labour

Saturday March 4, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 4, 2017

Angry Hamilton steelworkers demand answers from Bratina at rally

Frustrated Hamilton steelworkers and pensioners scorched local Liberal MP Bob Bratina’s ears on a bitterly cold day as they demanded results from a federal government they say has ignored their pleas of help.

About 100 protesters attended a late-afternoon rally Thursday outside Bratina’s Centennial Parkway constituency office accusing the Liberals of ignoring steelworkers and pensioners.

“You have been there a year and nothing has been introduced, ” Vince Van Schyndel, a member of Local 1005, told Bratina after he waded into the decidedly hostile crowd to hear steelworkers’ complaints. Van Schyndel said the federal Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) legislation is preventing the provincial government from providing benefits and pensions to pensioners.

On Dec. 15, 2016 a judge agreed to allow U.S. Steel Canada to negotiate a purchase agreement with the American-based Bedrock Industries Group. In addition, the judge dismissed objections from United Steelworkers Union Local 1005, the City of Hamilton and salaried workers, arguing their issues can be resolved in the future.

The steelworkers believe any restructuring plan will hurt them and the pensioners because pensions and benefits are being ignored in the complicated bankruptcy process. Union officials have stated company pension funds need more than $1 billion to top up underfunded pension and health care benefits plans.

Gary Howe, president of Local 1005, said the CCAA “has been used to take things away from the people that worked many, many years to earn them.”

Bratina, who represents Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, apologized to the gathering and acknowledged it is difficult to introduce legislation as one MP.

He said once the company emerges from the CCAA process, the federal government could help its successor become sustainable.

“I’m sorry that we are in the situation we are in, ” said Bratina, a member of the federal government’s steel caucus. “I don’t blame you guys for being upset. But we will be working hard to make sure the right thing is done.”

He said Ottawa will change the Canadian Pension Plan to increase benefits to $20,000 from $13,000 for those who don’t have a company pension. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Wednesday August 24, 2016

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday August 24, 2016 Locals outraged at OttawaÕs Òdeafening silenceÓ on steel industry Union leaders, Opposition MPs and even the Chamber of Commerce are pressing the federal government to help Canada's struggling steel industry. Two Hamilton Members of Parliament, three chambers of commerce and union leaders at the local and provincial levels separately have called for help for the industry and especially for retirees and workers in Hamilton. NDP MPs Scott Duvall (Hamilton Mountain)Êand Dave Christopherson (Hamilton Centre) have written to Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, saying the federal government has stayed on the sidelines too long. "To date, your government has not been tangibly involved in any way to help protect the jobs, benefits and pensions of current and former employees of USSC/Stelco despite commitments previously made by colleagues and the Prime Minister" they wrote. "Workers, pensioners, the business community and the City of Hamilton have all appealed for your help. So far, you and your government have been missing in action.Ó As a start, they want the government to release the "secret deal" that ended a lawsuit against U.S. Steel for breaking the production and employment promises it made to get government approval for the acquisition. They also back a call by the United Steelworkers union for a public inquiryÊinto Canadian bankruptcy law they say favours creditors at the expense of workers and retirees, and the 2007 takeover of Stelco by U.S. Steel. Duvall has raised the issue in ParliamentÊseveral times. U.S. Steel Canada, the former Stelco, has been under creditor protection since Sept. 16, 2014. It is seeking a buyer for the mills in Hamilton and Nanticoke. On the business front, chambers of commerce in Hamilton, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie are taking a joint resolution to the Canadian chamber's national convention calling for a policy to protect the industry from unfair fo

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 24, 2016

Locals outraged at Ottawa’s “deafening silence” on steel industry

Union leaders, Opposition MPs and even the Chamber of Commerce are pressing the federal government to help Canada’s struggling steel industry.

