Vol. 81/No. 23 June 12, 2017
Rally in Vancouver supports striking Idaho silver miners
Protesters held a rally chaired by Steve Hunt, director of District 3 of the United Steelworkers in western Canada. The Idaho miners are members of USW Local 5114. They went on strike March 13 after rejecting the company’s “final” concession contract offer.
The Lucky Friday miners were hosted by USW Local 480, which organizes workers at the Trail, British Columbia, smelter that processes the U.S. miners’ silver. Local 480’s contract expires May 31.
John Darrington, one of the Idaho miners, said they got a very warm reception when they leafleted at a shift change at the smelter. They also visited Steelworkers Local 2009 in Langley.
“I’m just amazed” at the breadth of solidarity, said Darrington, who has worked in the Lucky Friday mine for 12 years. “Hecla’s office is in Coeur d’Alene back in Idaho. I don’t know why they came to Vancouver, I think they were hiding. The union here in Canada really stepped up.”
Striker Rick Norman, two other miners, and one miner’s wife attended the meeting and submitted written questions. “Rather than provoking a labor dispute, why didn’t Hecla continue to honor the status quo and negotiate again when new mining techniques are proved to be safe and reliable?” Norman asked. Company officials made no attempt to answer the question, he told the Militant.
“The strike is about safety and respect. The company wants complete right of assignment to work in the mine,” Steve Powers, USW staff representative assigned to the strike, told protesters. He pointed to the bosses’ demand to eliminate a worker seniority-based team-bidding system that workers say helps to protect their safety. “Two miners were killed in 2011 because of shoddy mining practices,” Powers said.
Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, and José Angel Hernández, a representative of the National Union of Mining, Metallurgical, Steel and Allied Workers of Mexico, also spoke. Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union from Vancouver joined the protest.
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