CANADIAN LABOUR NEWFOUNDLAND:

MULTINATIONAL VALE REJECTS INQUIRY RECOMMENDATIONS:

While the "big ticket" strike against the multinational mining giant Vale is now a thing of the past the strike by members of the United Steelworkers in Voisey's Bay Newfoundland is now in its 17th month with no sign of resolution. The strike was the subject of a recent provincial commission inquiry. The workers accepted the recommendations of the inquiry, but the company rejected them. From the viewpoint of such a company there is no need for compromise, and they feel free to ride roughshod over anyone working for them anywhere in the world. Here is the press release from the United Steelworkers about this news.

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Commission Report Requires Immediate Government Action
11 January 2011
In Brief

Industrial Inquiry Commission Report
(http://www.usw.org/admin/media/documents/files/InquiryReport.pdf )
HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, NL - The Industrial Inquiry Commission on the Voisey's Bay labour dispute is overwhelmingly damning of Brazilian mining giant Vale.
If Vale does not accept the commission's recommendations to settle the 17-month strike, the Newfoundland and Labrador government must act immediately in the best interests of our province's working families, the United Steelworkers (USW) union says.

"The inquiry commission's report is unequivocal in its conclusions," says USW staff representative Boyd Bussey. "The report confirms that the union made considerable efforts to reach a settlement, but those efforts were not reciprocated by Vale."

The commission's report speaks for itself:

"(Vale's) approach seemed to send a clear message to the Union that Vale did not view the Inquiry process as important or useful;"

"The Union made significant movement by not only formally dropping a number of its outstanding issues but also by accepting the Employer's position" on several issues;

"(Vale) has through the process of this Inquiry chosen not to alter its position from that presented to the mediator and the Union on October 3, 2010, despite the fact that the Union made significant movement in its position;"

"It is apparent to the Commission that the Employer has an approach that does not contemplate compromise on any basis that might be acceptable to the Union;"

"...the response and reaction from (Vale) was in fact quite negative. (Vale) maintains that it has a desire to conclude a collective agreement, but its actions and reactions send the opposite message;"

"(Vale) apparently believes ... that an employer should be allowed to circumvent a union's right and obligation to bargain on behalf of its membership ... this behaviour demonstrates disrespect for the role of a bargaining agent. It is not surprising that this has contributed to a continued failure in these negotiations."

"Vale's arrogant dismissal of the value and importance of this process cannot be tolerated by the people and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador," Bussey says.

"The inquiry commission was given an important mandate by our government and it fulfilled this mandate by recommending a fair and reasonable settlement to end this 17-month dispute. The Steelworkers accept the commission's report," he says.

"It is unacceptable for Vale to so arrogantly and cavalierly dismiss the inquiry process and its recommendations, and to prolong this dispute.

"If Vale continues to reject such a settlement, our government must act immediately to bring an end to the pain and suffering of so many working families, First Nations and other communities in our province," Bussey says.

The union is recommending that the striking workers, members of USW Local 9508, support the settlement package proposed by the inquiry commission. Union members are voting on the proposal this week, with results expected Wednesday.

At this point, Vale has rejected the proposed settlement. Vale also has rejected the commission's recommendation for a binding, third-party settlement, even though the commission has concluded that "there is minimal risk" to either party in accepting such a resolution.

"Vale has shown it is not interested in compromise," Bussey says. "This is a foreign corporation that is accustomed to holding an incredible imbalance of power over its workers and it is prepared to use scab labour and abuse its massive wealth to get what it wants."

Contacts:
Boyd Bussey, USW, 709-727-8632 bbussey@usw.ca
Wayne Fraser, USW District 6 Director, 416-243-8792, 416-577-4045

CANADIAN LABOUR NEWFOUNDLAND:

NEWFOUNDLAND FIGHTS ON:

While the Vale Inco strike in Ontario has ended with, whatever the claims of the union, essentially a defeat the strike of the USW in Newfoundland continues. Perhaps people in Newfoundland are under less of an illusion that the white knight of a politician will ride to their aid and so depend more upon themselves and find political generosity as a surprise. Something that it should always be taken as. Here's an item from the St. John's Telegram about the 1 year anniversary of the strike in Voisey's Bay.

