far. 365 days, 8,760 hours, of incredible resolve. The time has come. The time for the provincial government to stand with the workers is now. No more counting days.
Lana Payne is president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour. She can be reached by e-mail at lanapayne@nl.rogers.com .
Labels: Canadian labour, labour, Newfoundland, St. John's Telegram, strike., United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike, Voisey's Bay
Friday, July 23, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR NEWFOUNDLAND:
THE FORGOTTEN STRIKE:
With all the hoopla in the media recently about the end of the Vale Inco Sudbury strike it seems that something has been forgotten. Ontario was not the only place where the USW were on strike against Vale Inco. Soon after the Sudbury local went out they were followed by workers of Local 9508 at Voisey's Bay in Labrador. This strike continues as the following item from the CBC details.
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Striking Labrador miners vow not to give up
Workers from the Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador have been on strike for a year and some vow to remain on the picket lines until they get the deal they want.
Contract negations between the United Steelworkers Union, which represents the striking workers, and Vale broke off late Tuesday afternoon.
Neil Power is among the Labrador workers, who've been on the picket lines for the last 355 days. He said Vale employees in Sudbury, who recently reached a deal to end their year-long strike, gave up too easily.
On Thursday, Power told CBC News he's prepared to stay on the picket line for another year, or two if necessary.
"We can't give up on what our brothers and sisters have fought for in the past and there is a lot of issues in the past that never got resolved and, apparently, they are still having a hard time trying to get it resolved," said Power.
Two weeks ago, more than 3,000 Vale workers in Ontario agreed to a new labour deal. Among other things, the workers will get a raise and a considerable signing bonus.
Striking workers in Labrador told CBC News they stand behind the union that's trying to hash out a deal for them, though they admit the last year hasn't been easy. Less income has meant a modest Christmas and no summer vacations. Some of the workers said its been a struggle to cope.
On Thursday, Bob Carter, Vale's manager of corporate affairs in Newfoundland and Labrador, said talks are not scheduled to resume.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/07/22/nl-voisey-bay-strikers-722.html#ixzz0uYV8wnRp
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Vale is acting in a particularily arrogant way with its Newfoundland employees, refusing to concede even the reduced bonus that they setlled with the Steelworkers in Ontario. This has led Newfoundland labour to ask for provincial intervention in the strike. How kindly the politicians will look upon this request is anyone's guess, though it should be noted that if the situation sparks enough resentment about the tyrannical "outsiders" in Vale's management that the Province might be forced to act. Otherwise I have my doubts. Here's the story of the appeal from the St. John's Telegram.
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Federation calls on government to support Voisey’s Bay strikers
The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour wants the province to take immediate action to support striking Voisey’s Bay workers.
In a letter to Premier Danny Williams Thursday, federation president Lana Payne urged government to send a clear message to global mining giant Vale that enough is enough.
“I have called on the premier to bring an end to this strike by sending the matter to binding arbitration before it reaches its one-year anniversary, which is a shameful indictment of a company that has attempted to erode labour rights in our province. I have also reiterated the need for legislation banning the use of scab labour,” she said in a release.
“It is clear, and it has been clear for some time, that this employer is not interested in negotiating a fair collective agreement. This company is only interested in using its power and wealth to bring the workers and its union to their knees by starving them out. The question is: Are we as a society going to allow that to happen in our province?”
The workers, represented by United Steel Workers 9508, have been on the picket line since last August.
Contract talks between Vale and the union broke off Tuesday afternoon and no talks have been rescheduled.
Payne said the strike is at an impasse.
“These workers through their union have attempted to push back against the excessive concessions being demanded by this global mining giant. They have being trying to get the best deal possible for their members and in doing so have had to take on one of the wealthiest mining companies in the world — a company that is stepping on long-standing labour rights such as the right to free collective bargaining and breeding discontent in our communities by using scab labour.”
According to Payne, the strike has exposed legislative gaps with respect to how the labour rights of working people are protected.
This company has been imposing anti-union tactics the likes of which we have not seen in at least a generation in our province, she said.
“As President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL), I believe our government must send a message to Vale and other corporations that they don’t get to starve people out. They don’t make the rules. Governments do. Societies do.” ( Hopefully more of the latter-Molly )
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The Newfoundland Federation of Labour is actually acting in support of previous appeals to the provincial government on the part of Local 9508 of the USW representing workers at Voisey's Bay. Here's the original letter to the Premier from Wayne Fraser of the USW. Published in the USW strike support site Fair Deal Now.
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Letter to Premier Danny Williams from USW District 6 Director Wayne Fraser
Published: July 22, 2010
Posted in: News, Release
July 21, 2010
Honourable Danny Williams
Premier
Newfoundland and Labrador
The Office of the Premier
Confederation Building, East Block
P.O. Box 8700
St. John’s, NL
A1B 4J6
Dear Premier Williams,
The United Steelworkers union (USW) and the members of USW Local 9508 are requesting your immediate intervention in the second-class treatment of Newfoundland and Labrador working families by Brazil-based transnational Vale.
As you know, members of USW Local 9508 have been on strike at Vale’s Voisey’s Bay operations for nearly one year – since August 1, 2009.
It is indisputable that our union and its members at Voisey’s Bay – like their colleagues in Ontario who recently ended their year-long strike – have shown flexibility and a willingness to compromise to achieve a fair collective agreement with Vale.
But Vale continues to take a more heavy-handed approach with its Newfoundland and Labrador workers. The company is demanding that workers in this province accept an inferior bonus system and collective agreement than the one negotiated earlier this month with 3,000 workers in Ontario.
The latest round of negotiations broke off Tuesday, July 20, after Vale refused to offer Voisey’s Bay workers the same bonus system it negotiated with employees in Sudbury and Port Colborne. Vale also refused to discuss other outstanding issues unless the Voisey’s Bay workers agreed to an inferior bonus plan.
Mr. Premier, we trust you and your Government will agree it is unacceptable that a massively profitable foreign corporation such as Vale would treat Newfoundland and Labrador workers as second-class employees compared to their colleagues in Ontario.
We also trust you will use every means at your disposal to ensure Vale treats the working families of Newfoundland and Labrador with the respect and dignity they deserve.
I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss this urgent matter with you. I can be contacted by telephone at 416-243-8792 or by email at wfraser@usw.ca.
