The 1,250 workers, members of the Mine Mill/Canadian Auto Workers Local 598, voted by an 87 percent margin to approve the new contract. During their fight the union members organized protests and rallies, faced cop attacks and court orders to limit their picket lines, and won solidarity from unions in the area and Falconbridge workers in Norway.

Gilbert Herard, a smelter worker, explained that he learned during the fight that a union "is not just about dues." He described the efforts made through union structures to make sure that strikers had basic needs, including formula for small babies, as "fantastic."

Darin Nicksy, also a smelter worker, felt that the struggle they had waged "strengthened the union 10-fold. The members were closer together, stronger. All the support we got showed that we're a strong union town."

The strike began August 1 when Falconbridge demanded major concessions that would have gutted seniority rights, rolled back health and safety provisions by cutting the number of union representatives on the job, and increased contracting out of work. Many workers felt that Falconbridge was out to break the union.

In the new contract, seniority rights are maintained and the company agreed that there would be no loss of "credited service or seniority" for the period of the strike. This was particularly important for newer people, workers explained.

The agreement includes a $2,000 signing bonus, a wage increase of 50 cents an hour in the first year of a three-year contract, and a 57 cents cost-of-living raise. There is no wage increase the second or third years of the contract. The pact also includes a substantial increase in monthly pension payments and supplementary insurance benefits. The company announced it intends to cut the workforce in Sudbury by 10 percent but says it will do so through normal attrition, not by layoffs. Falconbridge agreed that no striker would be fired for strike-related activity and that the company will not seek compensation for any damages sustained during the strike.

The new agreement includes important concessions, such as the right of the company to hire contractors to perform work not able to be done by unionized employees. The union also agreed not to file any grievances during the first month of the new contract. Company-paid union positions are reduced from seven to five.

Workers who spoke with the Militant said they thought the settlement was good given what the union was up against. For example, the courts granted a company request to limit pickets to 20 at each gate in the third month of the strike and prohibited strikers from having any contact with scabs going through their lines.

Falconbridge was able to get the courts to further reduce pickets to five in a February 16 ruling. The bosses hired additional security from a Toronto-based agency to escort the scabs in and out of the plant and increased surveillance of the picket line. Through the use of scab labor and management personnel, the company says it was able to keep some of the mines operating and the smelter running at 60 percent capacity.

Solidarity for the striking nickel miners came from across Ontario but was especially strong from nearby unions. Fellow Falconbridge miners from Timmins in Northern Ontario gave monthly financial contributions and helped with broader actions. Nickel miners at INCO, organized by the Steelworkers, gave generously at plant gate collections. The strikers' main picket shack had a flag of Norway flying in front of it in recognition of the solidarity shown by the 500 workers at Falconbridge's refinery in Norway. The members of the Norwegian Chemical Workers Union waged a five-day sympathy strike and sent monthly financial contributions.

Annette Kouri and Tony Di Felici are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers at Quality Meats in Toronto.  
 
 
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