NLNLNLNLNL
by Lana Payne

365 days of defiance. Three hundred and sixty-five days of standing their ground against the second biggest mining corporation on the planet.
365 days of resistance as that employer — Brazilian mining giant, Vale — seeks concessions and holds up its Newfoundland and Labrador employees as an example to temper the expectations of its workers around the globe. After all, if they can beat back the Canadians, imagine what can be done to those workers in Brazil, South Africa and Peru who do not have the same labour rights that we have in Canada.

While Vale speaks of transforming mineral resources into wealth, the question raised by the strike with its workers at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador is wealth for whom? While attacking profit-sharing with its employees, Vale’s dividends to shareholders in the past year have exceeded the company’s worldwide labour costs.

Despite stunning profits, including $1.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, Vale still seeks concessions from its Newfoundland and Labrador workers. Offended by the profit-sharing nickel bonus Inco had negotiated with the steelworkers in the days when nickel prices were in the basement and no bonus was paid out, Vale has demanded the profit-sharing formula be slashed. It managed to do just that in Sudbury, but wanted even more from its Newfoundland and Labrador workers.

The Brazilian company bought out Canadian Inco in 2006 for $18.9 billion. Voisey’s Bay nickel was part of that deal. The Canadian government allowed the sale after the Brazilian company signed a “secret Investment Canada agreement” that has never been made public.

For the members of the United Steelworkers at Voisey’s Bay, it has been 365 days of staring down the boss’s security cameras as every move and action, taken on what has been an incredibly peaceful picket line, is recorded.

365 days of explaining to their families and looking into the faces of their kids and hoping they understand why mommy or daddy hasn’t had a paycheque in 52 weeks.

365 days of highs and lows, of hope and despair.

365 days of unbearable stress, wondering if they and their union have the fortitude to be one day stronger.

365 days of listening to the spin-doctoring coming out of Vale’s high-paid mouthpieces, and to the naysayers who question their rationale for striking against a global giant that is so much bigger than they are, that has extremely deep pockets and that would like nothing better than to break the union and bring the workers to their knees.

365 days of swallowing and swallowing hard as scab labour is flown into their worksite, carrying out their jobs and being paid extremely well to do so.

While Vale speaks of transforming mineral resources into wealth, the question raised by the strike with its workers at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador is wealth for whom?

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365 days of listening to the company’s threats and intentions to resume full production and being allowed to do so because no law prevents the erosion of the right to strike — one of the few tools workers have in the huge imbalance of power with their employers.

365 days of not just fighting for themselves and a better standard of living, but for all of us who believe that corporations are too powerful and need to be taken down a notch.

365 days of defiance; of not settling for whatever the boss decides they deserve.

365 days of being punished for daring to dream of a better life for themselves and their kids, of daring to dream to be respected for the work they do, and daring to stand up for a world of work that they have a say in, for daring to say democracy in our workplace matters.

365 days of reading the nasty comments from those who anonymously post to media sites and who fail to understand that it is struggles exactly like this one being waged by these workers and their union that have built Canada’s middle class; that have forced a sharing of the wealth generated from our economy, especially from the natural resources of our province and nation. It is struggles like these that push health and safety standards to a higher level.

365 days of wondering, when push comes to shove, if their government will be there for them. Or will their government, like so many others, including the Ontario government, cave under the pressure from big capital and big mining? They wonder if a premier who so dislikes being pushed around, especially by big corporations, will join them and push back.

365 of reading the business pages and knowing that as they struggle to feed the kids their bosses rake in millions and millions in salaries and billions in profits.

365 days of defending against a company that has been breeding discontent in many northern communities, pitting neighbour against neighbour.

365 days when solidarity has been tested, but is given new life because the company pushed one inch too far. 365 days, 8,760 hours, of incredible resolve. The time has come. The time for the provincial government to stand with the workers is now. No more counting days.


Lana Payne is president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour. She can be reached by e-mail at lanapayne@nl.rogers.com .

