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By Carol Mulligan, 

The president of United Steelworkers Local 6500 and a retired former local president are accusing Vale Inco Ltd. of bad-faith bargaining in contract talks that broke off Monday.

John Fera is angry the company posted its settlement proposal online Tuesday before he and other members of USW's bargaining committee could present it to members at information meetings Wednesday and Thursday.

Fera said Vale Inco's lead negotiator promised the Steelworkers' team at their last meeting Monday that it would not make the offer public until after those meetings. Posting the offer online is an "end run" around the union, said Fera.

"To me, it is despicable and they can put up a good defence all they want. This is, this is an end run around the bargaining committee, around the union, and they've now let the whole world ... see and talk about our members' contract. To me that's personal and we're really disappointed."

Fera was so outraged, he called Vale Inco's John Pollesel, head of Sudbury operations, to complain about the company's "antics." "It sure is a poor way to get a deal," said Fera, adding the company's intent was to keep members from attending information sessions and hearing their negotiators explain why they believe Vale Inco's offer should be rejected.

Fera said Pollesel told him the proposal was posted because the company was "just trying to communicate with their workers."

Homer Seguin, a long-time member of Local 6500, was involved in several rounds of negotiations with the former Inco Ltd. for decades. "I've never seen tactics like this," Seguin said Tuesday of Vale Inco's posting its final offer. But that is not why he is accusing the company of bargaining in bad faith. "To go into negotiations for (three months) and not change your position ... I think the union should consider charging them with bargaining in bad faith because that is not bargaining. That is not bargaining. If I were involved in there, I would consider seriously charging this company with bargaining in bad faith because they're not making one step at bargaining," said Seguin.

The extended deadline for contract talks is midnight Sunday, which means Steelworkers could be either locked out or take to picket lines Monday at 12:01 a. m.

Fera said he and his team have made a deliberate effort not to bargain in the media. He admits the rhetoric has heated up in recent weeks after months of unsuccessful negotiations, but his bargaining team has not talked about specifics.

Posting online is not about getting an agreement, said Fera. "It's about going around the union. It's as simple as that. It's about going around the union, showing disrespect to the people that have been here for years and years. We're really disappointed."

What Vale Inco "forgot" to put on its website, he said, is the "stuff they wanted to take away."

It is possible, said Fera, that some union members won't bother to attend information sessions after reading Vale Inco's proposal online, but he still expects good attendance at meetings Wednesday at 1 and 8 p. m. and Thursday at 1 p. m. at Garson Arena.

Because so many members have been off the job because of a production shutdown at all Sudbury operations since June 1, it has been difficult to get information to them.

Vale Inco spokesman Steve Ball responded to Fera's and Seguin's comments about bad bargaining with a written statement: "We have been bargaining with the union in good faith since day one and will continue to do so."