Two Hamilton Members of Parliament, three chambers of commerce and union leaders at the local and provincial levels separately have called for help for the industry and especially for retirees and workers in Hamilton.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday September 26, 2015 Dispute over U.S. Steel Canada restructuring sent to mediation The dispute between United States Steel Corp. and its stakeholders over the future of U.S. Steel Canada Inc., has been sent to mediation by the Ontario Superior Court judge overseeing the Canadian unitÕs restructuring. The issues in dispute between the United Steelworkers union, the Ontario government, salaried active and retired employees, and a former president of its predecessor company Stelco Inc. on one side and U.S. Steel on the other, will be examined by former Ontario Superior Court associate chief justice Douglas Cunningham in a three-day session scheduled to begin next week. ÒThe mediation shall address the feasibility of a comprehensive agreement among the parties,Ó Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel said in an order. The mediation will also address a business plan for the Canadian unit, its potential sale, the shift of production of high value-added steel to the United States and U.S. SteelÕs claim of more than $2-billion against the Canadian unit. U.S. Steel Canada has been operating under the CompaniesÕ Creditors Arrangement Act since last September, but the announcement by its parent company that it plans to shift production of about 180,000 tons of high-quality steel annually out of its Canadian operations has sparked an imminent crisis in the restructuring. Shifting production would diminish the value of the Canadian assets in the eyes of potential buyers, steel industry sources said. U.S. Steel has started a sales process that has led to a bid by one competitor Ð Essar Steel Algoma Inc., which is based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., but has the backing of a deep-pocketed parent company in India. Potential buyers also need to wonder whether other steel-making contracts will be shifted out of Canada, leaving the Canadian operations to depend entirely on the spot steel market. Stakeholders have quest

Thursday September 26, 2015

NDP MPs Scott Duvall (Hamilton Mountain) and Dave Christopherson (Hamilton Centre) have written to Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, saying the federal government has stayed on the sidelines too long.

“To date, your government has not been tangibly involved in any way to help protect the jobs, benefits and pensions of current and former employees of USSC/Stelco despite commitments previously made by colleagues and the Prime Minister” they wrote. “Workers, pensioners, the business community and the City of Hamilton have all appealed for your help. So far, you and your government have been missing in action.”

As a start, they want the government to release the “secret deal” that ended a lawsuit against U.S. Steel for breaking the production and employment promises it made to get government approval for the acquisition.

They also back a call by the United Steelworkers union for a public inquiry into Canadian bankruptcy law they say favours creditors at the expense of workers and retirees, and the 2007 takeover of Stelco by U.S. Steel. Duvall has raised the issue in Parliament several times.

Thursday September 18, 2014

September 18, 2014

U.S. Steel Canada, the former Stelco, has been under creditor protection since Sept. 16, 2014. It is seeking a buyer for the mills in Hamilton and Nanticoke.

On the business front, chambers of commerce in Hamilton, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie are taking a joint resolution to the Canadian chamber’s national convention calling for a policy to protect the industry from unfair foreign competition.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday October 9, 2015 Decision on U.S. Steel Canada benefit, tax cuts Friday The judge presiding over U.S. Steel Canada restructuring hearings says he will render a decision Friday on a controversial plan to sever the subsidiary from its parent company and relieve it of tens of millions of dollars in pension benefit and municipal tax obligations. Justice Herman J. Wilton-Siegel said it is one of the toughest decisions he has had to make from the bench. He said he will give a short written summary of his decision tomorrow and then follow it up with a detailed explanation next week. Dozens of USSC retirees bused into Toronto again today and packed the courtroom where lawyers representing stakeholders gave their final submissions. A lawyer for the steelmaker reiterated the company's position that USSC was a victim of circumstances and changing market conditions that turned the business into a crisis requiring the difficult measures of the transition agreement. Pension benefit obligations were estimated to be $40 million before the end of this year and the company does not have the funds, he said. He refuted arguments from United Steelworkers lawyers that savings could be found elsewhere Ñ making the pension benefit hit unnecessary Ñ and that the company's grim fortunes were the result of steel orders being moved from the Canadian subsidiary to other U.S. Steel operations. United Steelworkers 1005 President Gary Howe said after the hearing that he expects the judge to go along with the company plan because it has the backing of the monitor overseeing the proceedings. In its most recent statement, the monitor said "a near-term cessation of operations will be necessary" if the company plan isn't accepted. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5951456-decision-on-u-s-steel-canada-benefit-tax-cuts-friday/ Hamilton, U.S. Steel, Trade, Foreign Investment, subsidies, bailout, St

Friday October 9, 2015

“The biggest issue for us is dumping from China,” said Hamilton Chamber of Commerce president Keanin Loomis. “Obviously there’s a real issue of fairness there.”

Products are dumped in foreign markets when they are sold for less than their costs of production or with subsidies from a government.

“What we want is a level playing field in the global production and procurement process,” added Rory Ring, executive director of the Sault chamber. “We’re competing against companies that are either government owned or that operate with less than reasonable environmental and labour laws.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

 

Thursday July 30, 2015

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator -

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 30, 2015

Liz Sandals says talks with Ontario teachers will resume

Education Minister Liz Sandals says talks with Ontario’s teachers’ unions will resume following a meeting last week between Premier Kathleen Wynne, union leaders and public school board representatives.

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday May 6, 2015 Ontario elementary teachers plan job action Monday OntarioÕs 73,000 public elementary teachers will begin job action on Monday, when they are in a legal strike position. While a strike is not anticipated Ñ local union districts have been given details about a work-to-rule Ñ it remains one of the options available, says Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary TeachersÕ Federation of Ontario. In a statement released Tuesday morning, ETFO said its members would be taking unspecified Òcentral strike actionÓ in 32 school boards across the province Monday. According to an ETFO bulletin obtained by the Star, titled ÒStrike Protocol: Work-to-Rule Ñ Phase 1,Ó and sent out to its Toronto members late Monday night, teachers will not take part in any EQAO (standardized testing), write report cards, fill in for absent principals or Òconduct any reading, writing or mathematics assessments other than those that the teacher deems necessary to report on student progress.Ó Hammond has told the Star that the recent offer on the table from the government and the school boardsÕ association was ÒoffensiveÓ and contained concessions the union would not consider. He said if the concessions remained, the union would be Òlooking at all the options.Ó ÒWe are hoping on, or prior to, May 10 that we get substantial movement at the table and we wonÕt have to move in a direction nobody wants to move in,Ó he has previously said. While talks have continued with the help of a mediator, they recently broke off. A union spokesperson said Monday that ÒETFO is eagerly awaiting a call from the government that it, and the Ontario Public School BoardsÕ Association, are ready to engage in meaningful and substantive bargaining.Ó ETFO is the countryÕs largest teacher union. A strike or job action would affect more than 817,000 elementary school students across the province. (Source: Toronto Star) http://www.thestar.co

Wednesday May 6, 2015

Sandals calls it a very positive meeting and says the unions “are committed” to getting back to the table in August and reaching new contracts before classes begin Sept. 8.

Representatives from four public teacher unions flew to Toronto from Ottawa for a morning to meeting with Wynne and Sandals. All sides described the meeting as generally positive but it wrapped up in less than an hour with no firm dates set for new bargaining sessions.

“It was a cordial discussion,” said Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario President Sam Hammond. He added that “we need to have confirmed dates,” for new talks and said “we have some issues that we need to have taken off the table.”

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday May 26, 2015 Wynne Government imposes back-to-work legislation on striking teachers The Ontario government will be tabling back-to-work legislation today for striking secondary school teachers, but since New Democrats won't be supporting it, students will be kept from class a few more days. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says her party won't support the Liberals' motion for unanimous consent to get it passed today, but the government could use its majority to pass it by Thursday. That would mean more than 70,000 students in the Sudbury-area Rainbow District, Peel Region and Durham Region, who have been kept from class for up to five weeks, would return to school on Friday at the earliest. The back-to-work legislation is being introduced after the Education Relations Commission ruled that strikes by high school teachers in three boards are putting students' school years in jeopardy. Education Minister Liz Sandals says she respects the collective bargaining process, but it's important to get kids back to class to complete their school years. While the striking secondary teachers in three boards are set to be legislated back to work, their central union said this weekend that talks with the provincial government have reached an impasse. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation plans to apply to the provincial labour ministry for conciliation Ñ the teachers must first use the government third-party assistance to try to reach a contract before they can take provincewide strike action. The Ontario Labour Relations Board had also been set to rule on whether the three local strikes were illegal. This is the first round of negotiations under a new bargaining system the Liberal government introduced last year, separating the process into local and central talks. The school boards argued that the three local strikes were really on central issues such as class sizes. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Tuesday May 26, 2015

Paul Elliott, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, said he “didn’t hear anything that’s changed anyone’s opinion or position,” during Friday’s meeting but agrees it was a positive step to hear from the premier.

Sandals also spoke of a positive tone following the 40-minute meeting.

“This wasn’t about negotiating, it was about how we move forward,” she told reporters. “We need to be getting back to the bargaining table during August.”

No talks are currently scheduled for the three largest teachers unions and English-language school boards.

The government has said there is no new money for teacher compensation. That, along with teachers’ demands for limits on class sizes, are among the major sticking point in negotiations. (Source: CBC News)

2015-08-03_Star

Thursday June 25, 2015

Thursday June 25, 2015By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 25, 2015

Ontario teachers gearing up for fall job action

Ontario’s teacher unions say work-to-rule, followed by one-day or rotating strikes, will happen this fall if no collective agreements are worked out between now and the start of school.