CANADIAN LABOUR NEWFOUNDLAND:
THE FORGOTTEN STRIKE:


With all the hoopla in the media recently about the end of the Vale Inco Sudbury strike it seems that something has been forgotten. Ontario was not the only place where the USW were on strike against Vale Inco. Soon after the Sudbury local went out they were followed by workers of Local 9508 at Voisey's Bay in Labrador. This strike continues as the following item from the CBC details.
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Striking Labrador miners vow not to give up


Workers from the Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador have been on strike for a year and some vow to remain on the picket lines until they get the deal they want.

Contract negations between the United Steelworkers Union, which represents the striking workers, and Vale broke off late Tuesday afternoon.

Neil Power is among the Labrador workers, who've been on the picket lines for the last 355 days. He said Vale employees in Sudbury, who recently reached a deal to end their year-long strike, gave up too easily.

On Thursday, Power told CBC News he's prepared to stay on the picket line for another year, or two if necessary.

"We can't give up on what our brothers and sisters have fought for in the past and there is a lot of issues in the past that never got resolved and, apparently, they are still having a hard time trying to get it resolved," said Power.

Two weeks ago, more than 3,000 Vale workers in Ontario agreed to a new labour deal. Among other things, the workers will get a raise and a considerable signing bonus.

Striking workers in Labrador told CBC News they stand behind the union that's trying to hash out a deal for them, though they admit the last year hasn't been easy. Less income has meant a modest Christmas and no summer vacations. Some of the workers said its been a struggle to cope.

On Thursday, Bob Carter, Vale's manager of corporate affairs in Newfoundland and Labrador, said talks are not scheduled to resume.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/07/22/nl-voisey-bay-strikers-722.html#ixzz0uYV8wnRp
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Vale is acting in a particularily arrogant way with its Newfoundland employees, refusing to concede even the reduced bonus that they setlled with the Steelworkers in Ontario. This has led Newfoundland labour to ask for provincial intervention in the strike. How kindly the politicians will look upon this request is anyone's guess, though it should be noted that if the situation sparks enough resentment about the tyrannical "outsiders" in Vale's management that the Province might be forced to act. Otherwise I have my doubts. Here's the story of the appeal from the St. John's Telegram.

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Federation calls on government to support Voisey’s Bay strikers

The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour wants the province to take immediate action to support striking Voisey’s Bay workers.
In a letter to Premier Danny Williams Thursday, federation president Lana Payne urged government to send a clear message to global mining giant Vale that enough is enough.

“I have called on the premier to bring an end to this strike by sending the matter to binding arbitration before it reaches its one-year anniversary, which is a shameful indictment of a company that has attempted to erode labour rights in our province. I have also reiterated the need for legislation banning the use of scab labour,” she said in a release.

“It is clear, and it has been clear for some time, that this employer is not interested in negotiating a fair collective agreement. This company is only interested in using its power and wealth to bring the workers and its union to their knees by starving them out. The question is: Are we as a society going to allow that to happen in our province?”

The workers, represented by United Steel Workers 9508, have been on the picket line since last August.

Contract talks between Vale and the union broke off Tuesday afternoon and no talks have been rescheduled.

Payne said the strike is at an impasse.

“These workers through their union have attempted to push back against the excessive concessions being demanded by this global mining giant. They have being trying to get the best deal possible for their members and in doing so have had to take on one of the wealthiest mining companies in the world — a company that is stepping on long-standing labour rights such as the right to free collective bargaining and breeding discontent in our communities by using scab labour.”

According to Payne, the strike has exposed legislative gaps with respect to how the labour rights of working people are protected.

This company has been imposing anti-union tactics the likes of which we have not seen in at least a generation in our province, she said.

“As President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL), I believe our government must send a message to Vale and other corporations that they don’t get to starve people out. They don’t make the rules. Governments do. Societies do.” ( Hopefully more of the latter-Molly )
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The Newfoundland Federation of Labour is actually acting in support of previous appeals to the provincial government on the part of Local 9508 of the USW representing workers at Voisey's Bay. Here's the original letter to the Premier from Wayne Fraser of the USW. Published in the USW strike support site Fair Deal Now.
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Letter to Premier Danny Williams from USW District 6 Director Wayne Fraser
Published: July 22, 2010
Posted in: News, Release
July 21, 2010

Honourable Danny Williams
Premier
Newfoundland and Labrador

The Office of the Premier
Confederation Building, East Block
P.O. Box 8700
St. John’s, NL
A1B 4J6

Dear Premier Williams,

The United Steelworkers union (USW) and the members of USW Local 9508 are requesting your immediate intervention in the second-class treatment of Newfoundland and Labrador working families by Brazil-based transnational Vale.

As you know, members of USW Local 9508 have been on strike at Vale’s Voisey’s Bay operations for nearly one year – since August 1, 2009.

It is indisputable that our union and its members at Voisey’s Bay – like their colleagues in Ontario who recently ended their year-long strike – have shown flexibility and a willingness to compromise to achieve a fair collective agreement with Vale.

But Vale continues to take a more heavy-handed approach with its Newfoundland and Labrador workers. The company is demanding that workers in this province accept an inferior bonus system and collective agreement than the one negotiated earlier this month with 3,000 workers in Ontario.

The latest round of negotiations broke off Tuesday, July 20, after Vale refused to offer Voisey’s Bay workers the same bonus system it negotiated with employees in Sudbury and Port Colborne. Vale also refused to discuss other outstanding issues unless the Voisey’s Bay workers agreed to an inferior bonus plan.

Mr. Premier, we trust you and your Government will agree it is unacceptable that a massively profitable foreign corporation such as Vale would treat Newfoundland and Labrador workers as second-class employees compared to their colleagues in Ontario.

We also trust you will use every means at your disposal to ensure Vale treats the working families of Newfoundland and Labrador with the respect and dignity they deserve.

I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss this urgent matter with you. I can be contacted by telephone at 416-243-8792 or by email at wfraser@usw.ca.

Sincerely,

Wayne Fraser
Director
United Steelworkers District 6

CANADIAN LABOUR-NEWFOUNDLAND:

VALE INCO THREATENS SCAB START UP IN LABRADOR:

The strike of Local 9508 of the USW against Vale Inco in Voisey's Bay Newfoundland has been ongoing since August 1. Just like in Ontario the company is determined not to give an inch, and they have now threatened to reopen production using non-striking workers. Here's the bare facts from the Canadian Press.

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Non-striking workers to restart mine in Voisey's Bay, N.L. after talks break down:
TORONTO — Brazilian miner Vale Inco says it will resume production at its Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador after contract talks with its union broke down over the weekend.

The company will use non-striking employees to do the work of striking miners.

The United Steelworkers agreed to go back to the bargaining table in Labrador after Vale submitted a new proposal workers called "conciliatory."

However, labour talks broke down almost immediately.

Workers in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1, when they joined more than 3,000 striking Vale employees in the northern Ontario city of Sudbury.

The company accused the Steelworkers of using their Labrador members as leverage for the ongoing strike in Sudbury, where no talks have been scheduled.

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Here are more details from the CBC.

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Vale Inco to resume Voisey's Bay mine despite strike:
Announcement comes day after talks to end Labrador mine strike break off
Less than 24 hours after talks to end a dispute between striking Labrador nickel mine

workers and Vale Inco broke off, the company has announced that it will resume production.

In a release late Monday afternoon, the company said it will start training on-site employees who are not on strike, and will resume operations once that training is complete.

The striking workers, represented by the United Steelworkers Union, have been off the job for almost six months in a dispute where the contentious issue appears to about the company's proposal to freeze wages and roll back an employee bonus plan.

"Although we would prefer to be operating normally," said Bob Carter, spokesperson for Vale Inco in Newfoundland and Labrador, in the release, "the local USW negotiating team remains unable to bargain with authority in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"As such, the resumption of production is the most responsible course of action for the business. It enables us to provide meaningful employment for the more than 250 employees who are not on strike and it helps meet the needs of our customers who rely on us," he said.

Carter told CBC News that the on-site employees the company plans to use to restart the mine are non-unionized.

The release said that during three days of negotiations, the union's negotiating team "refused to engage in any meaningful discussions on monetary issues."
Still seeking concessions: union
The union representing workers told CBC News earlier that negotiations to reopen the Voisey's Bay mine in northern Labrador broke off after 11 p.m. NT on Sunday.

