tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32250954.post3749738131772841076..comments2024-03-12T02:18:53.121-07:00Comments on Molly'sBlog: mollymewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10608757779720671118noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32250954.post-90252567788931165692009-08-27T08:45:12.914-07:002009-08-27T08:45:12.914-07:00Retraining staff is not strike breaking . . . brin...Retraining staff is not strike breaking . . . bringing in non-staff is.<br /><br />There is a pattern cut production, press for alteration of contracts in both the Stelco and Inco operations.<br /><br />Interestingly there is a Canadian firm suggesting it would purchase Stelco. "Lakeside steel wants former Stelco plants" http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:63KCxQlP7gcJ:beta.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx%3Fe%3D1687253+Stelco+nanticoke&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a<br /><br />The following article provides ammunition for we'uns that are "nationalists" though I prefer the term patriots.<br /><br />Not all posted due to length limitations.<br /><br />Joe Hueglin<br /><br />____________<br />Inco, Stelco: the dark side of foreign takeovers<br />http://www.citizen.on.ca/news/2009/0730/editorial/020.html<br /><br />WHERE WERE THE economic nationalists back in 2006 and 2007 when foreign firms gobbled up so many Canadian industrial giants, among them Inco, Falconbridge, Stelco and Abitibi?<br /><br />Our suspicion is that they were alive and even speaking out, but few of us listened. After all, stockholders were reaping huge benefits, our Loonie was soaring and we were being assured that all the acquisitions would be to Canada's long-term benefit.<br /><br />But as we all now know, any benefits have by and large proved illusory, particularly in the case of Stelco and Inco, and our confident expectation is that the same will hold true for the auctioned assets of Nortel.<br /><br />In the case of Stelco, the behaviour of its new owner, Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, has been particularly offensive and the federal government's response weak-kneed at best.<br /><br />There seems no doubt that the government approved Stelco's sale in part because of assurances that it would be a net benefit to Canada, the buyer having promised to maintain both production and employment.<br /><br />Instead, in part responding to the offensive Buy America requirement in Washington's economic stimulus package, U.S. Steel has shut down Stelco's plants in Hamilton and Nanticoke and is currently producing steel only in the U.S.<br /><br /> In an interview with the Sudbury Star, he even claimed that without Vale the local community would have been a "Valley of Death."<br /><br />The remark ignored the reality that at the time of the sale Inco was reaping huge profits and was the target of a bidding war among three suitors.<br /><br />Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez, a former NDP Member of Parliament, said the minister's comments couldn't be farther from the truth, and that he wants Mr. Clement to come and see how things really are. And the United Steelworkers union has supported a call by two local MPs for the minister's resignation over his "misleading" and "disparaging remarks" about Sudbury.<br /><br />Some Sudbury residents attribute Mr. Clement's different treatment of U.S. Steel and Vale to political reality, with the Conservatives hoping to gain Hamilton-area seats in the next federal election while having little or no hope for a win in the Nickel Belt.<br /><br />Whether or not that's the case, it's surely in Canada's best interests that the government enforce all commitments made during a foreign takeover."JOLTIN' JOE'https://www.blogger.com/profile/03580613341650906176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32250954.post-8245315696297128632009-08-26T23:22:05.858-07:002009-08-26T23:22:05.858-07:00Dear Joe,
Please elaborate on what you have p...Dear Joe,<br /> Please elaborate on what you have posted. I find it every interesting. To the naive reader I might mention that Joe's discussion of Stelco and US Steel refers to another labour dispute in southern Ontario in which the company has locked out the workers. I've meant to mention that dispute here at Molly's blog for some time.<br /> All this trends towards another (Oh God yet another !) modification of this blog. Coming soon---Molly's Suggestion Box for stories that the readers think I should cover. No doubt the above mentioned lockout is one such thing.<br />Mollymollymewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10608757779720671118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32250954.post-7435372912908565382009-08-26T22:22:38.275-07:002009-08-26T22:22:38.275-07:00Subject: F.Y.I: Strike breaking?: Vale Inco resume...Subject: F.Y.I: Strike breaking?: Vale Inco resumes partial operations <br /><br /><br /><br />The Investment Canada Act came into existence to ensure foreign investment was to the net benefit of Canada and Canadians.<br /><br />US Steel has been charged with not living up to the terms of its agreement when the Government agreed to its purchase of Stelco.<br /><br />US Steel and Vale (Vale S.A.) of Brazil have both ceased production in the Canadian assets they were allowed to purchase. In both cases, according to local media, the foreign owners are engaged in pressing for, by Canadian standards, drastic revision of contracts. <br /><br />According to the Simcoe Reformer "U.S. Steel wants a wage freeze, the elimination of cost-of-living allowances, an end to profit-sharing, the introduction of drug co-payments, a reduction in severance pay and the conversion of the company's defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan" Locked out - Simcoe Reformer - Ontario, CA<br /><br />According to the Sudbury Star "Members of Locals 6500 and 6200, which bargain together with Vale Inco, said they rejected the company's settlement offer because it contained concessions, such as a less desirable pension plan for new hires, reduced nickel bonuses and limits on seniority transfers to different workplaces." Vale Inco training regime alarms union<br /><br />Two videos The Real News Network - Canadian miners strike global giant The Real News Network - What it takes to be number one examine the Vale Inco strike, company aims and Government reaction.<br /><br />To this point all action taken by Inco Vale has been accepted by the Government. Inco did nothing wrong: was Minister Clement's opinion stated yesterday.<br /><br /> Most certainly actions by foreign owners to reduce workers contracts from what they were prior to purchase is not of "net benefit" to Canada and Canadians.<br /><br />"Vale CEO Roger Agnelli said he would bring in temp workers to cross picket lines at Vale Inco in an effort to resume operations as labor talks continue with United Steel Workers. " VALE DJ Brazil's Vale CEO: Temporary Workers Possible At Inco - Estado .<br /><br />"Office, clerical and technical workers at Vale Inco Ltd. have been told to get ready for underground work " and "A "very limited" number of people would be hired "from the outside," said Ball, to do work that management and staff are not trained to do." Vale Inco to send office, clerical and technical workers underground: source - The Sudbury Star - Ontario <br /><br />Will a "very limited" number of people being hired "from the outside,'"" be considered strike breaking or be seen as doing "nothing wrong" ? <br /><br />A question yet to be decided.<br /><br /><br />Vale Inco resumes partial operations during strike"JOLTIN' JOE'https://www.blogger.com/profile/03580613341650906176noreply@blogger.com