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THE SUDBURY STAR, 9 July 2009
By Carol Mulligan, 

A strike against Vale Inco is all but certain according to members of United Steelworkers Local 6500 who emerged angry, disgusted and resigned to the inevitable from two information meetings Wednesday at Garson Arena.

About 1,600 members attended a 1 p. m. meeting and 900 an 8 p. m. session at which members of their bargaining committee recommended they reject Vale Inco's proposal. Mike Courchesne came out of the evening meeting convinced he will be walking a picket line Monday at 12:01 a. m. after the current extended contract expires at midnight Sunday.

Courchesne, 27, has been a Creighton miner for two years, has a young family and just bought a house he doesn't know how he will pay for on strike pay. But young workers owe it to "elderly" workers and older workers owe it to younger members to stick together in turning down a contract they say is full of concessions, says Courchesne.

A member who has worked for the mining company, which became Vale Inco less than three years ago, for 24 years was angry with an offer he says is gutting pensions and the workers' nickel bonus.  Member Lynne Descary- Parker was so upset with what she heard at 1 p. m., she returned for the evening meeting to have "conversations" with union colleagues and share what she learned as a member of the Ontario Federation of Labour's Drive to Work caravan.

For three weeks, Descary-Parker was part of a 3,000-kilometre provincewide tour to draw attention to the recession's effects on Ontarians. She said she witnessed firsthand the "decimation and devastation" companies such as the one she works for have had on northern communities.

"I've seen the offer and it sucks," said Descary-Parker, a 20-year veteran who was an industrial mechanic at several Sudbury operations until she was injured. She accused Vale Inco of trying to "drive a wedge" between older and younger workers by proposing people hired from June 1, 2010 on receive a different pension plan than those now employed. But Local 6500 president John Fera said a "huge bond" is developing between younger and older members over the pension issue -- solidarity that will lead them to the picket line next week.

Fera and the rest of the union's bargaining committee were bolstered Wednesday by the turnouts at both sessions. "I would be surprised if one member who attended that (1 p. m.) meeting voted for that offer," Fera said after the 90-minute afternoon session.

Members were "absolutely outraged" at Vale Inco's offer, which the union says includes a less lucrative pension for new hires, reductions in the nickel price bonus and limits on how often members can apply for new job postings.

Members aren't only disgusted with the contract, said Fera. They are furious Vale Inco posted its settlement proposal on its website Tuesday "where all the world could see it."

Fera said the theme of the afternoon meeting was "now is not the time to give back everything we fought for" in the past. The bond between members of different ages is growing because younger workers "know the older guys have fought this fight before," said Fera. The attitude of younger workers is "if we don't stop Vale this time ..."

Local 6500 represents more than 3,000 production and maintenance workers in Sudbury. It is bargaining jointly with Local 6200 in Port Colborne. Both locals' collective agreements expired May 31, 2009, and were extended to midnight July 12 to allow for more bargaining.

Vale Inco spokesman Steve Ball said Wednesday his company is still "not looking for a work stoppage." If a strike is averted, Local 6500 members will be called back to work July 27 on their regular shifts, he said, with the exception of those scheduled to work earlier to restart parts of the operation such as the smelting circuit.  But no one at Wednesday's information sessions was talking about going back to work when the two-month production shutdown is over.

Wayne Fraser, director for USW District 6, said members attending the 8 p. m. meeting expressed the same concerns as the afternoon crowd. "I think they're really upset with Vale's posturing, talking about the Ontario operations not being sustainable going forward and putting the contract on the table with so many concessions in it that brings people so far backwards."

Fraser said "the list goes on with respect to the rollbacks they're asking for -- and this from a company that made $4 billion profit in the last two and a half years. This isn't about poverty. This isn't about sustainability. It's about corporate greed."

Another information session is set for today at 1 p. m. Ratification votes will be held at several locations Friday and at the Steelworkers' temporary headquarters on Pine Street Saturday.