Steelworkers union representative Boyd Bussey told CBC News that Vale Inco is still seeking concessions from the striking workers.

The company has been looking for a three-year wage freeze and wants to roll back an employee bonus tied to the price of nickel.

Bussey said the company wants to be able to contract work out to non-union members.

He said that after three days of negotiations, the two sides are still a long way from reaching a deal.

"I see us further apart, actually very, very disappointing," said Steelworkers representative Boyd Bussey
'We're at an impasse'
Bussey says the company stonewalled on everything from money, to contract length, to the suddenly-thorny issue of contracting out work to non-union companies.

"This issue has really, really become very important for the union," said Bussey. "It's pointless for us to even get increases in wages if we're not going to have jobs, if they're going to contract our jobs out."

Before the decision to restart the mine was made public, Vale Inco officials said it was the union that stalled the talks.

"There's no tentative agreement, unfortunately, we're at an impasse. From our perspective, it was very apparent that the Steelworkers were not prepared to conclude a deal with us," said company spokesman Bob Carter.

Both sides said they're prepared to sit down to talk again, but nobody's saying when that might happen.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/01/25/nl-inco-talks-125.html#ixzz0dq3lcqpF

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Ah, but the union seems to have secret allies in this dispute- a combination of Mother Nature and management ignorance. The ore that is mined in Voisey's Bay is not processed on site. It has to be shipped elsewhere, either to Sudbury or to Thompson in Manitoba. There's a little problem with that right now; it's called "winter". The following article from the Sudbury Star explains this a bit more. The whole scenario conjures up an amusing comedy sketch of some lower level office flunky trying to explain "freeze-up" to one of the higher ups down in Rio Di Janeiro. Never let reality get in the way of a good management plan I guess. Whether the plan is demented or not.

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Nature may thwart Voisey's Bay production:

By CAROL MULLIGAN

THE SUDBURY STAR
Vale Inco's decision to resume production in Voisey's Bay during a strike is an in-your-eye gesture to Steelworkers, says the director of the union for Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.

But Mother Nature may thwart plans to move nickel concentrate produced in Labrador out of the province, says Wayne Fraser.

"The seaways are closed until April," said Fraser, director of USW District 6, on Tuesday.

He also questioned the ability of Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador to "be successful in mining, milling and doing all the things they need to do in Voisey's Bay with a very small amount of people, unqualified people."

Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador spokesman Bob Carter said the company is training its workforce that is not on strike.

About 200 members of USW Local 9508 have been on strike since Aug. 1 over issues such as contracting out and the nickel bonus. The company has another 250 or so employees.

A recent set of talks between the company and the union ended unsuccessfully late Sunday.

"Training will take as long as is required to ensure that people who are assigned new duties are able to do them safely, which is our top priority, and competently," said Carter in an interview from St. John's, NL.

"When we are at a point that we feel the workforce is ready to begin production, we will do so."

Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador operates an open pit mine and mill at Voisey's Bay.

Because the operation went into production in 2005, programs and trainers are still in place "to move forward," said Carter.

Fraser said Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador's decision to resume production is "very clearly an attempt by Vale to say, 'In your eye, Steelworkers. In your eye, members of the Steelworkers' union. We're going to try to do what we can to move ahead with our plans.' "

The District 6 director challenged critics who claimed the bargaining committee for USW Local 9508 had no authority to make decisions during negotiations -- "that everything was being controlled by Sudbury.

"That's an absolute lie," said Fraser. "Our (Voisey's Bay) bargaining committee was there to try to get a deal."

What stopped them, said Fraser, "was the company's insistence they have a right to contract out any kind of work the members are currently doing. The bonus remained as they proposed.

They even want to change the term of the contract. A lot of issues were not addressed by the company," he said.

Feed from Voisey's Bay is usually sent to Vale Inco's Ontario and Thompson, Man., facilities for further refining.

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So Molly leaves you with the image of 50,000 dog teams valiantly struggling across northern Québec and Ontario (and maybe into Manitoba too) bringing the ore to Sudbury or Thompson. It's the sort of thing of which epic movies are made. To follow this important Canadian strike check in regularly to the strike support site Fair Deal Now.