Sincerely,
Wayne Fraser
Director
United Steelworkers District 6
Labels: Canadian labour, labour, Newfoundland, Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike, Voisey's Bay
Thursday, May 13, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR - SUDBURY:
SUDBURY BLOCKADES TAKEN DOWN:
After 7 days of blockading Vale Inco mines in Sudbury striking members of the United Steelworkers have agreed to walk away from the barricades that they erected in the face of a court order and at the behest of union officials. Not all members of the Local were pleased with the decision. The strike is now the longest one in Inco history, and many are feeling frustration that the usual tactics have failed to bring the company to the bargaining table. Hence the blockade. The union, of course, has to argue in favour of court decisions to avoid legal penalties. In some ways this is becoming a ball and chain for the strikers. The judge who issued the decision seems to be a rather bloodthirsty individual as he also criticized the "restraint" exercised by local police during the duration of the blockade. To read more and keep up with this strike see the Fair Deal Now website. In the meantime here's an article from the Sudbury Star about the end of the blockade.
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Blockades left in police hands
By BOB VAILLANCOURT,
Blockades left in police hands
By BOB VAILLANCOURT,
THE SUDBURY STAR
In a decision handed down just hours after two blockades were removed from Vale Inco property in Sudbury, Superior Court Justice Robbie Gordon ruled he would leave the removal of the blockades in the hands of the police.
"Vale is understandably impatient," Gordon said in his ruling Wednesday.
While the company is being denied access to its properties, "vast economic loss is incurred, many persons are deprived of their right to earn a living and public safety is put at risk due to the volatility of some of the industrial operations which are involved," the judge wrote in a four-page decision.
He was impressed with police lawyer Jack Braithwaite's presentation, Gordon wrote.
He was also aware of the case law that suggests he only intervene with the police role "if there was to be evidence of bad faith or evidence that police have acted or are acting improperly ...
"Accordingly, I will not at this time make any further order with respect to enforcement."
One day earlier, Gordon voiced his frustration with police inaction in the 10-month long labour dispute between the United Steelworkers and mining giant Vale Inco.
"The police have not acted, to my knowledge, in a single incident" on the picket line, he said. And in the three days the barricades have been up, police have ignored them, he said.
Lawyers for Vale Inco had gone before the judge Tuesday asking that he order the police to immediately remove the blockades, which were preventing the company from accessing its Coleman Mine property in Levack and the Clarabelle mill property in Sudbury.
The blockades, Gordon said, violated earlier orders he had issued allowing the company and its replacement workers access to facilities.
As a result, the company was asking the court "to take steps to address non-compliance with, and lack of respect, for the orders made by the court."
In a decision handed down just hours after two blockades were removed from Vale Inco property in Sudbury, Superior Court Justice Robbie Gordon ruled he would leave the removal of the blockades in the hands of the police.
"Vale is understandably impatient," Gordon said in his ruling Wednesday.
While the company is being denied access to its properties, "vast economic loss is incurred, many persons are deprived of their right to earn a living and public safety is put at risk due to the volatility of some of the industrial operations which are involved," the judge wrote in a four-page decision.
He was impressed with police lawyer Jack Braithwaite's presentation, Gordon wrote.
He was also aware of the case law that suggests he only intervene with the police role "if there was to be evidence of bad faith or evidence that police have acted or are acting improperly ...
"Accordingly, I will not at this time make any further order with respect to enforcement."
One day earlier, Gordon voiced his frustration with police inaction in the 10-month long labour dispute between the United Steelworkers and mining giant Vale Inco.
"The police have not acted, to my knowledge, in a single incident" on the picket line, he said. And in the three days the barricades have been up, police have ignored them, he said.
Lawyers for Vale Inco had gone before the judge Tuesday asking that he order the police to immediately remove the blockades, which were preventing the company from accessing its Coleman Mine property in Levack and the Clarabelle mill property in Sudbury.
The blockades, Gordon said, violated earlier orders he had issued allowing the company and its replacement workers access to facilities.
As a result, the company was asking the court "to take steps to address non-compliance with, and lack of respect, for the orders made by the court."
MOLLY NOTE:
A public health warning...excessive self importance on the part of the judiciary may lead to fatal constipation. Learn to recognize the signs.
Labels: Canadian labour, current events, labour, strike, Sudbury, United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike
Friday, April 23, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY:
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE SUDBURY STRIKERS:
Molly has mentioned the strike against Vale Inco in Sudbury many times before on this blog, and I have also expressed my opinion that this struggle is very crucial insofar as a "victory" on the part of Vale Inco management,will 'set the bar' as to how managerial power will be able to determine both working conditions and compensation for years to come. The Vale Inco strike is important far beyond the immediate disagreements in Sudbury. Others have recognized this. What follows is a pdf available at the Fair Deal Now website about the Sudbury workers are supported by workers across the world.
This is undoubtedly "comforting" to those who are on strike in Sudbury. Yet it has little effect "on the ground". While recognizing that I am not immediately involved in this strike and therefore being somewhat reluctant to offer "advise" what is happening in Sudbury now seems to cry out for an escalation of tactics as production is resumed more and more via scab labour. Perhaps it's time to consider occupying the workplaces in Sudbury. Yeah, I know just how illegal this is, but it is no less illegal than the previous proposal of union leadership to block the 401 in support of their NDP friends in the Legislature.
Occupying the workplace (ie the mines and the processing facilities) brings the whole matter to an "immediate question". Will the corporation be more be reasonable when their plans for hiring scabs become an impossibility ? Can government be better persuaded to come down on the side of the workers when an occupation hits the world news ? All these things are indefinite. Molly, however, says that something new obviously has to be tried. I suggest an occupation of the mines and the processing plants.
Are people will to defy the law that is stacked against them ? The alternative is to see the strike defeated.Think about it,
Here's the story about the international solidarity from the Fair Deal Now website.
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Declaration of Solidarity with the USW (Canada)
We the 80 organizations from Brazil and 13 other countries that took part in the North
and South fact-finding tours and attended the FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEETING
OF THOSE AFFECTED BY VALE in Rio de Janeiro, declare our repudiation for
Vale’s aggressive posture toward Canadian workers. They have been on strike for 9
months against the attempt by Vale to dismantle rights fought for and won decades
ago. In order to put pressure on workers, in disloyal and arrogant fashion, Vale has
announced it will restart activities in the mines with replacement workers, i.e., scabs.
We reject this attitude and declare our full support and solidarity for the members of
the USW, on strike for their rights. We demand the immediate re-opening of
negotiations, for bargaining to be conducted in good faith and lead to a fair deal for
Canadian workers!
