Local 1005 Thanks Ontario Workers and Unions for their Support
Four of our executive members of Local 1005 USW including Rolf Gerstenberger, Gary Howe, Dennis Van Meer and Jake Lombardo attended the Ontario Federation of Labour Convention in Toronto from November 21st to the 25th. Several issues were discussed including the eleven month lock out imposed by US Steel. Rolf thanked the OFL, the workers and the numerous unions for their support during the lockout period. He specifically emphasized the significance of the opposition by workers and their unions to the attacks of the monopolies, denouncing the back to work legislations against postal workers and Air Canada workers.
Rolf also expressed his gratitude to the workers who fought for justice. He specified that because of them, the company will not get away with acting with impunity. The workers are preparing for another round of serious discussion and towards the impunity issue.
Furthermore, Gary Howe spoke on the importance of manufacturing. He requested support for the farmers fighting against the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board and supply marketing systems. Howe and Steve Weller; President of Local 7135 USW, addressed the vitality of the crisis of manufacturing in favour of the working people, rather than the monopoly interest.
Also, on November the 24th, a contingent of Local 1005 members and retirees took part in the OFL demonstration. They stood behind the banner calling for “A New Direction for the Economy”.
Canadian Wheat Board vs. Nation Wrecking
US Steel and National Steel Car Workers, members of Local 1005 USW AND Local 7135 USW were joined by CUPE workers and members of the community for a rally on November the 25th in front of the Federal building in Hamilton in support of the Canadian Wheat Board. Members stood in front of the Local 1005 banner reading “A New Direction for the Economy”. There were many other signs including “Support the Canadian Wheat Board”, “Support Our Farmers, Oppose CETA (Canadian-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement)”, and “Manufacturing Yes! Nation-wrecking No!” was only some of the influential signs uses to protest.
Local 1005 Vice-President Gary Howe explained that the defence of the Wheat Board is crucial to farmers and thousands of workers who rely on it. Steve Weller, President of Local 1005 outlines how the destruction of the Wheat Board will not only negatively impact the farmers, but it will also take a huge negative toll on manufacturing. Specifically, he refers to National Steel Car since they build the rail cars that store and move the wheat which are now due to be refurbished or replaced. He emphasizes that Hamilton is currently suffering from the loss of manufacturing jobs and absolutely cannot afford to lose more manufacturing employment.
During these actions, Local 1005 distributed an “Information Update” which addresses the importance of the Canadian Wheat Board. Local 1005 calls upon all Canadians for their support and for their understanding that the Harper government is to be held accountable for this nation-wrecking agenda.
Hold U.S. Steel Responsible for Problems at Max Aicher North America
In November of 2010, Max Aicher North America (MANA)bought the old Stelco’s Bar Mill and Bloom Mill Departments from U.S. Steel. Since this occurrence, Local 1005 members who had worked for the departments moved over to MANA which currently employs 110 workers. However, as of July 2011, production at MANA has been infrequent, causing the whole plant with the exception of three employees to shut down. For the past few weeks, less than 30 employees have been working. The problem appears to be due to the lack of orders for the bar mill.
U.S. Steel is largely responsible for MANA’s problems. When Max Aicher bought the bar and broom mill, he did so with the understanding the U.S. Steel would provide MANA with blooms for the caster. However, U.S. Steel disabled its blast furnace. Unfortunately, the U.S. Steel was not held accountable by the provincial government, and instead a guarantee was provided in the form of a 9 million dollar loan. The government claimed this would help increase jobs, specifically MANA could now employ 300 workers and as a result, this would help boom Hamilton economy.
Since MANA could not get the blooms from U.S. Steel, it was not yet ready to switch to another source due to the difficulties in getting the quality control approval which is essential to many bar mill customers. Roughly six months worth of contractors were lost due to the wait for the approval process to be completed. Consequently, workers also expressed their frustration that much of the steel that MANA received was not the best of quality and as a result, the mill had difficulty running it
Due to this issue, workers at MANA and in the community of Hamilton are now feeling uncertain as to what the future hold to the mill and to their jobs. Note that some employees have worked in the bloom mill and bar mill for over thirty years. Therefore, this issue holds a major effect on many.
Contact Information
You can contact USW Local 1005 via telephone or email directly at:
