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The
President's Corner
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From the Desk of the President
By Rick Grylls
Published: April 28, 2008
Brothers and Sisters:
Every year, the Sudbury and District Labour Council holds the April 28th Day of Mourning Service at City Hall. Our Local also holds the Mine Mill Workers Memorial Day Service on June 20th. We started June 20th Services in 1985 on the first anniversary of rock burst that claimed the lives of four Mine Mill members.
The following was my speech at the Monday, April 28th, 2008 Day of Mourning.
Each year we gather to remember the names and faces of our family, friends, co-workers and neighbours who have passed away or suffer from accidents and disease.
In the silence of our consciousness we offer up personal prayers to the God of our mind and heart.
Some of us question why me? Some of us hope not to be victims of accidents and disease.
The one belief of all of us gathered here today is – we will continue to raise the awareness of health and safety in our homes, in our workplace, in our schools and community.
It is about gathering enough knowledge to make health and safety an awareness that guides our thoughts and actions in everything we do.
I believe we face a number of obstacles to reach that goal.
Education
Children reach the first age of wisdom between the ages of 9 and 13.
This is when our society should be educating that generation with the lessons we have learned in our workplaces, not when they are 16, 17, 18 or older, when they enter a workplace that too many times give no education at all.
The second age of wisdom starts around 60 and our society should be harnessing that wisdom in developing the health and safety knowledge they possess.
Sudbury and the North have led the way these last 60 years in the changes to the rights of the workers on the job and in reflecting and remembering those who left this world before their time.
Another hurdle is getting all sections of our society to the same table to establish a school program that every student would take.
This would produce safer first-time drivers on our highways. It will produce safer workers for our workplaces.
Health and Wellness
For those of us who deal with the daily issues in the workplace, the last number of years shows an increase in mental health issues.
If you have been following the good work of the Sudbury District Health Unit and the Canadian Mental Health Association, you would see they have clearly identified a number issues and solutions.
The first is that poverty is directly related to many of our society’s problems. The poor health of children in poverty will follow them their whole life span.
Every year there is a growing number of the working poor. We have to make our politicians ashamed that Canada has a child poverty rate of almost 20 percent.
It is clearly stated that the sooner we break that terrible cycle this part of our society is trapped in, the better the whole future of Canada will be.
"Depression & Anxiety in the Workplace"
- Every year, 7.5 million Canadians (1 in 4) suffer from depression, an anxiety disorder, substance abuse, or another mental disorder.
- Most Canadians suffering from depression are between 25 and 64.
- Almost three-quarters of the respondents to the 2002 Canadian Community Health survey aged 25 to 64 who had developed a major depressive episode in the past 12 months, were employed.
- Mental health conditions underlie half of Canadian work absences, or 3.5 days per person annually.
- Depression and anxiety disorders cause more work absences than any other condition.
- The financial cost of mood and anxiety disorders must also take into account the reduced productivity of ill workers who manage to stay on the job… "Presenteeism" adds an estimated $8.1 billion, for a minimum annual total cost of $14.4 billion for depression and anxiety.
We are working to have a stronger understanding of these issues and improving the Employees Assistance Programs that are available to assist us or our family members, if the need arises.
We also must pay better attention to those who are suppose to be taking care of our health care system as it is being sold out by the business right and our health care workers are suffering high rates of violence, mental and physical fatigue.
We must stop the conservatives from gaining power again.
Our Canada, in all its bounty, should not be for sale. It should be defended.
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Corporate power needs to be checked
By Rick Grylls
Published: September 19, 2007
Dinosaurs, kings, queens, emperors and now corporations have all had a time when they ruled the world. Dinosaurs still rule the living room of my grandsons Nolan and Harper and granddaughter Kalem 3, is entrapped in the fantasy charm of princesses and kingdoms.
Some devastating event ended the rule of the dinosaurs millions of years ago, and the first real crack in kingships came in 1215, when the people of England revolted and threatened to kill King John who, to save his neck, signed the Magna Carta. Most historians view this as the first real legislation that gave people community rights from the ownership of supreme power of a kingship.
Many other events have taken place to bring democracy to our lives. The French Revolution is when the people took the power away from a French king. The American Revolution was people taking power from the British Empire for self rule.
Mahatma Gandhi defied the British rulers of India and marched to the ocean to gather salt, thereby starting the passive revolution to bring self rule to his home-land, India. The British had made laws that made it illegal for the Indian people to gather salt from the ocean, as they claimed it belonged to Britain because they were the dominant power.
These are only a few of the many events that have freed people from tyranny and domination that corrupt power brings. Reviewing the state of the world since the end of the Second World War, one must wonder with the bloodshed from ethnic clashes and military power governments, what future event will be needed to bring understanding, peace, friendship, prosperity and true democracy to our world.
Most of us have been associated with a team or group of like-minded people from where friendships have grown. Over the years, workers of CAW Local 61 Bracebridge have become friends of CAW Local 598 Sudbury, 599 Timmins, 103 and 991 North Bay. We always looked forward to meeting and sharing time at CAW council, Workers Memorial Day, educational and other events.
A year ago, the president of Local 61, representing 400 plus manufacturing workers, was summoned into the head office and delivered the untimely fate of closure of a business of over 50 years at the end of 2007. The company was closing its three Canadian shops and transferring production to the U.S. and Mexico. Those new foreign workers will now provide the product for Canadian assembly lines, increase profits for the owners and, at the same time, put more than 1,000 Canadians out of work.
During the last couple of years, this is only 1/3 of one per cent of the 300,000 well-paying Canadian jobs that provided benefits and pensions for those citizens, which were taken by corporations shipping their companies out of Canada.
Oshawa was just delivered a 1,200 worker layoff from the most productive and awarded assembly line, because corporations can transfer the work to lesser governed areas of environment, health and safety regulations and labour costs and increase the profit margin when bringing the product back into Canada.
On Saturday, around 40 workers from Timmins, Sudbury, North Bay and Oshawa will travel to Bracebridge to partake in the final CAW Local 61 event, a barbecue and boat cruise on Muskoka Lake for active, retired and laid-off workers.
Our locals and the national union will provide donations of approximately $7,000 to ensure the day is a success for the members and their 100-plus children.
This community of 15,000 has lost more than 500 jobs; the people have been burdened with a diminished future of opportunity and growth.
There are Canadians who believe we need an event to alter the power of the corporations who, with castles in the clouds, a moat full of lawyers and lobbyists, only exist in a paper world with no boundaries or loyalties for the people. They use us as a capital colony for the sole purpose of a consumer base with no real agenda for Canada as a country with a destiny or future.
This farewell gathering of CAW workers' jobs in Bracebridge the acknowledgement of the devastation to the families and their community is only the beginning.
Rick Grylls is president of Mine Mill Local 598/CAW. |return
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March 16th, 2007
The principle of all the workers joining together to
establish rules and rates for their
labour,
in a single collective agreement, still stands the test of
time for producing the best benefits and protection for
the workers.
The right of workers to assemble their collective strength
in such a manner as a union has always had an opposing
side from those who control the markets.
Many believe the beginning of modern times and the first
real collective actions that produced change for human and
social rights was the Magna Charter, written during an
uprising of citizens (surfs in the history books) against
King John of England in the 1200s.
In North America during the 1800s, the carry- over of
European culture and rights of an employee to have a union
were being re-enacted. The mining camps of the U.S. West
were harsh and brutal work places, which led to the
workers organizing secretly out of fear of being
blackballed or, in some cases death, in order to establish
the right to have a union.
In 1893, after 25 hard years of court actions, the workers
were granted the right to legally have a union and the
Western Federation of Miners was formed. Several years
later they re-named themselves the Mine Mill and Smelter
Workers Union.
The logo of the Mine Mill and Smelter Workers Union has
three letters - I, E, and O within it, signifying three
principles -
Independence,
Education
and
Organize.
Independence
from the control of the owners; established by having
rights to better wages, benefits and work conditions;
Education of
their children and others to enjoy the betterment that a
Union brings to a worker’s life;
Organize
other workers to join the ranks of unionized workers to
create a stronger voice for those who
labour
for a
living and in creating social change.
Local 598
Organizing grew and for 40 years, the workers of Northern
Ontario were called upon to join the Mine Mill and Smelter
Workers Union. There was some success in the early 1900s,
but it was not until the late 1930s and early 1940s, the
fear created by the owners was overcome, and in 1943 the
workers of Sudbury chartered the Mine, Mill and Smelter
Workers Local 598. Local 598 grew into the largest Mine
Mill Local representing 20,000 workers at INCO and
Falconbridge.
A second Local, 1030 was chartered and successfully
organized many workers in other Sudbury area businesses.
Sudbury was one of the world’s largest mining camps and
the workers saw a need to provide offices and gathering
places in the many small towns of the area. Donating $1.00
a month over and above their dues, they soon built their
first Union Hall at 19 Regent Street with other halls soon
to follow in Chelmsford, Creighton, Coniston, Garson and
the Richard Lake children’s camp ground.
The halls and campgrounds were fully used by the members
from an evening out with your friends, to weddings,
parties, dances, crafts and other activities for their
children.
The Raids
The only place in the world where there are International
Unions is North America. In 1953 the Canadian workers of
Mine Mill gained their independence from the International
American Mine Mill Union, but stood and worked together as
two separate Unions.
The opposing to social-based Unions, especially the
strength of the two Mine Mill Unions in North America was
systematically attacked by the American government, along
with the aid of Steelworkers and others. The CIA and the
American government used the great “Red Scare”, full of
misconceptions and lies to mislead the people about a
connection to communism. (History has uncovered the lies,
but this still happens today, in other areas such as
“weapons of mass destruction”)
They planned to insert a pro-American based agenda and
union, the Steelworkers, into all Mine Mill Locals.
There was a CIA agent in Sudbury for many years, creating
lies and rumors to defeat the Mine Millers.
In 1965, the Mine Mill 598 INCO workers lost to the
Steelworkers by 15 votes, with many accusations of a
rigged vote and months of delay before the votes were
counted.
The Falconbridge workers voted to stay Mine Mill and
independent from an American-based union.
In 1969, the remaining Canadian Mine Mill Locals met in
Winnipeg and succumbed to the American agenda by merging
with the Steelworkers. Some Canadian locals rejected the
merger and went on to change their name to become
independent unions, because they feared the stigma created
by the “Red Scare”.
The workers of Falconbridge fought this curse again and
stayed independent of the merger and became the last Local
to carry the Mine Mill and Smelter Workers Union voice and
logo in North America.
New beginnings
In the 1970s and 1980s, the stigma waned as the truth
slowly emerged about the lies of the American “Red Scare”
about our Union. We joined 45,000 other Canadians in the
Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU), because we were
still barred from joining the internationally controlled
CCU, the Canadian
Labour
Congress.
Local 598 stayed an independent Union from 1969 to 1993,
when we merged with the Canadian Auto Workers Union.
Note: Our
Local’s relationships with individuals within the
Steelworkers and CLC have grown beyond the differences of
the sixties, seventies and eighties.
Canadian Auto
Workers Union 1984
Within the United Auto Workers Union in the early 1980’s,
the international differences were at its worst. The
90,000 Canadians in this union were not satisfied by the
American agenda and, under the leadership of Bob White,
fought for and gained their own Canadian independence from
the American based Union.
The CAW soon was recognized as a strong voice on behalf of
working Canadians. Their independence, worker-based ethics
and social conscience soon drew together many independent
unions like Mine Mill 598 and today, we stand as members
of the 265,000 Canadians of CAW.
12 Cents in
Trust
When we merged with the CAW, our Local was able to keep
within its structure the property and our historical
strike fund of 1.5 million dollars. Our forefathers, in
balancing the internal well being of the union, mandated
the interest from the original strike fund to be used to
offset the property costs (The new 12 cent fund does
not).
The 2000/2001 strike led us to open the Local’s strike
fund and support the workers as was intended and we used
over $1.2 million. The CAW National Union strike fund
supported the strike with $12.5 million. With a unanimous
vote on February 21st, 2001, the workers agreed
to a 12-cent an hour dues check-off to replenish the
Local’s strike fund. In 2004, we used these funds to
support the workers during the three-week strike and
bargaining costs and we again voted to continue the
12-cent dues.
In November 2004, the membership instructed the Local to
increase the amount of arbitrations, knowing they would
need to fund the extra spending in the future.
In 2006, the membership agreed to pay the extra $100,000
of the $225,000 arbitration costs and the 2007 bargaining
costs from the 12-cent fund. In that period, we were
successful with 19 of 20 arbitrations, which helped the
2007 bargaining committee to a successful agreement.
The subject of continuing the 12-cent dues is again being
reviewed by the bargaining committee and they will be
coming back to the membership with recommendations to look
at. All the actions and spending of funds have been used
with the instructions of the membership.
At today’s income of base wage plus nickel and incentive
bonus amounts to between $40.00 and $70.00 an hour. The
12-cent fund, off the top of our workers’ income is split
about 6 cents to the worker and 6 cents to Harper and
McGinty in taxes.
In 2004, the OCT workers at Xstrata Nickel adopted the
principle of a 12-cent fund, but extended its use to fight
arbitrations. They continue to support this action today.
For 6-cents an hour difference, I personally will advocate
the continuance of the fund for another three years with a
set amount available for arbitrations, if needed.
Our union founders were wise to donate a dollar a month to
build the halls and campgrounds. They set aside 25% of
their dues to the strike fund we used in 2000 and allotted
the use of the interest to support the properties trust
fund.
I take council in their wisdom and believe we should
continue to build a better future for the membership of
Mine Mill 598/CAW.
Rick Grylls,
President
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When
Corporate Titans Roll Over,
the
Workers Need to Tread Carefully
By
Rick Grylls
Corporate mergers and acquisitions are booming in
Canada. According to data released last week by investment bankers
Crosbie & Co., some $50 billion worth of M&A
activity was announced involving Canadian companies in the
third quarter. That’s
the highest in five years, this most since the hyperactive
days of the dot-com bubble.
The $13 billion proposed deal between Inco and
Falconbridge obviously contributed to this spike in
takeover activity. But
the trend is being experienced more broadly throughout the
mining sector, too (witness the Placer Dome – Barrick
manoeuvring).
The logic of the takeover artists seems to be this:
“Prices are high, and it’s faster to buy someone
else’s resource base than to develop our own.”
But whether merger mania provides any real benefit
to the actual productive operations that these companies
run is highly debatable. It
is ironic that Canadian companies spent far more trying to
buy each other out last quarter, than on the real capital
investments that truly drive our economic progress.
Nevertheless, the takeover binge is real.
The question facing workers is how we can best
avoid getting squashed in the middle, whenever these
corporate titans start bed-hopping.
The CAW’s strategy is to seek any bargaining
leverage that we may have, during the drawn-out process of
approving a merger or restructuring.
Then we use this leverage to enhance the job
security and well-being of our members as the process
unfolds.
Sometimes this leverage is found at the bargaining
table, if we happen to have contract talks scheduled, or
if our approval is needed for resulting workplace changes.
Sometimes we find leverage before courts or
regulatory agencies, where we can demand job protections
and other guarantees for workers.
And sometimes, the leverage is found in the
political arena – pressuring politicians to demand a
higher level of corporate accountability, in return for
their approval or participation in a merger or
restructuring situation.
Our strategy will vary from case to case, depending
on the issues involved and the leverage that we find.
Two things are always true, however.
First, workers must be active through this process;
if we sit back and just “trust” the companies
involved, we’ll get taken to the cleaners.
Second, workers have far more ability to influence
these events, when they have a union.
Just look at the sad experience of workers in
non-unionized restructurings (such as the bankruptcy of
Eaton’s), who had no ability to fight for their rights
and were left with little at the end of the day.
Some observers have argued that Inco’s bid for
Falconbridge should be endorsed simply because Inco is a
Canadian company. Believe
me, the CAW believes in Canadian independence more than
anyone: the whole history of our union involves fighting
to be masters in our own house.
But to assume that a company will be more loyal to
Canada and Canadians, simply because its owners are
Canadian, is naïve to the point of being irresponsible.
Sure, Inco is headquartered in Canada.
But it is a global company, more so every day.
One third of its capital assets are located in
Indonesia, New Caledonia, and other foreign jurisdictions
– and this proportion will grow with huge investments in
Goro and other third-world developments.
The vast majority of its net sales occur outside of
Canada. And
Inco follows the dictates of worldwide capital and
commodity markets as automatically as any other global
behemoth. Like
other Canadian multinationals (such as Nortel or
Bombardier), Inco will be quick to jettison Canadian
workers and communities if they see the prospect of higher
profits in foreign jurisdictions.
We have learned the hard way that Canadian-owned
companies, just like any others, must be held accountable
to the communities where they operate through binding
commitments and performance requirements – whether those
are negotiated with the union, with government, or with
regulatory agencies.
That’s why the CAW has proposed the negotiation
of a formal merger plan, as a condition of any approved
consolidation of Inco and Falconbridge.
The plan would require the sign-on of all
stakeholders: the companies, its unions, governments at
all levels (including regional and municipal), and even
mining suppliers. It would require the merged company to make clear commitments
to Canadian investment, employment, and purchasing
targets, as a condition of having the merger approved.
Without those commitments, stakeholders should
oppose the merger – or look for a better offer from
someone else.
This merger, like any other, will have an upside
and a downside. There
are clearly potential savings that could be attained from
rationalizing operations, especially in the Sudbury area.
If those savings were piled back into Canadian
developments, with appropriate safeguards and transition
assistance, it’s probably something we could support. But only if the commitments are clear and binding.
Rubber-stamping the proposed Inco-Falconbridge
merger, as some have been quick to do, is the best way to
devalue whatever bargaining power workers and other
stakeholders can find.
Without that leverage, we can never ensure that the
deal offers net benefits for workers – not just for
investors and bankers.
Rick
Grylls is President of CAW Local 598, representing 1300
workers at Falconbridge in Sudbury.
The CAW’s proposal for a merger plan, “Two
Sides of the Coin,” is available at www.caw.ca.
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Summer
Notes from the President.
Richard
Lake Campground Sale
The
first phase required for the sale of the Richard Lake
property has been completed. The purchaser had 60 days in
which to receive environmental approval for his project,
and this has been received. The second phase requires the
buyer applies for and succeeds in having the property
rezoned. This process could take up to a year. If they are
successful at this stage, the sale will become final.
The
union has retained five acres of lakefront on the north
side of the campground and 110 acres located on the south
side of Highway 69.
Company
Union Meeting September 10th 2004
In
February we were forced to strike to protect our jobs from
being contracted out.
With
the closure of Lockerby Mine in September, all of the
P&M employees currently at that site will be moving to
other mines in the MMBU.
Earlier this year the Union had put an outstanding
contracting out arbitration into abeyance. This action
allowed the company until September to put our job
postings and manpower in order. With vacancies created by
the retirements of many older workers, there have
continued to be significant numbers of contractors onsite
in the MMBU.
As
a result of the closure the company must to identify the
manpower requirements for the rest of this year and 2005
and post or fill vacancies for the employees displaced
from Lockerby. They must also identify the old flex work
group and how to post the work these employees are doing.
We have put them on notice that them we will grieve every
contractor on site come October.
FYI
The
company will be addressing the union leadership on Friday
September the 10th regarding issues relating to
manpower, job postings, the Company-Union relationship and
the future of the company. Union officers from our local
and the National office will meet with senior Falconbridge
management from corporate office sometime after that to
discuss issues of mutual concern.
Rick
Grylls,
July
14, 2004
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Vacation
Fiasco
November
2003
– From a Company Six Sigma Project on hours of work,
vacation and absenteeism, management makes policy changes
to the percentages of workers off at any one time, and
that vacations must be booked before January 1st,
2004.
This
shift from February/March vacation booking time to
November/December, with less people off during prime time
has the workers asking their Union leadership to help.
They want time to book their family vacations with
their spouses time off.
Other
Work Places
– The Union looked at other industries and found many
booked the starting of the vacation year, later into the
calendar year. We
also had a concern with Article 17.05 – Vacation
Shutdown “…Notification of such a vacation shutdown
shall be communicated by March 31st of the year
in which the shutdown is to occur”, which the
Company did not want to change.
