USW Local 6166 members yesterday voted to accept Vale’s final offer despite their bargaining committee’s unanimous recommendation to reject it.
Members at Manitoba Operations in Thompson ratified a five-year contract offer made Sept. 11, which essentially creates two tiers of employees – existing employees and new hires – and will extract significant concessions from current workers in terms of drug and dental benefits in terms of deductible co-pays, while new hires are now ineligible for both as retiree benefits. Current workers will continue to be eligible for them as retiree benefits.
The new contract, which expires Sept. 15, 2024, gives unionized workers a 1.25 per cent wage increase effective tomorrow, as well as further percentage increases annually over the life of the agreement.
The offer also included a $4,000 ratification bonus payable Sept. 20 and a $2,000 benefits transition payment, also payable the same date.
The company said recently the retiree benefit liability for Vale’s Manitoba Operations is currently $163 million and is growing annually. Vale said the old healthcare plan design “had not been updated for over 50 years” and was not sustainable.”
This year’s contract talks mark the first round of bargaining between the company and the union since the Thompson smelter and refinery, which had opened in March 1961, were permanently shut down in July 2018. Since the previous contract was signed five years ago in September 2014, USW Local 6166 at Vale has lost about half the number of unionized workers it represented then – shrinking to about 600 members from around 1,200 in 2014.
There hadn’t been a lockout or strike at Vale’s Manitoba Operations here in Thompson in 20 years since September 1999 when Inco locked out its unionized workforce for 11 weeks between September and December 1999.
“Although you’re bargaining committee unanimously recommend that the membership strike down the company’s final offer, we understand the pressures that you have been under and accept your voice as our own” Local 6166 said last night in a statement posted on its website, adding “you’re bargaining committee and local union executive dedicate ourselves to standing with you 100 per cent going forward and representing your best interests in the future. We would like to thank all of you who showed support, voiced your opinion, attended meetings, read release’s, questioned the circumstances, cast your ballots and informed yourselves.
“It is time to set our sights on the implementation of this new contract and prepare for the next round of negotiations, remember with preparation and education we can achieve the best results for ourselves and our communities.”
You can also follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/jwbarker22
soundingsjohnbarker 