February 24, 2012 - No. 24

International Tour in Support of
Locked Out Rio Tinto Workers in Alma, Quebec

Rio Tinto Workers in California and Utah
Confirm Their Presence in Alma on March 31

International Tour in Support of Locked Out Rio Tinto Workers in Alma, Quebec
• Rio Tinto Workers in California and Utah Confirm Their Presence in Alma on March 31
• Workers at Alcoa's Becancour Rod Plant Support Alma Workers

Quebec Construction
• Oppose the Government's Stepped Up Anti-Union Offensive Against Construction Workers
• The Need for On-Site Enforcement of Safety Standards - Interview, François Patry, Director, Health and Safety Department, FTQ-Construction
• Open Letter from Quebec Construction Worker Holds Quebec Government to Account

Vale Inco
• We Mourn the Death of Another Sudbury Miner Killed on the Job

International Tour in Support of
Locked Out Rio Tinto Workers in Alma, Quebec

Rio Tinto Workers in California and Utah
Confirm Their Presence in Alma on March 31

The Rio Tinto borax mine in Boron, California is the largest open-pit mine in the state. (STAA)

The international tour organized by United Steelworkers and the Syndicat des travailleurs de l'aluminium d'Alma (STAA) to win support for the locked-out Rio Tinto workers in Alma, Quebec and their union, got off to a great start with the support they received from Rio Tinto borax workers in Boron, California on February 21. These workers waged a determined battle from the end of January to the end of May in 2010 as Rio Tinto locked them out in an attempt to extort concessions such as replacing unionized workers with non-unionized workers, basically eliminating seniority. The delegation was pleased by the warm reception from the Boron workers and their pledge to be in Alma at the end of March to take part in meetings and the mass demonstration that is being organized for March 31.

"We spent the day with them," Marc Maltais, President of USW Local 9490, told TML in an interview after the meeting. "We had a tour of the mine and we had discussions with the Executive Committee of the local union which is the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30. We discussed what is common between the two lockouts which is Rio Tinto's attack on decent jobs," Maltais said. "But what is common is not only the attacks but our struggle, the way they fought and the way we are fighting to get the support of the workers and the community by explaining to them what our struggle is about. In the case of Boron, a world campaign to get global support from labour for their fight was also organized. Both in the meeting with the executive members and with the members at large at a membership meeting the union organized for us, I was impressed by how closely they are following our struggle, not only from the time of the lockout but even before and they even knew about the Adopt-a-Worker campaign of the Hamilton steelworkers! The great news is that they have decided to send a delegation to participate in our mass demonstration in Alma on March 31 and in the other events organized in the days leading up to it. That is just great and it shows that whatever country you are in, the fight in essence is the same and especially with this common employer, Rio Tinto. We also received a financial contribution of about $4,000 and the workers pledged to send more if Rio Tinto does not put an end to its lockout soon."

The members of the delegation are Local 9490 USW President Marc Maltais, Assistant to the Quebec Director of USW Guy Farrell and Regional Representative of USW for Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Dominic Lemieux. Following the visit to Boron, California, the delegation went to Los Angeles where it met with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labour. Representatives of the federation, which has close to a million members, "were really impressed by the solidarity of members of Local 9490 in the face of the brutal lockout by Rio Tinto Alcan," reports Dominic Lemieux.

The delegation then visited the International Longshore and Warehouse Union of Los Angeles, representing 15,000 workers who signed a letter of support and are considering to also provide financial support to the Alma workers. The day ended with a meeting with harbour workers of Rio Tinto Minerals. These workers were coming off their work shift. They gave financial contributions and pledged to do their best to send a delegation to Alma on March 31.

