Steelworkers recruiting to make up lost ground

Some of Canada’s newest mines have been targeted by union organizers as the United Steelworkers of America attempts to replenish numbers lost through recent layoffs. Among them are the Holt-McDermott and former Kerr Addison mines near Kirkland Lake, Ont., and the Dona Lake mine at Pickle Lake, Ont., which have all been successfully unionized.

The Hope Brook gold mine in Newfoundland was also organized recently after 241 of the production, maintenance, office and technical staff voted to join the Steelworkers’ union.

According to Steelworkers’ officials, the recent spate of certifications is the result of an organization drive designed to boost union membership and make up for numbers lost through recent mine closures.

Because of shutdowns at the Adams and Sherman mines at Kirkland Lake and Temagami, Ont., combined with layoffs at the Elliot Lake, Ont., uranium operations of Denison Mines and Rio Algom, about 3,500 skilled mine workers in Ontario alone are expected to be looking for jobs this year.

As inexperienced miners become increasingly nervous about the number of skilled tradesmen coming on to the market, organizers are expected to have an easier time bringing new members into their ranks. And, despite the efforts of many mining companies to keep their operations union-free, mine executives say there is little they can do about the situation.

“Companies are limited in what they can do because labor relations legislation require us to remain neutral when unions are in the middle of an organizing campaign,” said Allan Zuk, manager of labor relations at Vancouver-based Placer Dome.

However, as he and other executives prepare for bargaining discussions with representatives of newly organized operations in northern Ontario and Newfoundland, they are finding that money isn’t always paramount among workers’ concerns.

“Job security was the biggest single issue for the 177 employees who signed union cards at American Barrick Resources’ Holt-McDermott mine,” said Wesley Dowsett, a union organizer in the United Steelworkers’ Kirkland Lake office.

“Inexperienced miners are afraid that they will be let go and replaced by more skilled workers,” he said.

At the more remote Dona Lake gold mine, owned by Placer Dome, working conditions were cited as the reasons why about 70 miners were prepared to sign union cards.

In Newfoundland, where employees are driven by bus from Port aux Basques and Deer Lake to the relatively isolated Hope Brook Gold operation, miners were upset that they had to pay for the bus ride. “It sounds kind of small and stupid but that was an issue,” said Mike Piche, a staff representative in the United Steelworkers’ national office in Toronto.

He and three other organizers spent six weeks in Newfoundland, literally knocking on doors before they were able to sign up the 55% needed to have the mine staff certified.

American Barrick’s Holt- McDermott mine was unionized despite efforts by the company to keep the four mines it operates union-free. Employees there are among the highest paid gold miners in the country and the company offers college scholarships to its employees’ children.

Analysts say the Holt-McDermott employees are worried that the 1,360-ton-per-day mine has not lived up to expectations. A Barrick executive, however, denies that the mine is in danger of closing.

Even though the margin between current gold prices and production costs is still about US$100 per oz., millhead grades are lower than originally anticipated. “There was some concern that the life of the mine won’t go past seven years unless more orebodies are found,” said Dowsett.

Union officials and company executives disagree on how much hourly rated employees at the four mines will benefit from the recent organizing campaign. While not necessarily leading to higher wages, the campaign will increase the amount of time companies spend dealing with grievances and procedural types of things, said Henry Brehaut, Placer Dome’s senior vice-president of Canadian operations. “Strikes also impact negatively on profits,” he said.

“Joining a union gives employees a voice in the workplace that they wouldn’t otherwise have,” said Piche who claimed to be pleased with results of a drive that should increase the membership by 508.

According to union projections, the number of new members should grow to 953 if Toronto-based Deak Resources goes ahead with plans to reopen the old Kerr gold mine and the nearby Cheminis project. Currently, the Kerr Addison mine employees association, which voted to merge with the Steelworkers, has only 30 members.

In February, 23% of the 160,000 employees represented by the steelworkers in Canada were from the mining industry.

With the three Ontario operations and Hope Brook signed up, 143 of the 577 mines in Canada are represented by the United Steelworkers. The Steelworkers represents more unionized staff at mine sites than any other union. Among the notable exceptions are the Golden Giant and Williams mines at Hemlo and Placer Dome’s Campbell mine near Red Lake, Ont. Together, they employ about 1,200 workers.

Asked if organizers had made any attempt to sign up employees at any of the three mines, Piche replied: “We’re working on that.”