16) NEGOTIATE A JUST SETTLEMENT WITH LOCKED OUT STEELWORKERS
Statement adopted by the Central Committee, Communist Party of Canada, Aug. 27-28, 2011
Steelworkers in Hamilton have now been locked out by US Steel for more than 10 months, with no end in sight, no negotiations, and now threats by the company that they will crater their Hamilton operations.
Since negotiations began last year, US Steel has insisted the union accept the de‑indexing of retirees' pensions, the introduction of defined contribution pensions for new hires, and a two‑tier wage system. In other words, the company is demanding the 900 working union members sell out their 9,000 retired members, and all future workers - that is, the city's youth who depend on the steel industry for their livelihoods.
To their credit the locked out Local 1005 members have stood firm through more than 300 days on the picket lines, as well as through company provocations and bad faith bargaining, including:
* closing two blast furnaces in Hamilton, while opening two new furnaces in the US
* price fixing
* taking coke out of Hamilton to working mills in the US, while lying that the coke was for Canada's Lake Erie works
* ignoring City of Hamilton directives to fix the sewer system
* refusing to bargain a collective agreement for 10 months
* attacking the union's bargaining committee
* threatening to close the Hilton Works, which would leave thousands without jobs or income
US Steel, another predator transnational corporation, signed an agreement with Investment Canada when it bought the Hilton Works promising to maintain production, employment, and investment (including pension investments) at the same levels for at least three years, as a condition of purchase.
US Steel has breached this agreement time and again, and has been taken to court by the Canadian government after massive public pressure finally forced the Harper government's hand. It was during these court proceedings that documents proving US Steel's price‑fixing came to light.
One of the first acts of the Harper government after the federal election was to end the lock‑out at the post office with back to work legislation, and to threaten similar legislation against striking workers negotiating with Air Canada. It's on the public record that this Tory majority can act quickly and decisively when it comes to protecting corporations and attacking workers.
We demand that the federal government use its authority to uphold Canada's interests, and the rights of unionized workers at US Steel in Hamilton, by directing US Steel to immediately commence negotiations for a collective agreement with Local 1005 USW; and further to take over US Steel's Canadian operations immediately if it fails to negotiate in good faith, and to resume operations at full capacity with the same size workforce, investment, productive capacity and production levels as existed when US Steel took over the steel mills four years ago. This means rebuilding the two blast furnaces shut down last winter, maintaining the coke ovens, and restoring basic steel‑making in Hamilton.
We stand 100% with Local 1005, its locked out members and retirees, and with the people of Hamilton who have stood up to US Steel's bullying, lying and economic terrorism with courage and tenacity. We call on the labour and democratic movements to close ranks in support of Local 1005, and to increase the pressure on the federal government and on US Steel to get back to the bargaining table and negotiate a just settlement now.
(The above article is from the September 16-31, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)