The delegation was in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 23 to meet with the Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation (KUCC) workers. Kennecott is a division of Rio Tinto which operates one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world, a smelter and a refinery. There are over 40 unions in this huge complex if one includes those who represent workers working for subcontractors linked with Rio Tinto. Maltais told TML that the situation with the subcontractors is somehow different than it is in Alma because many of them have strong unions who fought to win decent conditions for their workers. At one of the meetings with the workers organized on that day, there were over 50 workers who are members of various unions organizing amongst the subcontractors who came to support the struggle in Alma. "It was striking to see the amount of support we received from these workers," said Maltais. "Their support shows that they understand what we have said since the very beginning, that our fight is not against subcontracting in general but against the transformation of jobs with decent conditions into cheap labour."

Maltais told TML that the visit to California and Utah was a complete success. While Dominic Lemieux is returning to Alma, the other two members of the delegation are carrying on with the next leg of their tour in Australia, starting Saturday, February 25. In Western Australia, there are more than 5,000 workers at Rio Tinto's Pilbara iron ore operation. Rio Tinto is notorious for its attempts to block these workers from organizing themselves into trade unions. "I am eager to go there to learn about the struggle of the Pilbara region to defeat these attempts which are showing us the kind of non-unionized environment Rio Tinto is trying to impose to workers and their communities," said Maltais.

Workers at Alcoa's Becancour Rod Plant
Support Alma Workers

On February 22, members of Local 9700-01 USW at the Alcoa Rod Plant in Becancour, Quebec reported that they will provide financial support to the locked-out Rio Tinto workers in Alma. "We are 60 union workers who are providing a one-time $10,000 contribution, which is considerable for a small union," reports union member Jessy Trottier. The Becancour workers will then contribute $10 a week each until the end of the lockout. "Keep it up! We are proud of your fight!," says Trottier.

Quebec Construction

Oppose the Government's Stepped Up Anti-Union Offensive Against Construction Workers

Workers demonstrate outside the offices of the Quebec Construction Commission in Montreal, October 23, 2011.

"We do not want to be victims of the political diversion of a corrupt government," Quebec construction workers say as they stand virtually alone in opposing the anti-union offensive of the Charest government. This government first attacked the construction workers last year calling their union corrupt in order to divert attention from its own corruption and that of the construction companies which dominate the field when it comes to all kinds of suspect deals. The government was joined by the monopoly-controlled media and all political parties in the National Assembly. On December 2, these parties unanimously passed Bill 33, an Act to eliminate union placement and improve the operation of the construction industry despite the fact that Quebec's two main construction unions representing 70 per cent of all Quebec construction workers firmly opposed it. The Charest government is now in the process of implementing the bill. The changes prescribed in the bill are so all-encompassing that it will take a full year before all the regulations are adopted.

The most salient feature of the legislation is the elimination of the hiring hall, a mechanism unions use to prevent discrimination and favouritism by the employers and reduce competition amongst workers. It is being replaced by the Labour-Referral Service for the Construction Industry (LRSCI) administered by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) an agency of the Quebec government.

Another feature is the elimination of the long-standing procedure for ratification of collective agreements in the industry, according to which if one or two unions combined, representing 50 per cent plus one of all construction workers, accepted the agreement, it was ratified for all the unions involved. Bill 33 requires at least three out of the five construction unions to ratify an agreement. Another change promotes permanent raiding amongst unions with a new provision that an individual worker can change union affiliation outside the prescribed open period by claiming dissatisfaction with his or her union.

The legislation was introduced in the midst of an anti-worker campaign that depicts construction unions as corrupt and violent. It serves to divert from the real corruption and intimidation of the Charest government and the construction and engineering companies and deny the violence and intimidation that hit construction workers every day with the record levels of injuries and fatalities in the sector.

As the Quebec government works to implement Bill 33, through a "transition committee" of the CCQ, the anti-worker propaganda has been stepped up. The Quebec Federation of Labour-Construction (FTQ-Construction) and the Provincial Council of Construction Trades (CPQMCI) refused to participate in the transition committee stating that they oppose in principle no longer being allowed to directly represent the workers to the employers (through hiring halls or other means). The Labour Minister tried to incite construction workers, saying they should refuse to be "under the spell of their union." She invited them to use the open period for raiding next May and June to change affiliation. This is what she calls giving every worker an equal opportunity to make his or her voice heard.