Declaration of Solidarity with the USW (Canada)
We the 80 organizations from Brazil and 13 other countries that took part in the North
and South fact-finding tours and attended the FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEETING
OF THOSE AFFECTED BY VALE in Rio de Janeiro, declare our repudiation for
Vale’s aggressive posture toward Canadian workers. They have been on strike for 9
months against the attempt by Vale to dismantle rights fought for and won decades
ago. In order to put pressure on workers, in disloyal and arrogant fashion, Vale has
announced it will restart activities in the mines with replacement workers, i.e., scabs.
We reject this attitude and declare our full support and solidarity for the members of
the USW, on strike for their rights. We demand the immediate re-opening of
negotiations, for bargaining to be conducted in good faith and lead to a fair deal for
Canadian workers!
Vale has used the global economic crisis to put pressure on workers the world over, to
reduce pay, increase hours, fire people and reduce hard-won rights. The strike, begun
by Canadian workers in June 2009, is an important example of struggle and
resistance against the arrogance and intransigence of the company. In Brazil, workers
suffer from unjustified dismissals, lack of workplace safety and pressures of various
kinds, which have often led them to suicide. The high rates of labour outsourcing at
Vale (out of 146,000 jobs, 83,000 are indirect) mean that the company sheds its
responsibility and obligation to provide its employees with better working conditions,
pay, health and lives. It thus makes labour relations more precarious.
More than ever before, we are energized by the fact-finding tours and by the
FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEETING, and identify with and lend our solidarity
to Vale Inco workers in Canada! The fight for dignified and safe work —
whose resulting wealth belongs to all of society — is a fight that belongs to us
all!
One day longer, one day stronger!!!
Globalize the Struggle, Globalize Hope!!!!
FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEETING, and identify with and lend our solidarity
to Vale Inco workers in Canada! The fight for dignified and safe work —
whose resulting wealth belongs to all of society — is a fight that belongs to us
all!
One day longer, one day stronger!!!
Globalize the Struggle, Globalize Hope!!!!
Labels: Canadian labour, labour, strike, Sudbury, tactics, Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike, workplace occupations
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR - ONTARIO:
SHUTTING DOWN THE PROVINCE ?:
Several thousand people attending the international solidarity rally in support of striking Steelworkers Local 6500 workers in Sudbury last Sunday were treated to an interesting speech by international union president Leo Gerard. As the following article from Northern Life says Gerard asserted that the union intended to press for anti-scab legislation in Ontario with direct action such as shutting down Highway 401 if necessary.
Now this may be just tough talk, and one shouldn't hold one's breath while waiting for the union bureaucracy to initiate such a thing. Still, Molly thinks it is a very worthwhile thing to consider. Such an action would be far more worthy of the term "direct action" than what often passes for such amongst a certain part of the anarchist "scene" in North America. For one thing it would be done by mainly the people immediately concerned themselves (no doubt with some support). For another it would have a clear and achievable goal, something that mini-riots of a couple of hundred people who want to prove that they are "against capitalism" do not. These two facts would mean that such an action would have a local base of community support to whom the goals would be clear, whether such supporters agreed with everything the protesters did or not. This would certainly be far different from the travelling rent-a-riot where it seems they glory in offending those (the great, great vast majority) that they look down on. It is also far less likely to be violent because people involved in such a blockade would have goals rather than something to prove. Food for thought. Food for thought. It's unlikely to happen just as it is unlikely that the government of Ontario will bend and actually pass anti-scab legislation. Still...the very fact that the idea has been breached is a great thing in the context of present Canadian politics.
Here's the story from Northern Life.
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'Shut down' province to force anti-scab legislation: Gerard
Leo Gerard was one of an estimated 5,000 people who came out to support striking members of Steelworkers Local 6500 during the union's Bridging the Gap rally. Photo by Bill Bradley.
Mar 23, 2010
By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life Staff
UPDATED — March 23, 9:02 a.m.
When Vale Inco attempts to bring “scabs” into Sudbury, the United Steelworkers union will push to have anti-scab legislation passed in the province, even if it means closing down Highway 401, the Steelworkers international president told those attending a rally at the Sudbury Arena March 22.
'Shut down' province to force anti-scab legislation: Gerard
Leo Gerard was one of an estimated 5,000 people who came out to support striking members of Steelworkers Local 6500 during the union's Bridging the Gap rally. Photo by Bill Bradley.
Mar 23, 2010
By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life Staff
UPDATED — March 23, 9:02 a.m.
When Vale Inco attempts to bring “scabs” into Sudbury, the United Steelworkers union will push to have anti-scab legislation passed in the province, even if it means closing down Highway 401, the Steelworkers international president told those attending a rally at the Sudbury Arena March 22.
Leo Gerard was one of several thousand people who came out to support striking members of Steelworkers Local 6500 during the union's Bridging the Gap rally. They marched from the union's Brady Street hall to the Sudbury Arena, yelling raucous union chants.
The rally, which was attended by union leaders from across the country and around the world, was originally supposed to take place on the Paris Street bridge, but the venue was changed last week because of safety concerns over the location.
Gerard said the provincial NDP, with the help of the union, would bring in anti-scab legislation “even if we have to shut this whole goddamn province down.”
Provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath said anti-scab legislation need to be brought in by the province, and also said the province should be “doing something to get binding arbitration” so the Steelworkers can get back to work.
The union leader also took issue with a letter posted by Vale Inco president and CEO Tito Martins on one of the company's websites last week.
In the letter, Martins said the Steelworkers leadership has relied on “misinformation, racism,intolerance and xenophobia...to further its position in a country like Canada that prides itself as a model of multiculturalism.”
Standing with union leaders from around the world behind him, Gerard said he “resents from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head” being called racist.
“These are my sisters and brothers,” he said, referring to the union leaders behind him. “We have a global union. We don't resent our brothers and sisters. We resent the management causing this fight unnecessarily.”
Martins said in his letter that it's ironic that the Steelworkers have taken this position, given that it's an American union. Gerard said he is not foreign to Sudbury, as he grew up here, and was a member of Local 6500.
Gerard also addressed another statement in Martins' letter, which said “it appears name calling comes easier than negotiating.”
“Tito, come to Sudbury tomorrow, we're ready to negotiate. Come to Sudbury tomorrow, or shut your goddamn mouth,” he said.
Federal NDP leader Jack Layton was also among those who attended the rally.
He said multinational corporations around the world are watching the strike in Sudbury to see if Vale Inco can “beat the workers.”
“Well, I said it last September (at a previous rally in Sudbury), and I'll say it again. You picked the wrong union, and you picked the wrong town.”
For the full story, read the Thursday edition of Northern Life.