Leaders of the four teacher unions — representing public elementary and secondary teachers, Catholic and French — met Thursday night in downtown Toronto to map out possible co-ordinated job action, as all are expected to be in strike position by September.

James Ryan, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said that while final details have to be worked out with his union executive, a work-to-rule is likely to start off any job action and escalate from there.

He also warned there’s not a lot of time to reach deals because bargaining will be slow come summer.

“Bargaining all summer is highly unlikely,” he said, citing already booked vacations for staff on all sides at the bargaining table. “Could we be negotiating part of the summer? Yes. The entire summer? No.”

That’s because “there’s a dead time in the summer that probably stretches from about mid-July to mid-August — that’s when the education world goes dead for about a month.

“But we are committed to negotiate for the rest of June, and if we were close to an agreement, we certainly would be willing to roll up our sleeves in early July.”

But without intervention from Education Minister Liz Sandals — who has said negotiations could stretch into the summer — Ryan said he has little hope of either the government or school boards removing current proposals off the table.

Under new legislation, the unions, school boards and government negotiate costly items such as class size and salary, leaving union locals and individual school boards to hammer out items such as teacher performance reviews or job transfers.

No deals have been signed anywhere in the province. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation recently took three boards out on strike, only to have the strikes ruled illegal because they were over central items — namely class size.

Ryan said the union heads have been meeting regularly during the past year, to discuss any progress with the new bargaining process and any possible job actions.

He said issues like class sizes, use of prep time and hiring regulations are common to all. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Tuesday June 16, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday June 19, 2015 OntarioÕs Ôeye-poppingÕ shift to low-wage work It's one of the most excruciating decisions single mom Jodi Dean has ever made: choosing between the unpredictable, $13-an-hour job her family relied on, and taking care of her chronically ill daughter. "It (made) me physically ill with the stress," Dean said. "I needed that job to provide for my children." Welcome to the new normal for families across the province: low salaries, erratic schedules, dwindling hours, unpaid leave and constant stress. Ontario's low-wage work force has skyrocketed by 94 percent over the past two decades, compared with just 30 percent growth in total employment, according to a new report. 'Clearly, people need more predictability both in their schedules and in their incomes' In one of the few province-wide studies of precarious employment, the research details an "eye-popping" shift toward poorly paid, non-unionized work across Ontario. It shows that 40 percent of low-wage employees are saddled with unpredictable shifts, and the overwhelming majority do not get paid when they need time off. That reality, the report argues, calls for sweeping changes to the province's employment and labour laws, whose many loopholes have been detailed by the Star and are currently the subject of government review. "Clearly, people need more predictability both in their schedules and in their incomes," added Sheila Block, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the study. The research compiled by the left-leaning think tank shows that the share of Ontario workers labouring for the minimum wage is now five times higher than in 1997. It rose from less than 3 per cent of all employees to about 12 per cent in 2014. The share of low-paid work has also ballooned: almost a third of all employees in the province are no

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 19, 2015

Ontario’s ‘eye-popping’ shift to low-wage work

It’s one of the most excruciating decisions single mom Jodi Dean has ever made: choosing between the unpredictable, $13-an-hour job her family relied on, and taking care of her chronically ill daughter.

“It (made) me physically ill with the stress,” Dean said. “I needed that job to provide for my children.”

Welcome to the new normal for families across the province: low salaries, erratic schedules, dwindling hours, unpaid leave and constant stress.

Ontario’s low-wage work force has skyrocketed by 94 percent over the past two decades, compared with just 30 percent growth in total employment, according to a new report.

‘Clearly, people need more predictability both in their schedules and in their incomes’
In one of the few province-wide studies of precarious employment, the research details an “eye-popping” shift toward poorly paid, non-unionized work across Ontario.

It shows that 40 percent of low-wage employees are saddled with unpredictable shifts, and the overwhelming majority do not get paid when they need time off.

That reality, the report argues, calls for sweeping changes to the province’s employment and labour laws, whose many loopholes have been detailed by the Star and are currently the subject of government review.

“Clearly, people need more predictability both in their schedules and in their incomes,” added Sheila Block, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the study.

The research compiled by the left-leaning think tank shows that the share of Ontario workers labouring for the minimum wage is now five times higher than in 1997. It rose from less than 3 per cent of all employees to about 12 per cent in 2014.

The share of low-paid work has also ballooned: almost a third of all employees in the province are now making within $4 of the minimum wage, compared with less than 20 per cent of the workforce in 1997.

And while more than half of all minimum-wage workers are still young people, most of those making less than $15 an hour are 25 or older. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)