Leo W. Gerard - United Steelworkers

USW members
on the picket line
USW Photos
Now that the biggest ongoing strike in the Steelworkers
union has passed the six-month mark,
3,500 nickel miners in Sudbury, Port Colborne in
Ontario and Voisey’s Bay, Labrador are more committed
than ever to winning a fair contract before returning to
their jobs underground.
The union heritage is strong in these mining towns, going
back to days of the old Mine, Mill and
Smelter Workers Union. Several generations
have endured decades of labor
struggles and work stoppages against the
company known as Inco, which had always
been owned and operated by hard-nosed
Canadians. If visiting there, you will hear
many interesting stories. Like the customs
officer who recalls, “One time when my
grandpa was on strike and grandma went
down to support the picket line . . . she was
gassed.”
Sticking with the union resulted in
steady social progress and improving the
community’s quality of life. Through collective
bargaining, workers raised
themselves up from a meager existence in company housing
to a middle-class standard of living. As the miners prospered,
the communities prospered. When labor agreements expired,
often they were settled peacefully. But sometimes there were
strikes. Through the years, however, negotiators on both
sides formed a mutual respect because they knew they needed
each other.
Continued on next page.
The local unions figured it out early – passive picketing
would not be enough. The locals formed new
committees. A Families Supporting the Strikers
committee holds fund raisers, bake sales, and sponsors
an indoor flea market and activities for children. The
local also manages a food bank.
Donations made to the locals help sustain the membership’s
basic needs. Unite the Union, the USW’s partner in
forming the first global union, contributed $100,000. Other
large donations came from the Canadian Labour Congress,
$100,000; Communications Workers of America, $25,000;
Canadian Auto Workers, $20,000 and many local unions contributed
$1,000 to $5,000.
The membership knows they are in it for the long haul
so they are encouraged to take other jobs. Some go north to
work in the gold mines. Others find work locally, not at the
same wages but enough to get by.
Membership mobilization is important in keeping spirits
up. Major events bring strikers and their supporters together,
showing Vale that the community is standing alongside the
union against the company’s despicable behavior.
When anti-scab legislation was introduced in the Ontario
legislature, the locals held a rally in Toronto’s Queen Park.
Loud and boisterous, their chants were heard in the legislative
chamber. It did not take long before the strikers and their supporters
were kicked out of the chamber. They left with their
heads held high – mission accomplished.
Vale got a court injunction regarding picketing but the
union was not intimidated by it. Under its protocols, Vale is
required to provide strike essentials, including water, washrooms,
cell phones, trailers and firewood. The pickets may
stop busses carrying non-union employees, office and technical
employees and replacement workers for up to 12 minutes.
During this time one picketer is allowed to board each bus
while other strikers are permitted to pass information to the
people on the bus through the windows in accordance with
the protocol. Third-party security personnel must stand at
least 30 feet away from strikers. It also allows for some picketing
at pick-up and drop-off locations,.
“Hey, Vale, Trick or Treat,” was the battle cry during a
Halloween rally on a roadway alongside Vale Inco property.
Vale security, seeing the costumed activists and perhaps fearful
of what trick might be coming, overreacted and called the
cops. When the police arrived, the masqueraders kept their
cool and talked with the police. Peace prevailed and, as expected,
union supporters left without a treat. They were not,
however, disappointed.
On International Human Rights Day, the Sudbury District
Labour Council sponsored a candlelight vigil, attended by a
large gathering of community supporters.
The children’s Christmas party entertained some 1,600
children of striking families and gave out presents.
Students and faculty from nearby Laurentian University
held a class on the picket line to educate the public about the
issues leading to the strike.
Retired veterans of the 1978 strike and other struggles
held sessions with community members to tell of the lessons
learned during past strikes.
A neighbor complained one day, to both the picket captain
and Vale security, about the safety of her daughter and small
children when traffic was backing up near her home by the
Garson Mine. The picket captain treated her with respect and
tried to be helpful. But the security guard made a disparaging
remark about children. The neighbor was outraged. Word of
the incident spread and the guard’s slur served as a lightening
rod for local activists. More than 100 citizens gathered at the
mine entrance and held up traffic to protest the guard’s insult.
If a union member had behaved in such a crass manner, he
would have been discharged. Vale, however, defends the
guard and he remains on duty.
By far the biggest and most successful event took place
in Sudbury on Jan. 13, the six-monthly anniversary of the
strike, when more that 2,000 miners and community supporters,
including Sudbury’s mayor, took to the streets, marching
and chanting in solidarity. The miners were thrilled by the
turnout at what was an historic event. It was a day people
will remember for a very long time. During the 1978 strike
when 11,500 miners worked there, they never had a rally that
compared with the magnitude of this one. The march started
at the union hall and culminated downtown where International
President Leo W. Gerard addressed the gathering and
presented additional pledges of more than $100,000 in donations
boosting the total to exceed $400,000.
Striking Voisey’s Bay workers burn proposed contracts at rally
USW Photos
USW members and supporters march against Vale Inco
14 USW@Work • Winter 2010
USW@Work • Winter 2010 15