Vol. 75/No. 26      July 18, 2011

Some 3,000 members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6500 conducted a hard-fought one-year strike against Vale, a Brazil-based mining giant that operates a number of mines in Canada. The strike ended when the workers voted in July 2010 to accept a contract that included concessions the company was determined to impose. The new contract stripped workers’ ability to file reports on safety concerns without approval from a company foreman. New hires were also given inferior pensions, creating a differentiation among miners—a question union-conscious miners have traditionally viewed as a safety question itself.

One miner, who asked not to be identified for fear of company reprisal, said there has been a significant increase in on-the-job injuries since the end of the strike.

The union announced June 29 that it decided to conduct its own investigation of the Stobie deaths, independent of the company, a departure from previous practice. “The USW believes the rights of the families and members will be better served if we investigate independently as the final company proposal for a joint investigation would limit our ability to investigate to our standards and expectations,” said local president Rick Bertrand.

During mining, loose material including rock and sand are produced. If the material gets mixed with water it becomes a viscous and potentially dangerous mass of muck.

Following the miners’ deaths, the Ontario Ministry of Labour issued nine orders at the Stobie mine, including three stop-work injunctions. One order says that the ore pass where the miners died cannot be used until the source of water that entered it has been determined and any hazards to workers eliminated. The ministry has one year to issue its report on the deaths.
 
 
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