FTQ-Construction has rightly called the Minister to account, opposing her interference in the workers' affairs and unions. They point out that this shows the government's legislation is not intended to solve any of the problems of the industry but to attack the unions. The FTQ and the CPQMCI warned the Labour Minister that her duty is not to attack workers and deprive them of their ability to defend themselves but to address the workers' urgent health and safety problems.

TML Daily firmly condemns these attacks against the construction workers and calls on all workers to speak out in their defence. Posted below are an interview and an open letter from construction workers who are breaking the silence on what is really going on in the construction industry and opposing the diversion and disinformation of the Charest government about the source of the problems in the sector.

The Need for On-Site Enforcement of Safety Standards

- Interview, François Patry, Director, Health and Safety Department, FTQ-Construction -

TML: At the beginning of the year, the Quebec Federation of Labour-Construction (FTQ- Construction) said that an absolute priority in 2012 is for the Quebec government to immediately take up its responsibility towards the health and safety of construction workers. FTQ-Construction says this is urgent because not only are injuries and fatalities on the rise in construction but the Charest government is diverting attention from what is really going on, with its campaign about violence and intimidation on construction sites.

François Patry: Rather than addressing the concerns of the workers the government has chosen to deal with what it calls intimidation on construction sites that the unions allegedly use against the workers. We don't have any record of workers who have lost their lives or been injured because of that, but we have plenty of injuries and fatalities that have been recorded on the construction sites because of health and safety problems. However, the government does not seem to think it is urgent to address that.

We want to solve the problem at once. The Labour Minister says that Bill 33, an Act to eliminate union placement and improve the operation of the construction industry, is important to defend the interests of the workers. Well, the bill has been passed now and we have to live with it but we are not going to stop our work in defence of our workers just to please the construction companies and the Minister. There are lives at stake here. Every year there are 8,700 injuries in construction in Quebec. There is no real prevention and we don't think that the issue is to police the sites, issue more fines to the employers at fault, etc. There are tools available to us, but they are not being used. We need people on the sites who force the employers to eliminate the hazards, who force them to use equipment and materials that are safe. We want prevention so that these injuries and fatalities do not happen. The government speaks about intimidation, but says nothing about what the workers go through every day.

TML: What are your main demands on this front in 2012?

FP: This year, the Quebec government plans to modernize the occupational health and safety legislation and the legislation on work-related injuries and diseases. The Workplace Health and Safety Commission (CSST) has published a document presenting its vision on the matter and the document is bound to have a huge influence on what the government decides to do but there is nothing in this document about the construction sector. There is supposed to be another meeting where the construction unions will be able to present their concerns. This was supposed to take place a long time ago but no effort has been made yet to convoke it.

We need tools to address health and safety. We know what these tools are. They are: a worker onsite whose role is to be responsible for prevention and the joint health and safety committee. These tools are in the occupational health and safety legislation but the articles dealing with the construction sector have never been promulgated -- since 1980! There are some phony joint committees but most of the construction employers do not participate in them. These committees do not have a clearly defined mandate and definite responsibilities for their members as the legislation prescribes. As for the worker representatives responsible for prevention, according to the legislation, this is a worker on the site, nominated and trained by the workers and paid by the employer. The five Quebec construction unions agree with these two demands and we are working together on this.

TML: To what do you attribute the increase in the number of injuries and fatalities in the construction sector in Quebec?

FP: More and more, everything on the construction sites is centred strictly on production. More and more, the work has to be done as fast as possible. Increasingly, there are many trades working together on the same project. Before, one job would usually end before another one started -- there was a sequence of tasks that was respected. Now a task is not even finished before another one starts. Different work is being done, let's say on the top and bottom floors, and there is no coordination between the two in terms of health and safety. We have a situation where the structure has not even been erected yet on the upper floors and already work is being done on the lower floors to install the windows. No time is allowed to install safety netting or a security perimeter. That is how the accident happened in Montreal on January 12 when a worker got hurt by a huge piece of ice that fell on him from 10 floors above.