Labels: blockades, Canadian labour, direct action, labour, Ontario, rallies, strike, Sudbury, United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike
Sunday, March 21, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY:
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT RALLY FOR SUDBURY WORKERS:
Sudbury Ontario (population 165,000 2009 est) has always punched above its weight in the Canadian political scene. Its cache as the quintessential mining town of Canada, as well as its long standing reputation as one of the worst places to live in the country (apparently outdated) have given it a place in Canadian mythology. Think Stoppin' Tom Conners. Labour disputes there have always been militant and bitter, but the recent strike, now in its eighth month looks set to outlast the nine month strike in 1978. It is also different because it pits the striking Steelworkers against an international conglomerate Vale Inco as opposed to a Canadian corporation. As such the strike has attracted worldwide attention that previous strikes in Sudbury have not. Solidarity actions have been worldwide. Tomorrow there will be an "international rally" in Sudbury attended by speakers from other countries where Vale operates, as well as unionists from across Ontario. To say the least this strike has become an emblematic test of strength for labour versus international capital. Here's the story from the USW website. To follow events in this strike see not just this website but also the Local 6500 website and the strike support site Fair Deal Now.
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Union Support to Converge at Sudbury Rally
SUDBURY, 19 March 2010 – Union representatives from Brazil and a number of countries will converge on Sudbury this Monday, March 22nd to demonstrate solidarity and support of the Vale Inco strikers.
Union Support to Converge at Sudbury Rally
SUDBURY, 19 March 2010 – Union representatives from Brazil and a number of countries will converge on Sudbury this Monday, March 22nd to demonstrate solidarity and support of the Vale Inco strikers.
Many of the union leaders coming to Canada have experience in their own country with the strong-arm anti-union tactics of Vale, one of the most profitable multinational corporations in the world.
As the eight month strike continues, Vale’s aggressive tactics in Sudbury have increased. The most recent is Vale Inco’s CEO publicly accusing the union of spreading “racism, intolerance and xenophobia.” This verbal attack follows Vale’s use of replacement workers and a security company to start-up production for the first time in Sudbury’s history.
WHAT:
WHAT:
"Bridging the Gap" Rally
International Support Rally for Striking Steelworkers
WHO:
International Union Leaders, including from:
**Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Switzerland
**The International Federation of Unions (ICEM)
**The International Metalworkers Federation (IMF)
Candian Union Leaders, including:
Ken Georgetti, Sid Ryan, Leo Gerard, Ken Neumann, Wayne Fraser, John Fera, Wayne Rae
Political Leaders (ichh-Molly ), including:
Andrea Horwath, Leader, Ontario NDP
Glenn Thibeault and Claude Gravelle, Area MPs
Busloads of everyday workers from across the province, organized by:
the OFL, CUPE, CAW, CEP, Amalgamated Transit Union, LIUNA and the Society of Professional Engineers
WHEN:
Monday, March 22nd, 4:30 pm
WHERE:
Sudbury ON, USW Union Hall (66 Brady Street)March to proceed to Sudbury Arena
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Contacts: Myles Sullivan, 675 2461 x224, msullivan@usw.ca
**Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Switzerland
**The International Federation of Unions (ICEM)
**The International Metalworkers Federation (IMF)
Candian Union Leaders, including:
Ken Georgetti, Sid Ryan, Leo Gerard, Ken Neumann, Wayne Fraser, John Fera, Wayne Rae
Political Leaders (ichh-Molly ), including:
Andrea Horwath, Leader, Ontario NDP
Glenn Thibeault and Claude Gravelle, Area MPs
Busloads of everyday workers from across the province, organized by:
the OFL, CUPE, CAW, CEP, Amalgamated Transit Union, LIUNA and the Society of Professional Engineers
WHEN:
Monday, March 22nd, 4:30 pm
WHERE:
Sudbury ON, USW Union Hall (66 Brady Street)March to proceed to Sudbury Arena
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Contacts: Myles Sullivan, 675 2461 x224, msullivan@usw.ca
Jamie West, 705-562-8060, west.jamie@yahoo.ca
Labels: Canada, Canadian labour, demonstrations, labour, rallies, Sudbury, United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike
Friday, March 12, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR - SUDBURY:
STEELWORKERS OVERWHELMINGLY REJECT VALE INCO OFFER:
Steelworkers, members of Local 6500, in Sudbury overwhelmingly rejected an "offer" from multinational mining giant Vale Inco to wind up the long and bitter strike by essentially surrendering to the company's demands. The final vote was 88% for rejection of the offer. In Port Colburne, also in Ontario, the vote for rejection was even greater- 98%. Here's the union press release from the strike support site Fair Deal Now. Watch that site for news of this important labour struggle.
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Steelworkers Overwhelmingly Reject Vale’s Cynical, Substandard Offer:
Sudbury, Friday, March 12, 2010 — USW Local 6500 President John Fera today announced the results of yesterday’s ratification vote by members of Local 6500.
Sudbury, Friday, March 12, 2010 — USW Local 6500 President John Fera today announced the results of yesterday’s ratification vote by members of Local 6500.
After holding three meetings with our activists and members on Wednesday night and Thursday morning and evening, the membership voted by secret ballot to overwhelmingly reject Vale Inco’s latest proposal of settlement.
Chief Teller for Local 6500 Lyle Young announced the official numbers:
Total votes cast: 2,371
Total votes to accept: 266
Total votes to reject: 2,105
% of membership to reject: 88.7%
“While no one is happy that the strike will continue,” said Fera and members of the Bargaining Committee, “it’s gratifying to see the support of the membership and the determination to get a fair deal.
“It’s our hope that Vale Inco will understand the need to negotiate a fair contract for our members and ensure that this strike gets resolved. It is our position that we should be looking at a new date to start negotiations again and get this strike settled.”
Both United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard and District 6 Director, Wayne Fraser acknowledged and praised the solidarity of Local 6500 members and the tremendous support that continues to pour in from the community.
“Vale Inco has to know that proposing an unacceptable proposal to our members is not going to cut it,” said Fraser, “and the sooner they realize this, the sooner the strike gets resolved. If Vale Inco is serious about getting a fair contract then let’s agree to binding arbitration and move forward to a positive outcome.”
“In a world of globalization, many of these large super companies believe that they have the ability to re-invent the rules of order when it comes to labour relations,” said Gerard. “Our stand has always been consistent – if your company wants to be successful, then it must start in the workplace and workers have to be treated with dignity and respect. It’s a simple rule, but one that allows all involved to win and move forward. Let’s get back to the table and negotiate a fair deal”.
