Mining Labour Issues and History – Sudbury and Global – Page 21

People before profit, Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira says – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – July 13, 2011)

July 13, 2011July 13, 2011

The Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. cmulligan@thesudburystar.com

“I want to make it undoubtedly clear that safety comes before production at this company. People are always more important than any results or material goods. … If you see a risky situation or unsafe behaviour, it is your duty to intervene.”
(Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira – July 13, 2011)

Editor’s note: The names of Jordan Fram and Jason Chenier are incorrect in today’s print edition of The Sudbury Star. We apologize to the families and to our readers for the error.

Safety comes before production and people are more important than profit, Vale’s chief executive officer Murilo Ferreira told his company’s 119,000 employees Tuesday. The comments came in a statement from Ferreira issued after eight Vale employees were killed in six accidents in the last three months.

Ferreira sent the letter to Vale employees on five continents, reminding them that mining can be dangerous and involves risk, but that safety is sacrosanct for the Brazil-based company. Two Sudbury miners, Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, died June 8 on the 3,000-foot level of Stobie Mine after a load of crushed ore fell on them.

That accident is under investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Vale and United Steelworkers Local 6500, the union to which the men belonged.

Standing together [Sudbury 2011 Workers Mermorial Day] – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – June 21, 2011)

June 21, 2011

The Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. hcarmichael@thesudburystar.com

Joyce Colasimone did something Monday she had never done before: Talk publicly about the June 20, 1984, rockburst at Falconbridge Mine that claimed the life of husband, Richard Chenier.

“How many people actually stop to think about the rescuers involved?” Colasimone asked a crowd of more than 150 on hand for the 27th Annual Workers Memorial Day ceremonies at the Caruso Club on Monday.

“We call them heroes. Why do we not honour them for rescuing and helping people in accidents? I stand here today to say thanks and I do appreciate the people who responded.

“To the people that have put themselves at risk, I want you to appreciate the bravery within you. You are the true heroes.”

Nine orders issued to Vale [Sudbury mining deaths] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – June 11, 2011)

June 11, 2011

The Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. cmulligan@thesudburystar.com

McPhee said the emphasis is not on production, but on taking a “compassionate
approach” in dealing with employees who worked with and knew Fram and Chenier,
and are traumatized by their deaths. … “The emphasis is on employees.”
(Cory McPhee – Vale VP Corporate Affairs)

The Ministry of Labour has issued nine orders — three of them stop-work orders — at Vale Ltd.’s Stobie Mine where two miners were killed Wednesday evening after a run of muck — or broken rock — descended on them.

The ministry, Vale, United Steelworkers and Greater Sudbury Police Service are all involved in the investigation into how the accident that killed Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, occurred.

Vale spokesman Cory McPhee said the company is complying with all orders and co-operating with the Labour ministry any way it can. The accident site is frozen, but production could resume soon in the rest of the mine where about 400 people work.

McPhee said the emphasis is not on production, but on taking a “compassionate approach” in dealing with employees who worked with and knew Fram and Chenier, and are traumatized by their deaths.

Tragedy at [Sudbury] Stobie Mine a reminder of our spirit – Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – June 10, 2011)

June 10, 2011

The Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. Brian MacLeod is the managing editor.

The tragic deaths of two miners at Stobie Mine on Wednesday night is a painful reminder to us that those who work underground are still the soul of this community.

Jordan Fram, 26, and Jason Chenier, 35, died when they were struck by broken rock at an ore pass 3,000 feet underground at Vale’s Stobie Mine. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Jason had been a miner for 11 years, and Jordan for six.

Vale’s general manager of Ontario operations, John Treen, called the deaths a devastating loss. Many members of the community have expressed their condolences online.

Virtually everyone in the community knows someone who works in one of the city’s mines. The willingness of thousands of workers to go underground each day is still the city’s raison d’etre.

Statement from Vale’s Jon Steen about death of two miners – (June 9, 2011)

June 9, 2011

To all Ontario Operations Employees:

It is with deep regret that I must inform everyone today that two of our employees were fatally injured last night while working around an ore pass at the 3000-level of Stobie Mine. Mine rescue was dispatched, however both individuals were pronounced dead at the scene. All other employees were brought to surface and accounted for.

The immediate families of the two employees have been notified, and our full support is being offered to them as they begin to cope with their loss. The names of the individuals are being withheld out of respect for the families so that they can notify relatives and close friends.

Our Critical Incident Stress Management Team is on site at Stobie Mine to offer personal support to friends and co-workers of the two individuals. The scheduled day shift and night shift at Stobie Mine have been cancelled.

Run of muck killed 2 miners at [Vale] Stobie [mine in Sudbury] – Harald Carmichael (Sudbury Star – June 10, 2011)

June 10, 2011June 9, 2011

The Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. hcarmichael@thesudburystar.com

“It takes eight to 10 years to really train a miner under-ground and that
is if he is with an experienced miner,” said one miner, who declined to
give his name. … “You develop instincts. … You have to be able to ‘read’
the ground … “What is the ground doing? Why is it (rock) so crumbly? “

‘A devasting loss’

Vale management and workers in Sudbury are reeling from the deaths of two young miners, killed late Wednesday on the 3,000-foot level of Stobie Mine.

“This is a devastating loss and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and coworkers of these employees,” Jon Treen, general manager of Vale’s Ontario operations, said Thursday in Copper Cliff.

“We are all feeling this loss very deeply and we will be concentrating our efforts on understanding exactly what happened and how to prevent it in the future.”

The two men — identified by Greater Sudbury Police as Jordan Fram, 26, and Jason Chenier, 35 — were working in the No. 7 ore pass area when a run of muck — broken ore pieces — struck them, said Treen.