CANADIAN LABOUR-NEWFOUNDLAND:

VALE INCO HIDES FROM NEWFIE WORKERS:

Last November 15 the sound of clucking could be heard in the streets of downtown St. John's Newfoundland as mining conglomerate Vale Inco chickened out from making an appearance at a scheduled Mining Conference. The cause...they heard that striking workers from their Voisey's Bay facilities were coming to demonstrate. Here's the story from the USW strike support site Fair Deal Now.

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Vale Workers Travel to St John’s as Vale Inco Hides:
Striking miners from Voisey’s Bay travelled to St. John’s to demonstrate at a Mining Conference sponsored by Vale, but Vale doesn’t show up.

Upon hearing of United Steelworkers’ protest at the St. John’s Mining Conference, Vale didn’t ever set up a booth. This is in keeping with Vale’s cancelling of “Vale Day” at the New York Stock Exchange and other stakeholder meetings last month.

Pictured above are Brenda Andrew, Jerome O’Keefe (from Oil refinery), some other picketers from the St. John’s dockyard, Doug Saunders, Robert Legge, Bernie Power, Glen Nichols, Renee Edmunds, and Doreen Squires.

After realizing that Vale was going to be a no-show, the workers (from Voisey’s Bay and the St. John’s dockyards) took their protest to the Baine Johnson building where Vale Inco has its Atlantic Canada Headquarters.

CANADIAN LABOUR-NEWFOUNDLAND:

VOISEY'S BAY STEELWORKERS NOW ON STRIKE AGAINST VALE INCO:

As mentioned before on this blog members of the United Steel Workers Canada were in a legal strike position as of yesterday, August 1. As of that they they are indeed on strike. Here's the story from the Sudbury Star via the strike support site Fair Deal Now. The Fair Deal site also reports increasing solidarity coming from Brazilian employees of Vale Inco.

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Vale Inco workers in Voisey's Bay on strike:

Ron Thomson
For The Sudbury Star
Strikes here in Greater Sudbury and one in Voisey's Bay are attempt by Vale Inco to "squeeze the blood out of our members," a top Steelworkers official charged Friday.

"We're appreciative of our brothers and sisters in Voisey's Bay joining us on the picket line," said Wayne Fraser, director of United Steelworkers District 6. "We'll be bargaining together for a successful conclusion."

More than 3,000 Steelworkers in Greater Sudbury and Port Colborne have been on strike since July 13. Another 450 Steelworkers in Newfoundland and Labrador hit the picket lines Saturday, after voting 99% in favour of striking.

Negotiations between Vale Inco and the union in Voisey's Bay broke off in June. There has been no collective agreement in place since March.

Pensions, benefits and bonuses are issues both here and in Voisey's Bay.

Vale Inco has said little about the pending strike. "No bargaining meetings are scheduled" with Voisey's Bay workers, Cory McPhee, a Vale spokesman in Toronto, told Bloomberg.com in an e-mailed response to questions.

Fraser said Vale Inco has been "ruthless" prosecuting the strike in Greater Sudbury and Port Coloborne, and expects the same for workers in Voisey's Bay.

For example, Fraser said Vale Inco has been telling injured workers in Greater Sudbury they must cross the picket line or be cut off from disability benefits. (Tell me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this seem extraordinarily low handed on the part of the company. I wonder how they coukld get away with even making the suggestion.-Molly )

"This is how ruthless they are, this is how uncaring they are," he said. "On Tuesday, we're thinking we're going to proceed with a complaint to human rights on behalf of those 200 people. We think it's discrimination at its worst ...

"It's an indication of the things this company is doing, it's an indication of who these new owners are," he said.

With nickel prices at more than $7 a pound right now and expected to climb to $11 or $12 next year, Vale doesn't need the concessions it wants from its workers, Fraser said.

