USW Dispute in Canada Worsens for Brazil’s largest Private Company

USW comrades on strike in this dispute will be visiting Unite in November, but in the meantime, the pressure being applied to support them is beginning to pay off as Vale dumps planned "showcase events".

This press release is from the USW in Pittsburgh and Toronto:

"The United Steelworkers (USW) criticized Vale’s recent decision to cancel planned investor events in New York and London as more evidence of a company in disarray.

Vale was scheduled to meet with key investors in New York on October 21 during “Vale Day on Wall Street” and in London on the 23rd. Vale appeared to want to hold these events prior to releasing its third quarter results on October 28.

“Vale has been trying to avoid our shining a light on their managerial misconduct,” said USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann. “Now it appears to be trying to hide from hard questions that might be raised by investors and the media.”

Despite the cancelation of its own day on Wall Street, striking miners in Sudbury, Ontario will still hold its Vale Day today. Since Vale was planning to host a breakfast for investors, USW Local 6500 will host a breakfast on the picket line where some 3,500 miners have been out since July 13, 2009.


In New York today, a delegation of USW activists will join strikers from Sudbury and Port Colborne across the street from the New York Stock Exchange at Federal Hall where they’ll inform investors that the company is hiding from them, too. The USW wants the company to return to the bargaining table in Canada and calls on its top management to rekindle negotiations.

Strikers and other supporters will also conduct a demonstration at Vale offices in Toronto and in Rio today. “We want to make it perfectly clear to Vale that we’re not going away, no matter where they run,” said Joe Guido, a USW Local 6500 member.

The workers will reach out to the financial community in London on Friday, October 23, where Vale canceled another event with the investors. Updates on contract negotiations in Canada and Brazil will be provided.

Meanwhile the USW presses on with its global campaign. Director Ken Neumann and two USW miners on strike against Vale traveled last week to the German port of Brunsbüttel, Germany, following Vale copper mined in Canada. Joined by mining union leaders from Germany, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and other supporters they conducted a demonstration as a ship transporting 35,000 tons of copper concentrate from Voisey’s Bay, Labrador arrived.

A group of the leaders then met with the ship’s captain and a ship owners’ representative. The captain and agent were both supportive and said they would raise the issue directly with Vale and would inform the buyers of the copper about the dispute. The USW delegation held other meetings with leaders of unions in Germany and other European countries that have members at Vale operations and the operations of Vale’s customers.

The two striking miners traveling with Ken Neumann, Curtis Saunders and Aaron Beaudry, then traveled to Sweden to ask a customer, Boliden, to not purchase any copper concentrate from Vale until the strike at Vale’s Canadian operations is over. Board members at Boliden were upset by the report of the labor situation in Canada and promised to further discuss this situation with the company.

The meeting was arranged by IF Metall, Sweden’s largest private sector union. IF Metall represents the workers at the Boliden copper smelter in Rönnskärsverken that Vale supplies.

“We are receiving tremendous support globally from mining and transport workers’ unions,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “We will go to wherever Vale has operations and tell customers and investors how this company is unfairly treating its workers in Canada, Brazil and elsewhere.”