GREG KEENAN – The Globe and Mail

United States Steel Corp. has issued a stern warning to locked-out workers at its Hamilton facility that its operations there have lost “massive” amounts of money since 2007 and will not be kept open by subsidies from profitable mills.

In a letter to employees, U.S. Steel Canada president Anton Jura and general counsel James Garraux wrote that Hamilton Works has lost money at times “even when other steel plants in North America have made money.”

“Hamilton Works will survive only on its merits. It won’t be protected or subsidized.”

The warning comes amid a bitter dispute with unionized employees in Hamilton, who have been locked out since last November after they refused to accept U.S. Steel’s demand to end indexing of retiree pension plans and agreed to a defined contribution pension plan for newly hired employees.

It’s also another example of how the U.S. giant’s $1.1-billion purchase of what was once Canada’s leading steel maker has been marked by turmoil. The lockout of Hamilton Works employees came after a similar labour dispute at its Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ont., and amid a court battle with the federal government, which insists U.S. Steel has not met employment and production commitments it made when the Stelco Inc. purchase was approved under the Investment Canada Act.

The operations of Stelco and neighbouring Dofasco Inc. represented for more than a century the heart of a Canadian-owned steel making industry. But they were taken over during the global consolidation of the industry in the 2000s that also led to the sale of Regina-based Ipsco Inc. and Algoma Steel Inc. of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. to offshore interests.

The letter “is definitely a threat” to shut the Hamilton operations, said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of local 1005 of the United Steelworkers union, which represents about 750 active employees and another 9,000 retirees. “You can read between the lines.”

U.S. Steel submitted what it called its final offer to the union last week.

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Local 1005 negotiators have walked out of talks seeking an end to the bitter 10-month lockout at U.S. Steel.

In a letter sent to all Hamilton Works employees Tuesday, U.S. Steel warns that the future of the former Stelco is at stake.

“Your Union leadership rejected the Company’s proposal and left the negotiations without advising the Company as to whether they would submit our proposal to you for a vote,” the company letter states. “Their actions today made it clear that a negotiated end to the labour dispute is not in sight.”

“The Hamilton Works is a severely challenged facility in a very tough business. It has sustained massive losses over the last four years. In fact, Hamilton Works has lost money at times even when other steel plants in North America have made money. Hamilton Works will survive only on its own merits. It won’t be protected or subsidized.”

Union leaders left the negotiations Friday but made no public announcement because of a news blackout. Union members are to get an update from leaders in a special meeting Thursday night.

When talks with the company were revived earlier this month, a small window of hope opened for workers who have been surviving on about two-thirds of their normal pay since November. They were sheltered from the full impact of the lockout by a special decision allowing them to collect employment insurance benefits — but those claims are now expiring, meaning they now face subsisting on only $200 a week in union strike pay.

The members of Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers have been locked out since November in a dispute over pension plans. U.S. Steel has demanded the current defined benefit pension plan be closed to new members in favour of a defined contribution scheme — essentially a group RRSP — to be administered by the union. The company has also demanded an end to pension indexing for current retirees.

Union leaders have flatly rejected those demands and have refused to put that contract to a vote of members. (Two “show of hands” efforts since November to get such a vote, or at least a vote on the question of holding a vote, have been defeated by union members. U.S. Steel has also refused to exercise its right to petition Ontario for a government supervised secret ballot vote.)

In its latest offer to employees, the company refuses to move on its pension demands but offers a $3,000 signing bonus, a profit sharing plan that could pay up to $3,500 per employee every quarter, and a guarantee of a minimum of 26 weeks’ work at 32 hours a week and time credit for the months on lockout for employees who would otherwise have gained the 30 years service needed to retire.

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Local 1005′s union leaders met Monday with U.S. Steel in the latest of a series of ongoing negotiations since talks began last Tuesday.

“We’re still talking. We’re having dialogue,” said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of Local 1005 Monday. He would not comment on the tenor or content of the talks.

U.S. Steel spokesperson Trevor Harris also would not comment.

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Some buses could be idled in York Region now that drivers for Miller Transit are in a legal strike position.

No date for a walk-out has been set and the union representing workers insists it will give plenty of warning of a strike.

Negotiations continue between Miller Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587. York Region Transit contracted Miller to operate buses on 51 routes in Markham, Richmond Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville and parts of Vaughan that handle 16,000 daily rides.

