Stelco workers in Hamilton will be in legal strike position Aug. 16
Local Stelco workers will be in a legal strike position as of next Tuesday unless their union and the Hamilton-based steelmaker resolve a contract impasse.
The last contract for nearly 600 unionized local Stelco workers expired June 30 and negotiations with the United Steel Workers Local 1005 for a new agreement started in April.
So far, bargaining has resulted in little progress," according to local union president Ron Wells, who has scheduled an information meeting for members Aug. 15, the day before a legal strike position is reached.
So far, there is no date or deadline set for a potential strike. With many important issues still unresolved, we are not in a position today to tell you if we will be bringing back a contract to vote on or signing members up for picket duty," he said in a recent update memo to members.
The Spectator has reached out to the steelmaker for comment.
In Hamilton, Stelco workers run steel-finishing operations, including a zinc-coating line, as well as an 83-oven battery that makes coke for the company's integrated steelmaking mill on Lake Erie.
About 1,000 unionized workers at that Nanticoke plant also appear to have reached a bargaining impasse.
An online United Steel Workers update from Aug. 5 says unionized Stelco workers at the Lake Erie plant will be in a legal strike position Aug. 22 if no new contract agreement is reached.
Prior union releases said key issues" at the bargaining table included wages, benefits and pensions - particularly given spiking inflation.
The latest union memo to Hamilton workers said protecting cost-of-living allowances (COLA) is one of the bargaining team's key priorities" given skyrocketing inflation and the erosion" of wages.
The update also argues Stelco has been extremely successful and profitable" in recent times, pointing to its recent sale of its Hamilton lands to a developer, investment in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and announced plans to buy back $1 billion in shares from investors.
We are only asking that our members, who were deemed essential during the pandemic, be compensated relative to other steelworkers in Canada," reads the union memo.
The Hamilton union local is bargaining amid a historic ownership change in Stelco's 324 hectares of bayfront land. Earlier this summer, Stelco sold its Hamilton land to would-be developer Slate Asset Management, which agreed to lease back to the steelmaker the property required to continue local operations.
But The Spectator discovered the company's lease agreement for coke-making operations appears set to end by 2029 at the latest - leaving the future of that facility and its jobs up in the air.
Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com