"Those were predictions made by Vale at the bargaining table," he said. "This isn't about sustainability; this is about squeezing the blood out of our members."
Read more in Monday's Star

CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY/PORT COLBORNE:

USW BEGIN STRIKE AGAINST VALE INCO:

Today workers represented by the United Steel Workers began strike action against Vale Inco at both the mines in Sudbury and the refining plant in Port Colborne, both in Ontario. Vale Inco (see the wikipedia article on this company ) is the Brazilian owned parent company that acquired inco in October 2006. With this acquisition Vale became the second largest mining company in the world. Workers at the Voisey's bay operation in Newfoundland have also taken a strike vote which authorized strike action beginning in early August. Here are the bare bones of the story from the Reuters News Agency.

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Strike begins at Vale Inco's Ontario sites
Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:12pm EDT

TORONTO, July 13 (Reuters) - Unionized workers at Vale Inco's nickel mine in Sudbury and its nickel refinery in Port Colborne, both in Ontario, went on strike early on Monday, after rejecting the company's contract offer over the weekend.

"The strike started at midnight and workers were on the picket line just after midnight, both at Sudbury and Port Colborne," said Bob Gallagher, a spokesman for the United Steelworkers union.

The strike won't have any immediate impact on nickel output because Vale had closed the Sudbury mine through the end of July because of low nickel prices.

Negotiations between Vale Inco -- the nickel mining and processing division of Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (VALE5.SA) -- and its Sudbury union broke down as the two sides failed to agree on bonuses, pensions and other issues.

Members of the USW's Local 6500 voted overwhelmingly to reject the company's contract offer on Saturday. The Local represents about 3,300 workers at the Sudbury site in northern Ontario, which is one of the world's largest nickel mines. And about 120 workers of USW's Local 6200, which represents workers at the Port Colborne nickel plant in southern Ontario, rejected the offer on Sunday.

Miners at the Vale's Voisey's Bay nickel-copper operations in Labrador on Canada's East Coast have already voted to authorize a strike, which will likely take effect in early August.

Gallagher said the union was willing to go back to the negotiating table if the company will to come back and talk about possible compromises. Company officials were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; editing by Peter Galloway)

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For many years past Inco facilities, whether in Ontario, Newfoundland or here in Manitoba, have often been the scenes of long and hard fought strikes. While both the union and the managers of Vale (for obviously different reasons) are saying that the strikes will be short term the reality is likely to prove otherwise. While workers in Newfoundland will likely join their compatriots in early August those at Thompson, Manitoba are bound by a contract that will not expire until 2011. No doubt the strike would be more effective if it was nationwide, but barring that there are surely other actions (work to rule ???) that Inco workers elsewhere could undertake to support their fellows on strike. It should also be noted that the United Steel Workers have signed agreements with other unions representing miners in countries where Vale operates calling for global cooperation.

In the meantime the Ontario workers have launched a website (Fair Deal Now) to give the union point of view on the strike. Here's the announcement from the website of the United Steel Workers.

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Inco Strikers Launch Action Website: “FairDealNow.ca”:
13 JULY 2009 – Facing a final offer that demands long-term dramatic cuts, USW workers overwhelmingly reject the concessions from a company that made over $13 billion US last year.

Workers Launch an Action Website (http://www.fairdealnow.ca/ as they begin strike at Vale Inco.

After months of negotiations, the Vale Inco position demanding major long-term concessions to pensions, the nickel bonus and seniority has not changed “one iota”.

Faced with a final offer that demanded dramatic long-term changes and cuts to the collective agreement, USW members voted overwhelming to reject the demands.

In votes of 85%, 97% and 99%, USW workers in Sudbury, Port Colborne and Voisey’s Bay voted down the company’s final offer.

“Vale made over $13 billion US last year, and currently has over $22 billion US cash assets on hand, but is using the economic environment to take away new workers’ pensions and slash profit-sharing in good times -- our members deserve better,” said John Fera, President of USW local 6500.

As of 12:01am, July 13th, USW workers at Vale Inco are on strike.

Show your support, follow the developments and receive “breaking news” updates by visiting their new action website, details below.
->->Visit the Vale Inco strikers’ wonderful new action website at http://www.fairdealnow.ca/. ->->View the news releases and coverage concerning Vale Inco.