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AFI International Capabilities Video

Milton based AFI International Group Inc. (AFI) has further strengthened its online presence with the launch of a new capabilities video. The video is featured on its corporate website and is broken down into service areas to coincide with the downloadable brochures, so clients are able to more easily share information with colleagues pre, during and post planning meetings.

Milton based AFI International Group Inc. (AFI) has further strengthened its online presence with the launch of a new capabilities video. The video is featured on its corporate website and is broken down into service areas to coincide with the downloadable brochures, so clients are able to more easily share information with colleagues pre, during and post planning meetings.

Other highlights of the AFI website include strong document sharing functionality and easy access to both AFI’s proprietary software Veritas and the popular online training academy where individuals can receive a certificate that could be used towards association certification in a wide range of professional HR and security topics.

“Our new site and social media presence already allows us to clearly define our services and communicate our expertise to companies across Canada,” says AFI’s president, Peter Martin “and the addition of our capability videos puts a face to the services and testimonials.”

The site is also seamlessly linked to AFI and the US affiliate – IMAC’s – social media presence which includes Twitter, LinkedIn, RSS feeds and blogs that the North American executives have committed to writing themselves. Topics include business continuity planning for strike security, disaster planning and response, workplace violence, high risk security operations, corporate executive protection programs and everything in between.

“We believe when you are an expert in the industry, there is a responsibility to make that expertise accessible to your clients,” says Peter Martin AFI president. “These online outlets will allow us to freely share that expertise and thoughts on industry happenings on a regular basis.”

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Several hundred locked out workers at U.S. Steel will review the company’s latest proposal on Thursday.

Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers Union has scheduled a membership meeting to explain the latest company offer.

U.S. Steel has offered workers a signing bonus of $3,000, along with profit sharing of up to $3,500.

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Workers at Canada’s largest copper mine are ready to walk off the job.

The 1,100 workers at Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine near Kamloops, B.C., have voted 99.5 per cent in favour of striking, after talks broke down last week.

The strike vote follows news from Teck that it plans to expand its coal production in B.C. The company says it plans to invest $475 million to upgrade the Highland Valley mill to increase production and extend the life of the operation.

The company is making record profits, and workers want better wages, benefits and pensions, said United Steelworkers Union president Richard Boyce.

“We want to negotiate a better deal this time around simply because the company is making a third more when it comes to dollars and cents,” said Boyce.

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Xstrata Copper Canada announced today in a news release that members of CAW-Local 599 have ratified a new three-year collective agreement at the Kidd Metallurgical Site in Timmins. Specifics of the contract have not been revealed.

The new agreement affects roughly 160 unionized employees still working at the met site. The CAW Local 599 website said 92 per cent of those who voted were in favour of the new deal. The CAW bargaining committee statement thanked the membership for a strong turnout.

“The membership has ratified the new collective agreement with 92% of all votes in favour of the offer. Your bargaining committee would like to thank all our members for the high voter turnout, your kind words of support for our efforts, and your great patience with a “rookie” laden committee. It has been a great honour representing the membership during this round of negotiations.

This is the first new contract with CAW since the company shut down the copper smelter operations in May 2010, resulting in job losses for more than 600 workers.

The company was also pleased with the deal.

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Local 1005′s union leaders met Monday with U.S. Steel in the latest of a series of ongoing negotiations since talks began last Tuesday.

“We’re still talking. We’re having dialogue,” said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of Local 1005 Monday. He would not comment on the tenor or content of the talks.

U.S. Steel spokesperson Trevor Harris also would not comment.

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Changes in union demands around wages and benefits are bringing Ontario’s colleges and striking support staff back to the bargaining table as early as the weekend.

It ends 16 days of formal silence between the colleges and Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents about 8,000 cleaners, food service staff and registration officers at 24 community colleges in the province.

“We’ve been working on this behind the scenes for a while. We officially got the word last night that they were meeting with the mediator. We met with the mediator this morning,” said Gerry Barker, head of the college bargaining team.

“The indication was they had moved off their stance from 16 days ago and we’re going to go back to the table with that in mind and work towards a settlement.”

OPSEU spokesperson Greg Hamara confirmed the return to talks, adding the union has made modifications to their stance specific to wages and benefits. He declined to elaborate.

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