The problem is that health and safety is not part of planning and organizing a project. For the employers, health and safety is always the part that is the most easily skipped because it takes time and energy to plan it and because it costs money. There is a cost that comes with a construction project and as a society we have to accept that there is a cost to be paid so that people don't die at work. But the companies try all kinds of ways to avoid paying these costs, for example, by systematically challenging that injuries are work-related.

It is incredible that in 2012 we still have to argue about things like having clean construction sites. When dealing with something as elementary as cleaning, it takes an accident to have companies receive a notice that they have to clean up their mess. It does not make any sense. That is why we are demanding that there be a worker representative responsible for prevention who takes part in the planning and organizing of a project so that health and safety matters are there right from the beginning. At the moment, when accidents happen, it is the employers who do the investigation. The investigation is never done right -- anything goes and the conclusion is always the same, that it is the worker's fault.

TML: You have been putting pressure for a very long time to get governments to take up their responsibility. In your opinion, what is the problem?

FP: A serious problem is that those who sit in governments use their position to transition to become representatives of companies. They are playing their cards so that when they leave government they can go and sit on the boards of some companies. It is up to us to put pressure because on their own they will not do it.

TML: What do you want to say in conclusion?

FP: What is positive is that more and more the workers are saying this has to stop, that it is not our fate to be injured or killed on the sites, that there are solutions. It is also our responsibility as unions to defend the workers and their right to work in a safe and healthy environment. That is the only way the workers are going to see the necessity to be unionized and defend the unions when the government and media are slandering them as they are now.

(Translated from original French by TML Daily)

Open Letter from Quebec Construction Worker Holds Quebec Government to Account

On January 12, a construction worker was severely injured when a large piece of ice fell from 10 floors above where he was working. TML is posting below an extract of an open letter written by Guy Martin, a construction worker and director of Window Installers Local 135 (FTQ-Construction), February 6, 2012. The letter demands that the Quebec government stop its diversion of blaming construction workers for alleged violence and intimidation on the construction sites. It demands that the government take up its responsibility to make sure that construction sites are free from the genuine violence and intimidation that is hitting construction workers as they are injured or killed on the job and face reprisals when they protest and demand safe and healthy working conditions. In 2010, the Quebec Workplace Health and Safety Commission (CSST) reported 213 fatalities related to work. Fifty-three of these fatalities, or 25 per cent, were in construction, even though construction workers represent only six per cent of all Quebec workers.

***

Who's To Blame?

Was this accident avoidable? I think yes but part of the responsibility lies with the indifference of our governments and its agencies, such as the CSST, that belittle the importance of fatalities and injuries in the construction sector. The companies responsible for work on construction sites invoke "fastrack," which is enforced by a system of fines for contractors if they don't finish the work on time or bonuses if the work is done within the deadline.

So, given that the Minister was quick to act to deal with intimidation, she should think about these small contractors who, if they are late finishing, are threatened with fines and even with losing the contract. If that's not intimidation it is certainly pressure that is being put on the workers. This results in contractors rushing work instead of having it done properly and for many workers this pressure is something they face regularly. Sometimes workers feel they are being assaulted verbally and if they argue they are faced with threats of being laid off as there is no seniority in the construction sector. That is partly what is to blame for these accidents.

I dare to hope that there are solutions to the problem of injuries on construction sites. If our engineers and thinkers are able to devise machines of all kinds, can't we devise construction sites that are safe? I think that this is possible if it is the will of all to make it happen. We must act! The specialists tell me that the problems have to be solved at the root of the cause and I agree. Why do I have to wear a safety hat if the danger that something may fall on my head has been eliminated? It would be dreaming to believe that all construction sites in the world can be totally hazard-free but it is certainly possible to improve our record.

