Well, it’s now day 12.
There has been a lot of chatter on the floor about last contract, and why we have made the choices we have. It’s to ensure that we protect what we have in the CBA. Last contract, copper was at 4.30$ a lb, the Company had tabled 7 non-monetary issues and we had a plan in place to achieve a contract by Sept 30th. Last contract, we had management in place that knew the history, the language, and respected the employees for the work they do every day on the floor. Last contract, the Company was building a 650 million dollar float bank with over 2000 contractors on site. Last contract, things were very different than they are now. Today, copper is stable at 2.15$, and slowly climbing each day. The Company has pulled out all the stops to cut every corner, defer every investment, and to put as much cash as possible back in their pocket. Coal has taken a massive swing to over the last month, and most investors figure it will stabilize at 200$ a ton. Today, we have management in place that doesn’t care about its employee base, both Staff and Unionized, and everyone is terrified to speak out about how bad things are. The Company is only worried about making copper at the lowest possible cost, and that means they are going to try and strip everything out of the contract to get there. Hence the Company’s latest phrase, “trying to survive”. When they propose picking favorite employees for that next job opening, apprenticeship or technical position, rather than using seniority, they’re just trying to survive. When they propose using casual labor instead of asking you for overtime, they’re just trying to survive. When they propose castrating the contracting out language to hire non-union contractors, as well as not being able to protect your jobs in the future, they’re just trying to survive. It’s no secret, the Company is really good at spending money. New projects and announcements are almost weekly now, with Billions invested in new mines. New partnerships with local communities with monetary gains and yearly percentage payouts. New agreements that have made big promises on the backs of all of you. Where does it come from? It comes from your pockets. This is the message that the Company ultimately has presented to us. We have to give them everything, all of it, because they are just “trying to survive”. It’s all bullshit. Everything. Every time the Top open their mouths, they lie. Not making any money? The Company has made hundreds of millions in profits and spent hundreds of thousands a year hot shotting parts up to the mine site because they didn’t plan for the mills to explode or the cables to break on the shovel. Dust control and mandatory shaving? The Company has cut back on the maintenance on dust control systems, pushing off maintenance and safety issues, claiming that “they will decide if it’s a safety issue or not”. Drug and alcohol policy? Stating “you can’t put a price on safety” then denying cages around splitting pumps in the mill, or saying that we had a record month on safety when everyone is to terrified to report safety issues. 300 plus grievances? It’s cost them several million dollars to screw with your paycheck, your jobs and your life over the last few years. 2040? Gary Winslow once said it, there are only two things that can affect if the mine runs or not. One is the price of copper. The other is the strike vote. So, now to the red herring. Why have we not pushed the Company into a corner? Why would we? We already have the language. We already have 3.07. We already have seniority. We already have all the things the Company is trying to strip away from us. There’s a trusted old adage in bargaining, never be in a rush to get nothing. With the amount of proposals the Company has on the table, it’s taking longer than we hoped to get them off, but we are making progress. Out of the 57 proposals, 24 are resolved and another five have been withdrawn. We have resolved a number of our own proposals, with many still in discussion. There will be a time where the hard decisions will have to be made, but we are not there yet. We have a long ways to go, and while we are still bargaining, why would we all walk and not make any money? As of Oct 1st, we will all still make a paycheck, pay our bills and go to work. We will continue to work towards a fair and reasonable contract. We have more dates booked with the Company in October, and will keep you updated as the process continues. We have changed the membership meeting date to Oct 18th in Kamloops, and expect that anyone interested in discussing the minor details attends. The times are, as always, 930am, 630pm and 915pm. Until that time, don’t listen to rumors, and don’t start them. All information will come directly from the bargaining team, CAT team members or updates like these. Stay focused, watch out for your brothers and sisters, and work safe. In Solidarity, Kyle Wolff USW 7619 President Comments are closed.
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August 2021
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