February
21st, 2004
– During bargaining, the Company refused to go
back to the old policy of 20% of workers off during prime
time of summer, Christmas, spring break and hunting
season.
We
did agree to work at adjusting the vacation scheduling
year from January 1st to May 1st to
help families schedule family vacations and offset any
late chance shutdowns from Article 17.05 – Vacation
Shutdown”.
We
knew the workers’ 2004 vacations were booked, and a few
might want some time off in the four-month gap from
January to April 2005.
The Company agreed to look at any worker’s
request, on an individual basis.
Company
Changes Mechanical/Electrical
– The Company told the Union that they were going to
re-book mechanics and electricians because they had some
problems from their November changes because they had gone
to a full beat schedule.
We recommended that they leave everything as is,
because the 2004 vacations were booked.
We said leave it until May 2005.
They did not take our advice.
More
Company Changes
– Someone, somewhere in that throng of management, made
more changes to their plans and decided to re-book
everyone’s vacation.
By the time we heard of this latest change,
everything was a mess.
In talking to them on May 14th, 2004,
they agreed that there is a mess and will review
individual cases, if the latest re-booking has altered a
worker’s plans.
Who
To Blame
– With this mess in the workplace, we have heard that
some staff have told the workers it was the Union who did
this big change. Let’s
get one thing straight – the Union, at the request of
the membership, did work at and achieve the changing of
the start of our vacation year to May 1st.
We know that there would be some individual cases
of conflict in the first four months of 2005. The Company and Union agreed to look at these cases.
Re-booking
2004 Vacations
– The re-booking of the mechanical/electrical schedules
and then re-booking the whole freaking work force is by
the management or if you wish mismanagement actions,
theirs and theirs alone
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Taking
a Stand Does Make a Difference
Our
Union, through the Bargaining Committee has brought us a
tentative agreement that  not
only serves to reinforce our sixty-year-old collective
agreement, but also provides language that carries us well
into the next decade, to the mining of Nickel Rim South.
In addition, this language deals with any new ore bodies
in existing mines such as at Fraser-Morgan.
We
have language that deals with contractors and the hiring
of new employees. We have held our ground against the
company’s attempts to reduce the effectiveness of our
contract language, and to achieve concessions from our
benefits and pensions packages. Our Negotiating Team was
able to achieve these goals through the strong support of
the rank and file membership and the active support of the
retirees of this local.
This
generation of Mine Mill / CAW – Local 598 workers has
fought the corporate agenda, and we have held our ground.
Looking back to the three month strike which created our
defined pension plan, our six and a half month strike of
200/2001, and now this three week struggle, we can truly
see that, “Taking a Stand makes a difference in the
shaping of our futures.
Our
collective agreement is the basis of our rights on the
job.
It
is the responsibility of each and every one of us to
learn the context of our Collective Agreement.
It
is the responsibility of each and every one of us to
live our Collective Agreement on the job. If there is a
violation – grieve. Support your stewards, and health
and safety reps when they ask.
It
is the responsibility of each and every one of us to
protect our Collective Agreement, even if it means that we
must go on strike every three years.
Taking
a Stand Makes a Difference.
It
is the rank and file of our Union, standing side by side
in solidarity, that give us our strength.
Rick
Grylls,
President.
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My
apologies to the members of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers
Union 598/CAW
Sunday
February 1 2004 7:40 a.m.
4
Lindsley St. Falconbridge Ontario
While
I sit here writing, I can look out my window though  the
leafless trees and see my fellow Sisters and Brothers on our
smelter picket line. It is an inspiring picture, the
temperature is around twenty five below Celsius, the dawn
starting to chase away the darkness. The first sun light,
casts long shadows of the two smokestacks across the fences
into the town site. The eastern hills are frost laden and a
misty fog arises from the valley, reflecting the face of the
sun.
It
seems like yesterday that we settled the bitter seven month
strike of 2000/2001 and returned to OUR workplace. This
morning my view is that I must apologize for some of the
positions that I have taken over the last three years. In
February 2001 I became the President of this proud and
historical local, and I took on the task of building an on
the job, working relationship, with management.
