BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
Following a strike that lasted less than two days, the 330 CVRD Inco office, technical and professional workers belonging to United Steelworkers Local 2020 voted Monday night in favour of signing a three-year contract with the company.
“The membership ratified the contract with 87.4 percent of the vote,” said United Steelworkers area co-ordinator Dan O'Reilly. ”That's a great percentage. People are pleased that the company showed them the respect that should have been shown before Saturday night.”
Picket lines were set up at midnight Saturday after the workers' collective agreement expired. Production was pretty much halted Sunday because the workers' peers in Steelworkers Local 6500 refused to cross the picket lines.
A tentative deal was reached after a marathon bargaining session that lasted until 4 am Monday morning.
Production resumed Monday because the workers allowed all other workers to cross their picket lines.
O'Reilly said the workers will receive a $4,000 signing bonus, which was the major sticking point in negotiations.
They will also get a 2.75 percent wage increase in the first year, a 2.5 percent the second year and 2.25 the third year. By the third year, the average CVRD Inco worker belonging to Local 2020 will be earning $2.40 more per hour.
“There's also a great maternity leave package,” said O'Reilly. “Seventeen weeks at 90 percent (of their wages). Plus they get profit sharing at 90 percent for the whole 17 weeks, which nobody else has. We all get profit sharing, but nobody else gets profit sharing when they're on maternity leave.”
The union wanted a share of the large profits the company is making, said O'Reilly.
“We recognize good times," said O'Reilly. "In good times we make good money, and we recognize when bad times come – although it doesn't look like they're coming – then we will get less money.”
The union boss said he personally wants to thank the leadership and members of Local 6500 for their solidarity with Local 2020.
“Even though it wasn't affecting them directly, they took it as an insult from the new owners. They refused to go to work because of safety concerns. I think the new management got an education in the labour history of Sudbury,” he said.
Although O'Reilly said he's happy with the deal, it didn't come without a fight with management.
“I think the company was arrogant right to the bitter end. There was no reason for the strike. They thought they could intimidate this union of office workers, and they found out they couldn't," he said.
"I don't think the company ever gives anything. My opinion is we take it from them.”
CVRD Inco spokesperson Cory McPhee said he's glad a deal was reached without work being interrupted for too long.
“We're very happy to have our employees back on the job,” he said. “A strike is a difficult situation and it's certainly far preferable to be working together to create our future together.”
McPhee said some skeptics believe there's a negative relationship between the new Brazilian owners of CVRD Inco and the unionized workers, but he didn't agree.
“I don't really see it that way,” he said.
“This was a contract negotiated by a local team representing the union and a local team representing the company. I think more than anything what you saw impacting these negotiations was the extraordinary market we have right now.
“We ended up with a deal fair to employees and allows the company to move forward as well. We recognize these are unprecedented times in our industry.”