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As the photo above shows workers in Sudbury began their strike action by a graphic "showing of the Canadian flag". This is both quite apt and only potentially ironic. The Brazilian owners of Vale, of course, care as little for the well being of workers in Canada (or other countries where they operate such as Indonesia, New Caledonia and Kanaky) as they do for their workers in Barzil. What seems ironic is the idea of Canadians protesting against "Brazilian imperialism", but in our new world of globalization the idea that a company is "headquartered" in a presumably poor country is meaningless. The international ruling class of managers is just that - international. They operate wherever profit is to be made, and the old ideas of "imperialism" connected to this or that country are becoming increasingly antiquated.

Still, the appeal to both nationalism and, much more importantly "localism" is and will be a major driving force behind resistance to the transnationals, whatever their country of origin. What follows below is a 'Letter to the Community' from the workers in Sudbury and Port Colborne. What they make plain is how the fight of the Vale Inco workers is also a fight for the communities involved. Whatever the official union beliefs and hopes in a "low stockpile" of nickel this strike will be long and hard fought. The wider it is and the wider the net of soliodarity that it casts the more likely it is to be successful. This means the involvement of the local communities. It will also hopefully mean, should the strike become bitter enough, the advancement of ideas beyond simple collective bargaining. Can the workplaces be occupied ? Is there another model for how to run the mines, perhaps one where Vale Inco is displaced and the enterprises are managed by a cooperative with representation from the local communities, the Canadian taxpayer and the workers themselves ? This is hardly impossible. In the USA General Motors has essentially been nationalized (without the democratic control of local communitioes and the workers themselves). If Vale wants to claim "poverty" then maybe this option should be on the table. Even if it doesn't come to fulfillment it will, like hanging, do wonders to concentrate the minds of management.

Anyways, from the Fair Deal Now website...

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Letter to the Community:
Dear members of the community,
The workers at Vale-Inco have done everything we could to avoid a strike.

We know how hard this will be on our members and on our communities. Equally, we also know how hard it would be on our members and their communities if we had accepted the company’s demands for dramatic long-term restructuring and cuts to how we are compensated.

This round of bargaining has been nothing like the past negotiations with Inco. Vale, the new owner who currently is a massively profitable multinational from Brazil, has chosen to use the current economic conditions as simply an excuse to extract deep long-term cuts with little regard for maintaining the family incomes that sustain our communities.

The fact is that in the past two years, Vale has extracted twice as much profit from Ontario, as Inco had in the previous 10 years.

We understand these are very difficult economic times, and we let this fact guide us during the entire negotiating process. However, Vale’s focus has not been on trying to find ways to get through these difficult times. (Given they have $22 Billion US of cash assets on hand, you can see why they are not as concerned about this issue as we thought they would be.)

Rather, their main focus has been on dramatically reducing a benefit that does not pay a single cent now (or in any economic hard time).

The nickel bonus is an innovative mechanism developed by Inco and USW to allow workers to partially benefit in good times and to help protect the company in bad times. The fact that Vale is attacking this benefit (that currently pays nothing) shows they are not motivated by the current economic situation.

Vale would rather use this moment to attack a fair mechanism knowing that good times will eventually return.

At the same time, it appears Vale is quite willing to give its senior executives a share of the profits now. Total compensation to the top six Vale executives increased by 120% in the last two years (from 2006 to 2008). (It should also be noted that in 2008 Vale has a revenue of US $ 38.5 billion and a net income of US $ 13.2 billion. Most companies would envy such profitability-Molly )

Still Vale insists they need to radically impose these concessions from their Canadian workers.
We believe that every person who lives or works in the communities of Sudbury, Port Colborne and Voisey’s Bay should recognize that the health and viability of their community is being threatened.

The question is not whether Vale Inco can survive this economic recession. Their profits answer that question. The real question is whether our communities will have the crucial middle-class family incomes when we eventually come out of this recession.

For Canada, the question is whether our natural resources, and the hard and dangerous jobs involved in their extraction, can provide the reliable and hardworking families a middle-class compensation.

For foreign companies to extract those Canadian resources and reap such substantial profits, but not provide our families and communities with hard-working secure incomes is just not right.
We ask for, and appreciate, your support.

Respectfully,
USW locals 6500, 6200 and 6480