Source:
John Fera, President, Local 6500 USW
Phone: 705-675-3381 Ext. 232
Labels: Canadian labour, labour, strike, Sudbury, United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR-ONTARIO:TORONTO RALLY IN SUPPORT OF STRIKING STEELWORKERS:
The strike in Ontario and Newfoundland against the international mining giant Vale Inco has been ongoing since last August (over 7 months now), and there is no end in sight. This struggle will probably go down in Canadian history as one of the most hard fought labour disputes ever. Molly has mentioned this strike multiple times at this blog.
As negotiations seem to go nowhere and the company seems intend on reopening their facilities using scab labour the United Steel Workers and their supporters rallied last weekend in Toronto to keep the fight in the public eye. Here's a report from the Toronto Examiner.
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U.S.W. rally in Toronto to support 3,500 workers on strikeAndrew Moran
As mediators for the United Steelworkers and multinational giant Valeco Inc. negotiate in Toronto over the weekend, USW members rallied in the downtown core to show support for the workers in Sudbury, Port Colborne and Voisey's Bay who are on strike.
Toronto, Canada - On Saturday, hundreds of members and supporters of the United Steelworkers rallied together in Toronto at the Metro Convention Center to show support of those 3,500 workers in Sudbury, Port Colborne in Ontario who have been on strike since May of last year and also for those in Voisey’s Bay in northern Labrador who launched a strike on Aug. 1.
Vale Inco, which is a Brazil-based mining corporation, sponsored a conference at the MTC to negotiate with USW representatives over the company’s rollback in pension plans, seniority rights and nickel bonuses. However, more than 3,500 miners and smelter workers are not satisfied with the company's latest cutback measures.
OFL President Sid Ryan said this battle does not only belong to the strikers in the three towns but to Canadians across the country, as Ryan called upon trade unionists and members of the public to stand up against the multinational giant Vale Inco, according to a Marketwire press release.
“We need to raise a loud and united voice to tell Vale Inco to bargain a fair contract for these workers. This strike has exacted an enormous price on these workers, their families, and their communities, and they need and deserve to see it end with a fair contract.”
There have been no formal talks between the two sides until it was announced last week that they were going to negotiate over the Mar. 6 and Mar. 7 weekend, notes the Hamilton Spectator.
CBC News reports that those at the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine have protested the company’s demands in freezing wages and rolling back on many bonuses. The two sides will meet with a conciliator between Mar. 15 and Mar. 16. Vale Inco workers, catering staff and security personnel have been on strike since the summer.
In one leaflet handed out at the rally, the Communist Party of Canada listed several demands for the workers at Vale Inco. The CPC called for the federal and provincial governments to intervene in the situation, while also calling for federal and provincial bans on “scab labor”. The Communists also want a nation-wide labor campaign to transfer natural resources and important manufacturing sectors to the public sector.
"We salute the Vale Inco workers for their courage in walking away from the bargaining table and resisting huge concessions," said the CPC in a brochure and added, "We call on all Canadian unions and working class organizations to rally around the struggle of the Vale Inco workers."
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Molly Note:
The last part of the above article caught my eye. It wasn't too long ago that the communists actually held positions of power within the unions, and the "beloved" CPC would move heaven and earth to prevent their minor Trotskyist and Maoist competitors from doing what they are reduced to doing themselves in the 21st century. How the mighty have fallen. The CPC, of course, is in precisely the same position today as supporters of the Bourbons were at the turn of the 20th century. Massive nationalization today is a non-starter because it has been proven over and over to not only be inefficient but also to lead to yet another form of class domination. This sort of thing is not what libertarian socialists would advocate.
Labels: Canadian labour, Communist Party, demonstrations, labour, libertarian socialism, Toronto, Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike
Sunday, February 28, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR SUDBURY:
VALE INCO LAUNCHES LAWSUIT AGAINST STEELWORKERS:
The latest news on the strike against Vale Inco in Sudbury is that the company has launched a lawsuit against the union (Local 6500 of the United Steel Workers) over various incidents during the course of the seven months of the strike against the company. Legally speaking I doubt that the company has a leg to stand upon as it would be difficult to impossible to prove that the union even encouraged, let alone planned any of the incidents mentioned. Still, I guess that it is good harassment tactics for the company to set such proceedings in motion. One thing has to be said, however. Whatever the truth of the company's allegations and given the fact that the union, nor Mollymew for that matter, certainly doesn't condone them they do fall under the heading of "direct action". They are carried out by the people involved in a dispute themselves. They also have the character of aiming towards a goal that is defined and achievable to which the actions may contribute. In this they are a totally different thing from the 'anarchist rent-a-riot' that travels around to communities not their own to inevitably run like scared rabbits from the police after doing minor vandalism and whose "goals", if they are articulated at all, are so vague and utopian that they won't be fulfilled before the second coming of Jesus.
Ok, enough sideways swipes. here's the story from CTV.
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Vale Inco sues striking Ontario union
The Canadian Press
SUDBURY, Ont. — Striking union members in Sudbury, Ont., have engaged in "unlawful thuggery" by threatening personnel during a bitter seven-month strike at Vale Inco, the company alleges in a lawsuit.
The Canadian Press
SUDBURY, Ont. — Striking union members in Sudbury, Ont., have engaged in "unlawful thuggery" by threatening personnel during a bitter seven-month strike at Vale Inco, the company alleges in a lawsuit.
United Steelworkers Local 6500 and some of its members have posted personal information about people who are continuing to work during the strike, which has led to intimidation, threats and an assault, the mining giant alleges in its more than $1-million lawsuit.
"This has not been a peaceful strike," the company writes in a statement of claim, filed in Superior Court in Sudbury.
"Masked picketers have engaged in criminal conduct, including an assault of a Vale Inco employee and the sabotage of Vale Inco property."
People on the picket lines have set large fires so trucks carrying explosives and fuel can't cross, hydro wires have been cut, rail equipment has been damaged and roads have been littered with nail spikes to puncture truck tires, the statement of claim alleges.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
"The defendants' conduct is unlawful thuggery, which has nothing to do with legitimate trade union activity," the lawsuit says. "This conduct should not be tolerated in a liberal and civilized society."
Wayne Fraser, a director for the union in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces, called the lawsuit an "antagonistic measure."
"It's a nuisance," said Fraser, who is not one of the 25 people directly named in the suit.
"(The allegations) are not true. They're unsubstantiated and it's just a way of Vale trying to divide the membership from its rank and file activists."
A statement of defence has not yet been filed but is in the works, said Fraser, who also said the union plans to countersue the company for defamation.
The lawsuit comes as the two sides met with a mediator over the weekend for exploratory talks in a bid to find a way to ending a seven-month-old strike. The two sides have not formally met since the strike started.
