PORT-CARTIER and FERMONT, Que. – In voting held throughout the past week in Port-Cartier and Fermont, members of five USW locals have rejected a contract offer from ArcelorMittal.
The contract offer was presented to the 2,500 ArcelorMittal workers on Quebec’s North Shore during online meetings held on Tuesday, April 27. Following these meetings, votes were held throughout the week, both online and in person, in compliance with pandemic regulations.
The official results of the votes, by local, were as follows:
- Local 5778 (Mount Wright and Fire Lake mines): 99% rejection
- Local 6869 (port and railway): 97% rejection
- Local 7401 and 7401-FP South (Port-Cartier office workers and security): 94% rejection
- Local 7401 and 7401-FP North (Fermont office workers and security): 99% rejection
- Local 8664 (Port-Cartier pellet plant): 81% rejection
“The message from our members is clear. The contract offer that was made to them is not acceptable. The members expressed themselves in the votes and in the meetings. We are therefore reaching out to the employer to get back to the table and negotiate an improved offer to address the members’ concerns. We also have a strong strike mandate, that can be exercised at the appropriate time,” said Nicolas Lapierre, USW co-ordinator for the North Shore.