The Issue of Money

I think we ought to be more creative and stricter. What would be wrong in having safety netting to protect workers from objects falling from the floors above where workers are stripping off formwork or performing other tasks? Why? -- $$$$

Why not have overhead protection as is the case with heavy machinery? -- $$$$ again. Why not have security perimeters that are better fenced than with red ribbon? Would we fence horses with red ribbon? We don't keep kids away from a river with red ribbon. According to me, if the will is there, it can be done. Permit me to say that to play the blame game is not going to solve the problem.

How come we are able to send people to build a station in space in a safe environment but that's not possible on a construction site? I want things to change or rather, all of our construction workers want it to change. If it were 53 policemen who lost their life every year on duty in Quebec, people would burst with sympathy and force the government to act. But as far as construction workers are concerned, nothing moves because our government manipulates the situation -- with its collusion with the companies, its phony investigations and with the media slandering the workers as if they are accomplices in this collusion. If we demand changes, the media and those under their sway say we are whiners and fat cats. Can you tell me then how it is possible for construction workers to work in a safe environment and try to change old habits? At the moment we have to live with a safety code that is completely obsolete and needs a major overhaul.

My thoughts go out to the family of Serge Provost who is struggling for his life.

P.S. I have another thought too, for the Minister who claims to be concerned about workers facing intimidation. We know that if a worker refuses work on the basis of safety, he is either laid off or never hired again because the employers talk to each other. The Minister cannot prevent the employers from talking but Bill 33 removes the power of the union to talk to the employer.

(Translated from original French by TML Daily)

Vale Inco

We Mourn the Death of Another
Sudbury Miner Killed on the Job

One death on the job is one too many, but at Vale Inco in Sudbury, three miners have been killed working underground in the last eight months. The most recent death occurred on January 29 -- Stephen Perry, 47, with 16 years experience died in the Coleman mine. His death followed that of two other miners at the Stobie mine last June: Jason Chenier, 35 and Jordan Fram, 26. Furthermore, it was only good fortune, diligence and prompt action by smelter workers that no one was injured or killed in the Copper Cliff smelter explosion just one year ago.

It is completely unacceptable that the Vale workers in Sudbury are being exposed to such dangers. The Ontario government should do its duty and ensure that employers are held responsible for working conditions. It should not be up to Local 6500 USW alone to battle such global monopolies and have to fight every step of the way just to ensure its members arrive home after a day's work, safe and alive.

The Canadian working class deeply mourns these deaths at Vale Inco. The Workers' Centre of CPC(M-L) too expresses deepest sympathy for the families, friends and co-workers of those who have died recently at Vale operations in Sudbury. Canadian workers from coast to coast have high regard for the Local 6500 USW workers for their year-long resistance to Vale's demands for concessions.

Vale temporarily shut down its mining operations following Stephen Perry's death to do safety inspections. Four of its five mine sites have since been brought back into production, however the Creighton site remains closed for shaft maintenance. Rick Bertrand, President of Local 6500 USW told the Sudbury Star, "I guess the shaft is in rougher shape than I imagined it to be for them to take the time to do what they need to do." The union is also pressing for the return of various health and safety practices that were in place before the strike, which give workers more opportunity to report on and fix safety problems as they occur.

Vale recently released the results of its investigation into the deaths of miners Chenier and Fram, which includes some 30 recommendations and an action plan. Vale however refused to cooperate with the local union in conducting a joint investigation. As a result the union conducted its own inquiry. That too necessitated taking Vale before the Ontario Labour Relations Board seeking an order to stop company interference with the work of the union investigating team. Vale had ordered two members of the union investigating team back to their production jobs before the union had completed a thorough investigation.

Local 6500 has now completed its investigation of the two deaths and is in the final stages of preparing its report which will be presented to its membership and the public.

The death of Stephen Perry happened virtually at the same moment Vale was releasing the report of its investigation into the deaths of Chenier and Fram, and unveiling its action plan to "ensure such fatalities don't occur again." The continued fatalities underscore the conditions the Sudbury miners are working in and that the need for safe and healthy working conditions cannot be reduced to a glib policy objective. Vale's conduct also shows how its anti-worker offensive finds its expression in not only the working conditions but its efforts to deny the workers a collective voice through their union organization.

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