More than 3,000 employees at Vale's mill, smelter, refinery and six nickel mines in the Sudbury area have been on strike for seven months.
At issue are proposals by Vale Inco to reduce a bonus tied to the price of nickel and to exempt new employees from its defined-benefit pension plan, moving them instead to a defined-contribution plan.
Workers complain they shouldn't have to give concessions to a company whose parent, Brazil-based Vale S.A., earned US $5.35 billion in 2009.
The people named in the lawsuit have been targeting Vale employees who have returned to work during the strike, as well as contractors and personnel responsible for picket line security, the company alleges.
Pictures and personal information such as addresses and phone numbers have been posted on a union website and a Facebook page.
Those singled out have had their property and homes vandalized, received anonymous phone threats at home and one employee was assaulted while jogging, the statement of claim says.
Three people named in the lawsuit were criminally charged in that attack.
After that particular assault an altered picture of the man was posted on the Facebook site showing him with scars, a throwing star embedded in his torso, other "cutting weapons" in his torso and arms and his throat slit, as well as the words "Who's Next" on his shirt, according to the lawsuit.
While he was at work one day the same man's vehicle was vandalized, with his tires slashed and the word scab spray-painted about 12 times on his car. Union placards were found on and around the car, the company alleges.
Labels: Canadian labour, direct action, labour, lawsuits, strike, Sudbury, United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike
Sunday, February 14, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY:
WORKERS BLOCKADE VALE INCO SITES IN SUDBURY:
Last Wednesday striking workers of United Steel Workers Local 6500 temporally blockaded several corporate sites of Vale Inco across the Sudbury region. The strike has now entered its 7th month, and with company efforts to resume production with scab labour it is becoming more apparent to the workers involved that they will have to use more imaginative and militant tactics to force Vale back to serious bargaining. The occupation was only temporary, but it is a sign of what the workers can do if they put their mind to it. Keep up to date on this strike by visiting the strike support site Fair Deal Now. Here's the story of what happened from the Sudbury Star.
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Steelworkers set up blockades at Vale Inco plants this morning:
Posted By Carol Mulligan/The Sudbury Star
Hundreds of striking Steelworkers blocked access to Vale Inco facilities early Wednesday, venting frustration with everything from the hiring of replacement workers to the cancellation of a bad-faith bargaining hearing into a complaint filed against the company.
Posted By Carol Mulligan/The Sudbury Star
Hundreds of striking Steelworkers blocked access to Vale Inco facilities early Wednesday, venting frustration with everything from the hiring of replacement workers to the cancellation of a bad-faith bargaining hearing into a complaint filed against the company.
About 100 members of USW Local 6500 were on the picket line forming a human barrier to prevent staff, management and hired contractors from entering the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex about 4:30 a.m.
Similar blockades were conducted simultaneously at Coleman Mine, Clarabelle Mill, North Mine and other Vale Inco operations in the city.
Strikers at the smelter complex fought brisk winds and a wind-chill factor of
-24 C. to redirect contractors and other vehicles, many of them containing workers from other trade unions, away from the complex.
Occupants of the vehicles were told they were "scabs" and that they should go home and spend time with their families and stop doing the jobs of the Steelworkers because it is prolonging the strike, now reaching its seventh month.
About 3,000 production and maintenance workers with Local 6500 in Sudbury and 130 with Port Colborne's Local 6200 went on strike July 13 over pensions, nickel bonuses and seniority transfer rights.
Tensions have been escalating on picket lines in the community as the strike nears the seven-month mark Saturday.
Labels: blockades, Canadian labour, direct action, labour, Sudbury, Sudbury Star, United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR-NEWFOUNDLAND:
VALE INCO THREATENS SCAB START UP IN LABRADOR:
The strike of Local 9508 of the USW against Vale Inco in Voisey's Bay Newfoundland has been ongoing since August 1. Just like in Ontario the company is determined not to give an inch, and they have now threatened to reopen production using non-striking workers. Here's the bare facts from the Canadian Press.
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Non-striking workers to restart mine in Voisey's Bay, N.L. after talks break down:
TORONTO — Brazilian miner Vale Inco says it will resume production at its Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador after contract talks with its union broke down over the weekend.
TORONTO — Brazilian miner Vale Inco says it will resume production at its Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador after contract talks with its union broke down over the weekend.
The company will use non-striking employees to do the work of striking miners.
The United Steelworkers agreed to go back to the bargaining table in Labrador after Vale submitted a new proposal workers called "conciliatory."
However, labour talks broke down almost immediately.
Workers in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1, when they joined more than 3,000 striking Vale employees in the northern Ontario city of Sudbury.
The company accused the Steelworkers of using their Labrador members as leverage for the ongoing strike in Sudbury, where no talks have been scheduled.
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Here are more details from the CBC.
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Vale Inco to resume Voisey's Bay mine despite strike:
Announcement comes day after talks to end Labrador mine strike break off
Less than 24 hours after talks to end a dispute between striking Labrador nickel mine
Vale Inco to resume Voisey's Bay mine despite strike:
Announcement comes day after talks to end Labrador mine strike break off
Less than 24 hours after talks to end a dispute between striking Labrador nickel mine
workers and Vale Inco broke off, the company has announced that it will resume production.
In a release late Monday afternoon, the company said it will start training on-site employees who are not on strike, and will resume operations once that training is complete.
The striking workers, represented by the United Steelworkers Union, have been off the job for almost six months in a dispute where the contentious issue appears to about the company's proposal to freeze wages and roll back an employee bonus plan.
"Although we would prefer to be operating normally," said Bob Carter, spokesperson for Vale Inco in Newfoundland and Labrador, in the release, "the local USW negotiating team remains unable to bargain with authority in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"As such, the resumption of production is the most responsible course of action for the business. It enables us to provide meaningful employment for the more than 250 employees who are not on strike and it helps meet the needs of our customers who rely on us," he said.
Carter told CBC News that the on-site employees the company plans to use to restart the mine are non-unionized.
The release said that during three days of negotiations, the union's negotiating team "refused to engage in any meaningful discussions on monetary issues."
Still seeking concessions: union
The union representing workers told CBC News earlier that negotiations to reopen the Voisey's Bay mine in northern Labrador broke off after 11 p.m. NT on Sunday.
Steelworkers union representative Boyd Bussey told CBC News that Vale Inco is still seeking concessions from the striking workers.
The company has been looking for a three-year wage freeze and wants to roll back an employee bonus tied to the price of nickel.
Bussey said the company wants to be able to contract work out to non-union members.
He said that after three days of negotiations, the two sides are still a long way from reaching a deal.