The
early months were difficult as they attacked the injured and
accommodated workers, refused to follow the collective
agreement in the worksites, and abused the workers with an
irrational discipline policy. Their front line supervision
policies have resulted in hundreds of grievances, and an
increase in the workers distrust of this company. The
stewards have, and continue, to do a good job protecting the
RIGHTS of the workers.
In
time management appeared to begin working with us through
the Health and Safety programs. Today because of the
dedication of the Union safety reps we have some of
the best programs and accident statistics ever.
On
the communications of the business strategies, and policies
I promoted, with management the fact we had to work together
on the issues that would lead us to a better relationship
and a secure future for us all. I stood with them at
employee meetings, at city council, at the business of
commerce’s meetings promoting a working relationship for
all stakeholders
The
company’s mission statement is, “for all the
stakeholders, the employees, the community and the
shareholder”.
 The
last nine weeks of sitting at the hotel waiting to bargain
with these people, who in the end forced us onto the picket
line once again, brings me to my apology.
I
apologize for thinking that these people would live up to
their mission statement, would think of all three parts of
this company in their dealings and work with us to secure
our future together. Somewhere deep in the heart of this
management group there are people who will not deliver in
practice, what they preach.
Rick
Grylls
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Saturday
January 24, 2004
Falconbridge,
Ontario
Saturday
morning thoughts from Rick Grylls president of the Mine
Mill and Smelter Workers Union 598/CAW
As
I reflect the last 8 weeks of sitting and waiting for this
company bargaining committee to have open and honest
dialogue I have to wonder if three years of working with
management has been productive in taking care of, as the
mission statement states the three stakeholders of this
company: the employees, the community and the shareholders.
I
am one of the 40% of Sudbury employees that fit into the all
three group, while many more are grouped as
employees/community. With share holders, the majority is
just that and has no ties to the betterment of the employees
or our community.
THE
COMPANY
We
have heard a well rehearsed script from the company on how
it is in hard times, and that the C1 cost has to be
controlled. The major C1 factor within the reach of the 1060
production and maintenance workers is the amount of tonnage
that we do, or do not produce. We have all seen the
mismanagement of the production time cycles, the poor
equipment, the poor treatment of the workers, the poor
management skills in living up to our collective agreement,
the disregard of the health and safety act, the employment
standards act and the human rights act. When we ask the
company bargaining committee to talk about these daily
problems they say it is an operational problem not a
collective agreement issue.
We
have to address these issues now!
THE
SHAREHOLDER
Six
months ago the shares were around $17 while today they are
$35. The long term forecast for nickel is very good with
best profits ever in near reach. The analysts have upgraded
the company into the top ten industry money makers/values in
the world market for the next number of years. We sit on top
of the wealthiest find of our history here in Sudbury,
Nickel Rim South with vast unexplored areas still ready to
give shareholders many years of good return on their
investment.
THE
EMPLOYEE
The
employee invests with his labour and the sacrifice of years
of good health and generally enjoys a lifespan well below the nations average.
“He
missed the point that while we grow as a society, the power
of capital grew in step. So why shouldn’t
capital-investors, financiers, and the shareholders-have to
deal with receiving less during times of economic trouble?
Why should capital get to hold on to its relatively steady
growth while working people inevitably had to accept
less?” (Quote
from page 154 “LABOUR OF LOVE the fight to create a more
humane Canada” Buzz Hargrove, President of CAW.)
Employee
Commitment
In
2001 Allen Hayward took a step forward and for the first
time in the history of Falconbridge asked the two Union
presidents, myself and Myles Sullivan USWA 2020, to
work together on writing and implementing the Joint Health
and Safety programs into the work areas. Today we have the
best numbers ever and a new directive to the workers of
“STOP WORK AND CORRECT” the problems. With this effort
over the last three years the workers have started to
improve their lot in a safe life in the workplace and still
meet the production targets.
The
employee is more loyal to the success of the shareholder,
the community and the company by their good community and
workplace ethics than the managers of Noranda/Falconbridge
who want to maximize the personal careers by maximizing
profits at any costs.
