BY KEITH LACEY
Shane Cusack has a wife, three children, another child on the way, a mortgage and, now that he?s on strike, no income.
But he?s not worried one bit. With less than two year?s seniority with Inco Ltd., Cusack, 33, says there?s no way the younger members of Local 6500 were going to be any less militant than the veteran membership against an ?an embarrassing offer? made by Inco to avoid strike action.
Members of Local 6500 voted 95 per cent last Friday against the nickel giant?s final offer. Pickets went up at 12:01 Sunday morning.
?This company has once again made Local 6500 the strongest local in the United Steelworkers,? said Cusack, the union?s strike co-ordinator at Inco?s smelter complex in Copper Cliff.
?The company?s tactics in negotiations and their final offer opened the eyes of a lot of us younger guys who now see what this company is all about.?
The company?s request to reduce health-care benefits for pensioners and survivors was a big
mistake, even if the company insists that proposal has been removed, said Cusack.
?Us young guys are looking at how this company wants to treat the older guys and pensioners and it really worries us,? said Cusack. ?One day, we?re going to be the veterans and we want the younger members to be there for us.
Cusack is adamant this strike won?t end until the company makes a fair and reasonable offer, that not only improves pensions, but also improves wages and benefits.
?We?re simply not going back until we get a better offer,? he said. ?We haven?t had a wage increase on our basic wages for the last three contracts.
?We should be neck and neck with what auto makers make, but they keep getting great contracts and we get nothing.?
Inco?s president and CEO Scott Hand will retire with an annual pension of close to $1 million annually, ?but this company says they can?t find any money to give us a decent raise? and that?s
frustrating, said Cusack.
Financial institutions in this community have always been understanding and patient whenever a labour dispute takes place.
?I?ve already talked to my credit union manager and he fully understands the situation,? Cusack said.
?None of us are going to lose our homes?.if the company thinks they can break us, then they?re in for a big surprise.?
Inco spokesperson Cory McPhee said no talks are scheduled, but insists the company remains open to returning to the bargaining table if union leaders are willing to negotiate and not make unreasonable demands.
?Eventually this dispute has to be resolved at the bargaining table and that?s where it will be resolved,? he said.
The company has no plans to use replacement workers or continue production at any of its mines or plants, said McPhee.
The company is ?disappointed? Local 6500 members on picket duty have so far not allowed non-union employees to cross picket lines and enter the workplace, said McPhee.
?Our people should be allowed to go to work and do their jobs without interference,? he said.
There have been no incidents of picket line violence.
?Everyone has been very well behaved and we expect that to continue,? he said.
The union?s assertion the company wants to eliminate health-care benefits for pensioners isn?t accurate, said McPhee.
The company did make a proposal to control health-care costs, but there was never any suggestion to eliminate any benefits for pensioners and the union acknowledged this late last week just before the strike started, said McPhee.
?We?ve made it very clear we?re not going to eliminate the level of benefits for the current membership or future generations,? he said. ?But we are looking at ways to control benefit costs as we have done in the past with eyeglasses and dental costs.?
McPhee confirmed Inco announced Tuesday its has declared force majeure on certain contracts.
Force majeure is a financial term used to describe a company that can?t fulfil certain contractual obligations, due to certain circumstances, including a labour dispute.
Inco will not be able to supply to its regional marketing units certain nickel, copper, cobalt and other products normally produced at the Sudbury operations because of the strike.
The company will be working with customers to assist them in efforts to meet certain requirements for certain nickel and other products during the strike.
Inco is Sudbury?s largest single employer. About 300 mining supply and service companies in Sudbury that do business with Inco will be affected by the strike which started Sunday.
