U.S. Steel
Canada retired
workers again
denied benefi ts
HAMILTON — More than
20,000 U.S. Steel Canada pen-
sioners were again denied a mo-
tion to reinstate health benefits
after a Ontario Superior Court
ruling
The benefits were suspended
in 2015, when the court granted
a request by the company to do
so, during its bankruptcy pro-
tection case.
"Steel industry workers and
pensioners were hoping for
change when the Trudeau Lib-
erals replaced the Harper Con-
servatives," said Marty Warren,
Ontario director of the United
Steelworkers (USW). "As work-
ers and pensioners suffer blow
after blow, the deafening silence
from the Liberals shows there is
no real change."
In addition to rejecting the
reinstatement of pensioners'
benefits, the judge agreed to the
company's request to pay a spe-
cial bonus to managers, which
was the second such bonus
awarded to management dur-
ing the restructuring process,
said the union.
"Our members, our pension-
ers and people throughout our
community are outraged to see
benefits that categorically be-
long to retirees simply taken
away with the stroke of a pen,
while managers receive bonus-
es," said Gary Howe, president
of USW Local 1005 in Hamilton.
In its motion to the court, the
union pointed out U.S. Steel
Canada, while operating under
the Companies' Creditor Ar-
rangement Act, has a positive
cash flow of $150 million.
Also, documents that were
inadvertently made public have
revealed U.S. Steel Canada paid
its American parent, U.S. Steel,
$123 million above market pric-
es for steelmaking supplies such
as coal and iron ore.
Restoring the pensioners'
benefits would cost $3.5 million
per month, said the union.
Unifor
ratifi es deal
with Suncor
CALGARY — Unifor and Sun-
cor have agreed to a three-year
deal that will cover more than
8,500 energy and chemical
workers across Canada.
The collective agreement will
set the pattern for Unifor's nego-
tiations with other companies in
the industry.
"The agreement recognizes
the state of the industry but
compensates our members and
the communities they live in
fairly, as we transition one of
Canada's most important in-
dustries," said Unifor president
Jerry Dias.
After Suncor was chosen as
the employer who would first
reach a pattern agreement, ne-
gotiations began early in 2016. A
tentative deal was reached Aug.
9 and ratified by local Unifor
leaders this week.
Unifor is Canada's largest pri-
vate sector union, representing
more than 310,000 workers.
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