RWDSU Members Rally for Steelworkers in Canada (1/13/10)

At a march today in Sudbury, Ontario, RWDSU Northern Joint Council members were among the hundreds of activists who rallied in support of Steelworkers Local 6500, whose strike against Vale Inc. reached its sixth month today.

The “6 Months: Still Standing Strong” event allowed members of the community to show their support for the strikers, who have been on the picket line since July 11. The more than 3,000 employees at Vale's mill, smelter, refinery and six nickel mines in the Sudbury area of northern Ontario, along with their counterparts at Vale's Port Colborne, Ont., refinery and its nickel-cobalt-copper mine in Voisey's Bay, N.L., are striking over the company’s demands for concessions, including reducing a bonus tied to the price of nickel, and exempting new employees from its defined-benefit pension plan.

RWDSU NJC President Derik McArthur (left) with  United Steelworkers Local 6500 President John Fera.

“Vale is a profitable multinational company, and its sole goal here is to slash benefits to make even more money,” said RWDSU Northern Joint Council President Derik McArthur. “Whether it’s in mining or in retail, these kinds of tactics hurt all workers by lowering standards in the name of profits for big business.”
The Northern Joint Council raised thousands of dollars toward buying food for the striking workers, including the funds to purchase a Christmas ham for every striking family.

“We will keep raising money for their food bank and continue to support them however we can,” McArthur said.