"I see us further apart, actually very, very disappointing," said Steelworkers representative Boyd Bussey
'We're at an impasse'
Bussey says the company stonewalled on everything from money, to contract length, to the suddenly-thorny issue of contracting out work to non-union companies.
"This issue has really, really become very important for the union," said Bussey. "It's pointless for us to even get increases in wages if we're not going to have jobs, if they're going to contract our jobs out."
Before the decision to restart the mine was made public, Vale Inco officials said it was the union that stalled the talks.
"There's no tentative agreement, unfortunately, we're at an impasse. From our perspective, it was very apparent that the Steelworkers were not prepared to conclude a deal with us," said company spokesman Bob Carter.
Both sides said they're prepared to sit down to talk again, but nobody's saying when that might happen.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/01/25/nl-inco-talks-125.html#ixzz0dq3lcqpF
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Ah, but the union seems to have secret allies in this dispute- a combination of Mother Nature and management ignorance. The ore that is mined in Voisey's Bay is not processed on site. It has to be shipped elsewhere, either to Sudbury or to Thompson in Manitoba. There's a little problem with that right now; it's called "winter". The following article from the Sudbury Star explains this a bit more. The whole scenario conjures up an amusing comedy sketch of some lower level office flunky trying to explain "freeze-up" to one of the higher ups down in Rio Di Janeiro. Never let reality get in the way of a good management plan I guess. Whether the plan is demented or not.
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Nature may thwart Voisey's Bay production:
By CAROL MULLIGAN
THE SUDBURY STAR
Vale Inco's decision to resume production in Voisey's Bay during a strike is an in-your-eye gesture to Steelworkers, says the director of the union for Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.
Vale Inco's decision to resume production in Voisey's Bay during a strike is an in-your-eye gesture to Steelworkers, says the director of the union for Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.
But Mother Nature may thwart plans to move nickel concentrate produced in Labrador out of the province, says Wayne Fraser.
"The seaways are closed until April," said Fraser, director of USW District 6, on Tuesday.
He also questioned the ability of Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador to "be successful in mining, milling and doing all the things they need to do in Voisey's Bay with a very small amount of people, unqualified people."
Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador spokesman Bob Carter said the company is training its workforce that is not on strike.
About 200 members of USW Local 9508 have been on strike since Aug. 1 over issues such as contracting out and the nickel bonus. The company has another 250 or so employees.
A recent set of talks between the company and the union ended unsuccessfully late Sunday.
"Training will take as long as is required to ensure that people who are assigned new duties are able to do them safely, which is our top priority, and competently," said Carter in an interview from St. John's, NL.
"When we are at a point that we feel the workforce is ready to begin production, we will do so."
Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador operates an open pit mine and mill at Voisey's Bay.
Because the operation went into production in 2005, programs and trainers are still in place "to move forward," said Carter.
Fraser said Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador's decision to resume production is "very clearly an attempt by Vale to say, 'In your eye, Steelworkers. In your eye, members of the Steelworkers' union. We're going to try to do what we can to move ahead with our plans.' "
The District 6 director challenged critics who claimed the bargaining committee for USW Local 9508 had no authority to make decisions during negotiations -- "that everything was being controlled by Sudbury.
"That's an absolute lie," said Fraser. "Our (Voisey's Bay) bargaining committee was there to try to get a deal."
What stopped them, said Fraser, "was the company's insistence they have a right to contract out any kind of work the members are currently doing. The bonus remained as they proposed.
They even want to change the term of the contract. A lot of issues were not addressed by the company," he said.
Feed from Voisey's Bay is usually sent to Vale Inco's Ontario and Thompson, Man., facilities for further refining.
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So Molly leaves you with the image of 50,000 dog teams valiantly struggling across northern Québec and Ontario (and maybe into Manitoba too) bringing the ore to Sudbury or Thompson. It's the sort of thing of which epic movies are made. To follow this important Canadian strike check in regularly to the strike support site Fair Deal Now.
Labels: Canadian labour, labour, Newfoundland, scabs, strike, United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike, Voisey's Bay
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY:
VALE INCO STRIKE APPROACHES 6 MONTHS:
The strike of the United Steel Workers Against Vale Inco in Ontario and Newfoundland is now approaching six months duration. As such it seems set to become a record breaker in terms of duration. Molly has blogged many times abour this strike. The following items both come Molly's way via the strike support site Fair Deal Now. The first is originally from the Sudbury Star.
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Unhappy anniversary: Vale Inco strike approaches six-months:
Posted By CAROL MULLIGAN
For 30 years, the 8 1/2-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 contribution 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 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 "concessions" that have them stuck at an impasse.
Unlike other strikes in the company's history, no bargaining has been conducted since Steelworkers walked off the job July 13 at 12:01 a.m.
Unlike other strikes as well, Vale Inco has restarted some operations -- notably Garson Ramp, Coleman Mine in Levack and the Clarabelle Smelter. It is also gearing up to run the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex.
In its final offer, the company also proposed changes to a nickel bonus that paid off handsomely for workers in three of the last 10 years when nickel was at record prices. It also wants to increase the time during which Steelworkers can transfer from one job site to another.
If Ball says the word "change" once in a 90-minute interview, he says it a dozen times.
It is a word that causes Fera to raise his voice during an interview at his office at the temporary Steelworkers' Hall on Pine Street.
"People can accept change," said Fera, growing angry. "Unions can accept change. But why the hell would you lay down and accept negative change? If change is not good for you, why would you say, 'bring it on.' "
Fera gets angry with people who say defined contribution pension plans are "the way of the world ... well, that's the way of the world. Is it good? Is it better than defined benefit? Do you think I should accept that?
"They say, 'Yeah, you should because that's the way of the world.' That's bullshit," said Fera.
"That's a lot of bullshit.
"If we had accepted those arguments 50 or 60 years ago, where would we be now?"
But Ball said Vale Inco it is not interested in the past, saying it is a different world today.
"Let's face it. We've seen the kind of changes in the world that none of us have ever seen," said Ball. "Almost overnight there have been changes."
In boom times, when nickel prices were high, "it's really been about, 'produce as much as you can.' "
The world has changed dramatically, "not that our team and company don't acknowledge the role of the USW in the past" and the "tremendous gains" they have made in safety and in the quality of life of its workers.
"We really appreciate that. I've seen a lot of that myself ... that's fully acknowledged."
The fundamental difference now is "our business needs to shift gears. The model of operation in the past cannot be the model of operation in the future. Things are extremely different in terms of where we forecast nickel to be going forward."