THE
UNION
For
sixty years the citizens of this community have stood
together under a joint collective agreement as employees, to
provide the common principles on how we treat each other and
in gaining better work conditions and sharing the wealth of
our labour.
Today
we are again faced with a far away corporate agenda that
will stop at nothing in taking away the security of the
employees and their community, by increasing their
profitability by lowering the wages and benefits of the
people doing the work.
To
move forward in finding a way to produce more wealth the
Union has offered through this set of talks that we will
assist the management in developing and implementing
efficiency into the workplace to increase production thus
profitability just as we have in producing the best health
and safety program ever.
We
have told them WE WILL NOT drive their corporate profits up
at the expense of the worker and their community.
RELATIONSHIP
The
next week will set the agenda for the next three years. For
the past three years as the senior employee representative
of the 1060 active employees I have work at building a
working relationship to deal with the on the job issues. The
real problem as I see it is the managers and supervisors are
afraid to admit to their mistakes in dealing with the issues
because their personal career will not advance.
This
mismanagement of the relationship has to be addressed but
again the company does not want to talk about the on the job
issues at the bargaining table.
WE
ARE THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION and with out the workers the
investors would never make a nickel. They are willing to
scab your jobs and change the direction of our local
society. This natural resource belongs to us all for the
betterment of all.
We
have told the company, hire the contractors who are doing
the work so they and our community will benefit from the
wages, benefits and long term security of a pension.
This
week what we do on the job is important in helping the
bargaining committee establish how the relationship will be
for the next period of time. We can work together or we can
fight each other, the future lies in how this company treats
its workers.
“The
rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class
gets confused.”—Dave Barrett
“Every
society needs some shared values to hold it together.”—George
Soros
“The
goal of government should be to improve the life changes of
the citizens.”—German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf
“No
man lives without jostling and being jostled; in all ways he
has to elbow himself through the world, giving and receiving
offence.”—Thomas Carlyle
“At
their best, unions are in the vanguard of challenging the
status quo and driving social change.”—Sam Gindin
Link
to comments from George Markic
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Below are the
contents of a letter from Rick Grylls to Rick Bartolucci,
Minister of Northern Development and Mines |
|
 Rick,
A
quick note just want to bring you up to date on the
contract talks and the ever growing prospect of a
strike.
CONTRACTING
OUT
The
company agenda is again, on contracting out, as much
as possible, all future work, including the work under our
Mine Mill contract. While this sounds like, a good
business strategy to increase profitability for the
company and it's financial investors we must not forget
that the Province and it's Citizens are also the second
half of the equation in owning and developing the rich
natural resources of the ore that lies below our feet.
SOCIAL
CONTRACT
The
social contract that allow companies to develop the
natural resources is to hire the citizens as employees and
provide fair wages and benefits, thereby sustaining the
economy and the community.
The
corporate agenda to max their share at the cost of the
Province and the people, will weaken the long term health
of the Sudbury and Provinces economy.
MINEMILL598/CAW
We
have made a commitment to work with them at increasing
production and maintenance efficiencies to allow more
profitability, but we refuse to increase the
companies share of the wealth, by taking wages,
benefits and pensions away from the people that are doing
the work.
We
have asked them to hire the contractors doing the
Mine Mill work so they become employees and benefit from
the standard of living we have achieved, which allows
the community to prosper.
SCAB
LABOUR
The
company has hired LPI the most notorious labour breaking
private police force.
They
plan to run the operations with scab labour.
They
are willing to push the system.
We
the men and women who produce the wealth thought our
labour, who have built this community and who pay the
price of dying before our time, 7 to 8 years below the
nations average will not allow the bay street agenda to
erode our community.
SUPPORT
Rick
you stood on our picket line in 2000/2001 and spoke
against scab labour. You spoke at the RWDSU
conference in Florida with Robin McArther against scab
labour. We need you to speak against scab labour once again
to protect the balance of sharing the wealth we produce.
On
behalf of the members of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers
Union Local 598/CAW and the citizens of Sudbury, yours
truly
Rick
Grylls
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