Skip to content

Strike ends for Local 6500 after nearly a year on the picket lines

UPDATED July 8 at 10 p.m.
strike
Two union members await the results of a contract ratification vote at the T.M. Davies Arena in Lively July 8. 75.5 per cent voted in favour of the deal with Vale. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.

UPDATED July 8 at 10 p.m.

The picketers were already gone from the road leading into Vale's Copper Cliff Smelter less than an hour after results of a contract ratification vote were announced by Steelworkers Local 6500 leaders during the evening of July 8.

Lyle Young, head of elections for the union, told reporters gathered at the T.M. Davies Arena in Lively, where polling took place July 7 and 8, that 75.5 per cent voted in favour of the deal, with 83.7 per cent of members turning out to cast a ballot.

About two dozen union members turned out to hear the results, and cheered when Local 6500 president John Fera announced that the nearly year-long strike is over.

The results of the vote among Vale workers in Port Colborne, Ont. are also in, with 74 per cent voting in favour of the deal.

“I'm glad our people are going back to work,” Fera said.

“As I said when I spoke to our members, we had hoped to bring our people back a better contract, but our members decided that this contract was going to be OK going forward.”

The contract includes a move from the defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution pension plan for new hires, a $3.75 a pound nickel price trigger for the nickel bonus, which is up from $2.50 a pound nickel price trigger, and a nickel bonus cap of 25 per cent of a worker's pay.

“A year ago, the concessions were huge,” Fera said.

“If we compare what happened this weekend to where we were a year ago, the difference is huge. When they talked to us about a DC (defined contribution) plan a year ago, it had no health benefits, no safety benefits, and you would get no contributions if you were on compensation.”

The issue of the nine workers fired by Vale during the labour dispute for alleged actions on the picket lines will be heard by the Ontario Labour Relations Board July 9.

All other workers are scheduled to return to work within six weeks, according to a return-to-work protocol hammered out between the union and company. Some of the workers could be going back to work as soon as next week, Fera said.

Fera said the fact that the nine fired workers' cases will be heard by the labour board is a “huge victory for not only Local 6500, but for working people in this province.”

“Working people in Ontario, if they got fired while on strike, had no way of defending themselves before this case goes tomorrow,” he said.

“Good for Local 6500. Good for our members for fighting this fight. Let me tell you, this is hopefully going to bring new legislation to this province.”

As far as the replacement workers hired by Vale during the strike, Fera said “they better be gone when we get there.” He said the union would be having a “discussion” with Local 6500 members who have crossed the picket line during the strike.

On July 13, which marks the one-year anniversary of the strike, the union will hold a “solidarity day” at its Brady Street hall, starting at 2 p.m. and lasting into the evening. Fera said there will be fun activities during the day and entertainment during the evening.

“It's a feel-good party that people are going back to work and their lives are going to get back to normal again,” he said.

Fera said much like the eight and a half month strike of 1978-79, the almost year-long strike of 2009-10 has developed a new generation of union activists.

Vale's general manager of Ontario operations, John Pollesel, said in a press release put out July 8 that the company is "very pleased that our production and maintenance employees have ratified these new collective agreements, and we look forward to their return to work and a resumption of normal operations.

“It’s been a long, hard year for everyone involved, and it’s now time to come together and focus on building the strong and sustainable operations that Sudbury and Port Colborne require.”

Pollesel also expressed his appreciation for the assistance of mediator Kevin Burkett, Ministry of Labour Conciliation and Mediation director Reg Pearson and Ontario Labour Minister Peter Fonseca, who all helped the two sides come to a resolution.

Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez said in a press release put out July 8 that with the end of the strike, “the whole community is breathing a massive sigh of relief.”

“No one can deny that the past 12 months have been difficult for our community, especially for the families of the more than 3,000 striking workers,” he said.

“But now that the deal has been ratified, work can begin to put this ordeal behind us. It is my hope that the company and all its employees will build on this week’s accomplishments and reach out to each other to rebuild the relationships that are so essential to achieving success.”

Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas also stated in a press release that she's happy the strike is over. However, she said there is a need for anti-replacement worker legislation in the province.

“Although this is a five year contract we don’t want to see history repeat itself,” she said, in the press release.

“Ontario needs to act now and bring in replacement worker legislation.  Anti temporary replacement worker legislation exists in other provinces and has shown to reduce the length and divisiveness of labour disputes. Ontario must follow suit.”

Check back to NorthernLife.ca for more on this story as it becomes available.


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.




Heidi Ulrichsen

About the Author: Heidi Ulrichsen

Read more