It seems as though Spring may have arrived early this year! I urge all members to play it safe when dealing with outside hobbies and chores. First up, is the contentious issue of the Staff Performance Bonus. This bonus is derived from compliance, production and safety initiative and is paid on a percentage of annual income. How does the Staff Bonus affect our members you might ask? Well, basically, it left our Membership pissed off, frustrated and upset because Vale Inco is paying a bonus after reporting a $36 Million loss in the 4th Quarter. Many of our members feel they have been cheated out of their Nickel Bonus payments and quite frankly - I don’t blame them. Management has never tried to explain the business case of the non entitlement of Bonus. Instead, they have left the Membership speculating why it has not been paid.

The Staff Performance Bonus will, no doubt, have an affect on our Membership. We are already seeing the "079" process being short circuited by a mad rush to close them out. This expedited manner, with no concrete corrective actions, will put our members in jeopardy. Hopefully, we do not see a rise in "Hyper-Active" Front Line Supervisors becoming extremely aggressive with our members in pursuit of a higher performance bonus rating.

On March 3rd, the top five USW 6166 Executive Committee members and Vale’s senior management, along with their Comptroller, held a meeting in the spirit of financial disclosure, which pertains to our Policy grievances for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Quarter, which, ultimately, will be heard by an Arbitrator. We did have to sign a confidentiality agreement. Unfortunately, the report cannot be made public. I have requested Vale Inco draft a document with an explanation to our members of how such losses are incurred. We will print their explanation in a future edition of the Gauntlet.

USW Local 6500 and 6200 rejected Vale’s latest proposal by 88.7%, sending the company a clear message. The end result of acting in good faith at the negotiating table is to establish a fair deal for both sides, which is what Local 6500 and 6200 wish to achieve. The proposal was the product of 10 days of mediation, resulting in Kevin Burkett, the Mediator, walking away from the table. The proposed contract was five years in length and not entirely different from the original proposal eight months ago. USW Local 6500 and 6200 have been in an epic battle to protect the Defined Benefit Pension and all benefits derived from it, such as 30 years and out and the ability to retire with a guaranteed set income. We have supported their efforts to the best of our ability and we will maintain our support in the future.

On the home front, we have been actively pursuing a lobbying campaign in conjunction with the United Steelworkers. We will be sending two activists in April to lobby the provincial government with regards to implementing Replacement Worker legislation. The proposed legislation is crucial in protecting our employment, if there is a breakdown in the collective bargaining process. In the past, corporations were reluctant to use the services of scab labour. Foreign corporations have no issue with using scab labour and they have no regard for the dangers of that act.

Our Local will be hosting a Hockey tournament during the week of April 4th, with the final game taking place on Saturday, April 10th. We will also be hosting a Beer Garden. We urge all members to come out and watch the action. Thank you to Mike Gagne for spearheading the tournament. Should you have any questions, please give Mike a call at 677-3040.

We will be hosting other events throughout the course of this year. We believe building solidarity within our Membership is crucial. Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of the Gauntlet.

In Solidarity
Murray Nychyporuk
President
USW6166

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