USW District 3 Director Stephen Hunt is inerviewed in Ottawa by StraghtGoods.ca about Bill C-300, a private members' bill aimed at making Canadian extraction companies  accountable in foreign operations. Click to view.
	DealwithSteel.ca is a website that supports the USW's BC Interior Wood Council locals in negotiations with BC Forest Industry employers. Union members, members of our communities and the media can keep up to date by visiting the site. Click to view.

District 3 Director Stephen Hunt and USW National Director for Canada Ken Neumann joined an international delegation to support the Mexican Miners' Union and exiled leader Napoleon Gomez. Click for feature story.

5 FEBRUARY 2010 – District Health Care Bulletin Highlights Compass Lock Out, Alberta NDP Community Tour and Cutbacks in BC

BURNABY, BC – The February 2010 issue of the District 3 Health Care Workers Council Bulletin has been circulated to union activists in Western Canada. This issue has an article on the ongoing lockout of LU 2009 members by Compass at several hospital site in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Workers are fighting for an equitable settlement at cafeteria and coffee shops. In Alberta the Official Opposition NDP are reporting back to seven communities on the results of a tour that took place in the fall of 2009. Albertans are calling for a halt to service cutbacks throughout the province. In BC, health care authorities have been directly affected by government cutbacks. Private contractors are cutting jobs and increasing workloads for custodial staff and food service employees. ... more

4 FEBRUARY 2010 – Steel This Week

WILL BHP BILLITON PUT A MOVE ON A SASKATCHEWAN POTASH PRODUCER? • STEELWORKERS ISSUE STRIKE NOTICE AT NELSON CREDIT UNION • CRISIS, WHAT CRISIS? • RAILROADS’ PROFITS UP IN SPITE OF SLIPPING REVENUES • GODIN URGES EI EXTENSION • MEPS SEES GLOBAL STEEL PRICES RISING ON HIGHER INPUT COSTS ... more

2 FEBRUARY 2010 – BC is Worse Province For Child Labour and Poverty As More Kids Get Injured in Workplaces

BURNABY, BC – British Columbia is one of the richest provinces in one of the world’s richest nations. Yet it has the country’s highest child poverty rates and the worst labour standards to protect our kids. To make things worse, injuries to children 15 years old and younger have climbed ten fold since the BC Liberal government of Gordon Campbell amended employment standards law to allow children as young as 12 years old to work 20 hours a week when they are in school and 35 hours a week when classes are out. All that kids aged 12-14 need is the permission of one parent or a guardian. And get this: it is legal for kids under 12 to work in BC, as long as there is a permit issued by the BC Employment Standards Branch!... more

28 JANUARY 2010 – Bill C-300 Lobby Will Resume After Prorogued Parliament Resumes

BURNABY, BC – When the House of Common re-opens following Stephen Harper’s prorogation of parliament on March 3, a private member’s bill, Bill C-300, will still be in front of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. Bill C-300 (the Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act), which the United Steelworkers supports, has passed second reading and will be in front of the committee for 60 days after parliament is called back. USW District 3 Director Stephen Hunt, who led a November 2009 union lobby of politicians on Parliament Hill, says the bill is a “move in the right direction” to get Canadian mining, gas, oil and other extraction industries that operate around the world to be more accountable on human rights, labour rights and the environment.... more