When Companhia Vale do Rio Doce purchased Inco three years ago, the nickel forecast was "very, very promising," said Ball, drawing an upward 90- degree angle with his hand.
"Now it's like this," he said, gesturing a flat line. There's a "huge discrepancy" between where the nickel price is today and where CVRD thought it would be now.
And despite not producing for more than six months, "our strike here has had almost no effect on the supply of nickel in the world market ... it's grow," which reflects "how things have changed," he said.
There is still about 130,000 tons of nickel stockpiled on the London Metals Exchange, "equivalent to what we produce in Sudbury in a year."
Fera admits the time was not ideal for a strike, but said the union had no choice.
USW insists Vale Inco earned $4 billion in the 2 1/2 years after it purchased Inco and is using the worldwide recession to justify seeking concessions from workers.
"If we lost stuff in this contract, do you think we would have gained it back in 2012?" Fera asked.
After more than 30 years, Fera is nearing the end of the career he started at the Coniston smelter as a skimmer, moving on to become an electrician.
"This is a fight about our young people," said the third-generation Inco employee.
He and his generation won't leave behind a defined contribution pension, the loss of seniority transfer rights and issues relating to contracting out as a legacy for the next generation of miners.
"Where do you go from here?" asked Fera. "Our alternatives are few, but you can't pick your times (to strike)."
Fera charged that, from the beginning of bargaining with Vale Inco's negotiating team, there was no give and take.
The company virtually said, "Here's our offer ... don't change a word of it because that's our offer. 'You accept it 100 per cent or there's no deal.' That's not negotiations."
Ball insisted progress was made on some issues.
"Several subcommittees worked on elements of the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) that were agreed to. In that period, there were a significant number of changes that occurred."
The outstanding ones -- the "flashpoints" -- are ones "that didn't change or maybe didn't change to the satisfaction of the Steelworkers."
Fera said his bargaining committee tried to address the "timing" issue by offering to renew the old contract exactly for three years or even a year.
Looking back, he is convinced "we were dealing with a committee that did not want to get a contract."
After the negotiating period was extended, first for five days, and then for five weeks, and it was becoming apparent contract talks were not going anywhere, Vale Inco posted its offer to Steelworkers on its website.
"What an insult that was," said Fera. "That kind of gave us an indication of what kind of company they were."
USW has repeatedly expressed its displeasure that Toronto labour lawyer Harvey Beresford is leading negotiations on the company side. Beresford has sat on Inco's bargaining committee for 30 years, but the team was always led by an Inco decision-maker.
USW international president Leo Gerard is bullish on the subject.
In 40 years, he has never negotiated with a company that "didn't have somebody at the table who was able to make a decision," said Gerard in a telephone interview from USW headquarters in Pittsburgh.
A former Inco worker and USW staff representative in Canada, Gerard remains a member of USW Local 6500 in his hometown Sudbury to this day.
He echoed Fera's observation that "we can never talk to the decision-maker. We only talk to the hired mouthpiece."
Ball pointed out Beresford has been an Inco negotiator for decades and that Vale Inco's current bargaining committee is comprised of people known to the union.
But Fera and Gerard charged Vale SA president and chief executive officer Roger Agnelli is making the real decisions at the company's Brazil headquarters.
Several strikers' actions and campaigns have been targeted at Agnelli in the last six months.
It is beyond frustrating, said Fera, to "talk to public relations people reading a script."
Vale kingpins such as Agnelli did not understand the resolve of his union "because Vale does not negotiate in their workplaces around the world as we do here. I don't think they understood how big a deal negotiations is and how big a deal a strike is because that's the only recourse we have."
Gerard spent time in Sudbury over the Christmas season and met many strikers while he was here.
"They're angry, but they're very determined," he said.
Vale Inco's refusal to return to the bargaining table is infuriating members.
"It is clear when the union, at every level from the international president to the members of the bargaining committee, say we're prepared to negotiate with no pre-conditions, and the company keeps behaving in the way it has in provoking dissension and in trying to intimidate individuals, acting like they were trained in a military dictatorship, it says a lot," said Gerard.
He, Fera and other union officials are angry about Vale Inco's lawsuit against individual strikers, the first time that type of legal action has been taken in an Inco strike.
"Imagine a company like Vale suing a picketer personally," said Fera. "Not only have they taken his wages away, now they're personally suing him for his home and everything. That is disgusting."
Ball acknowledged the "vast majority of strikers" are law-abiding. "The people that have had lawsuits filed against them are people who have demonstrated the kind of behaviour that is breaking the law."
Police have been called to picket lines on occasion. If officers have laid any criminal charges against strikers, police have not made them public.
Vale Inco is saying "it's not OK for people to do what they're doing," said Ball. "The courts will decide."
Six months into what is likely to become the longest strike in Inco's history, it may be pointless to predict what the atmosphere may be like when the labour dispute is eventually settled and Steelworkers return to work.
Fera was on the picket line in that fabled 1978-79 strike. It turned him into a union activist, he says.
"Most of us who became activists did so after that strike because we lost a lot of respect for Inco."
Fera recalled getting a call from his boss about his return to work and telling him he needed two weeks' holidays.
"He said, 'You've been on holidays for 8 1/2 months.' I said, 'No, I've been on strike. Now I need two weeks' holidays.'
"He said, 'I don't understand you guys.' And I said, 'That's right. No, you don't, and you probably never will.' "
Ball admitted there will be a social cost to the strike, however long it lasts.
"As time goes on, maybe the social cost is going to be greater in terms of repairing relationships."
For now, Ball continues talking the company line about its settlement proposal to Steelworkers. "We see it as fair, and what's needed for today and tomorrow's world."
Fera admits his union hasn't changed its position since contract talks began April 7.
"No, we couldn't. We offered to negotiate and they said, 'No, here's the offer.' That's why I don't think they understand negotiations here."
cmulligan@thesudburystar.com
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RALLY TOMORROW
The following notice from the United Steel Workers is abour a solidarity rally due to be held tomorrow in Sudbury.
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Rally to Show Union Standing Strong After Six Months
The United Steelworkers Local 6500, representing workers at Vale Inco who have been on strike since July 13, will be holding a Standing Strong at Six Months rally on Jan. 13.
The march begins at 9 a.m. at the new United Steelworkers hall at 66 Brady St., followed by a hot meal after the rally.
The rally will also include a balloon release, with each balloon “representing 4 million dollars in Vale profits that have left the community,” stated a release from the union.
Labels: Canadian labour, demonstrations, labour, solidarity., strike, Sudbury, Sudbury Star, United Steel Workers., Vale Inco, Vale Inco strike