What Newfoundland & Labrador can teach the rest of Canada about globalization [Vale strike] – by Armine Yalnizyan (The Progressive Economics Forum-May 20, 2011)

May 21, 2011May 21, 2011

Armine Yalnizyan is a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The Progressive Economics Forum aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.

“Vale can’t escape scrutiny. Look at what they do in Thompson. This will be looked
at around the world. A Zambian mining president during the strike in Sudbury said if
this is the way they treat people in the first world we don’t want Vale in Zambia, in the
third world.” (Steve Ashton, MLA for Thompson, Manitoba)

Last fall Premier Danny Williams wondered what could drive anyone to let hundreds of millions of dollars slip through their fingers. Last week he got his answer.

The Roil report on the 18-month strike at Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in northern Labrador is an eye-opening case study in 21st century globalization, and has the potential to be a game-changer. It is the final output of an industrial inquiry commission appointed by now-ex-Premier Williams in October 2010.

At that time about 240 United Steelworkers had been on strike against global mining giant Vale since August 2009, labour relations had become toxic, and Innu and Inuit communities finally poised to make economic gains had become tragically split down the middle.

The commissioners reported that Vale ultimately lost an estimated $500 million to $1 billion in operating revenues; the workers lost over $9 million in wages over 2009 and 2010; the union spent about $4 million in legal fees, staff supports and strike pay; and Newfoundland and Labrador’s GDP took at 1.4% hit in 2009, 2.6% in 2010.

Clash of cultures blamed in Vale Inco strike – by Tony Van Alphen (Toronto Star – March 27, 2010)

June 10, 2015April 25, 2011

Tony Van Alphen is a business reporter with the Toronto Star, which has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on Canada’s federal and provincial politics as well as shaping public opinion. This article was originally published March 27, 2010.

Mark Cutifani runs a gold mining company in South Africa now, long gone from Vale Inco in Canada where he had begun engaging workers and changing an adversarial climate that had defined labour relations for more than half a century.

That adversarial climate is back in a big way at the mining giant in Sudbury and Port Colborne, where more than 3,100 employees have remained off the job in an increasingly bitter 8 1/2-month strike.

The classic labour-management struggle threatens to set back labour relations for years and undermine the value of one of the richest mineral deposits in the world.

The United Steelworkers union says a clash of cultures is at the root of the dispute. It argues that Inco’s Brazilian owners want to instill a foreign brand of subservient labour relations here; run roughshod over existing workers’ rights and cut bonus pay at a time when the company is profitable. Vale Inco says the union’s statements smack of racism and the company rejects the idea that cultural differences have anything to do with the strike.

[Vale Inco Miner’s Income] Where upper-class incomes are earned underground – by Tony Van Alphen (Toronto Star-May 18, 2008)

June 10, 2015April 25, 2011

SUDBURY– Jack (Coco) Simons could retire today with a good pension. But he’s having too much fun making a whole lot of money underground.

Riding the boom of all booms here, Simons collected about $152,000 in gross pay last year as a top-notch production miner at Vale Inco’s Coleman Mine in the northwest end of the city.

This year, Simons says he could crack the $165,000 mark with a little more overtime. “It would be foolish for me to quit now,” says the fit, 53-year-old Simons, relaxing on his couch after a 12-hour shift. “I love this. The money is just too good. It’s motivational. Why not go for it.”

Sudbury miners are making more money than ever because of soaring nickel prices and worldwide demand for the mineral, a key element in stainless steel and other alloys. Simons receives a base rate of $27.81 an hour but earns a great deal more because he’s a member of one of numerous elite crews that each extract thousands of tons of ore every week.

A War of Words or a War of Worlds: Brazilian Vale versus North American USWA – by Kim T. Morris (Part 3 of 3)

June 10, 2015April 15, 2011

Kim Morris won third place in the 2011 Arthur W. Page Society and Institute for Public Relations case study competition – business school category.

Her case study entry was on the Vale Sudbury year long strike – A War of Words or a War of Worlds: Brazilian Vale versus North American USWA. She is a senior adviser of communications and public affairs at the North East Community Care Access Centre.

Discussion

Reputation

Public perception of Vale has changed dramatically since 2006. There is mistrust and suspicion surrounding the company’s motives and future plans for the Sudbury operations. Actions and decisions made during the 11 month strike have tarnished Vale’s reputation not only in the Sudbury area, but province-wide, and possibly internationally. Unions from across the world weighed in on the labor dispute. In January 2010, the trade magazine Metal Bulletin described Vale’s hard line as an attempt to break the union.

Reputation matters. Reputation impacts a wide variety of areas: consumer purchasing decisions, employee recruitment and retention, investment decisions, even how media covers your news [40]. From an outsider’s point of view, Vale does not seem very concerned with its reputation, choosing to place profits ahead of its people.

USWA Local 6500 also needs to rebuild and revamp its reputation. Given the lack of community support received during the strike, the actions of certain members, and the harsh and hateful words spoken during the dispute, the union has a long road ahead of it if it is to restore its reputation to where it was prior to the strike.

A War of Words or a War of Worlds: Brazilian Vale versus North American USWA – by Kim T. Morris (Part 2 of 3)

June 10, 2015April 15, 2011

Kim Morris won third place in the 2011 Arthur W. Page Society and Institute for Public Relations case study competition – business school category.

USWA Local 6500

The executive of USWA Local 6500 anticipated difficult negotiations from the start. This was a new company and the negotiating team did not know what to expect. The only thing that was clear was that there would be no concessions on the part of the union.

Talks collapsed mere weeks after they began and the gloves came off shortly thereafter with both sides blaming the other for the impasse [23]. It was at this time that the USWA Local 6500 first alleged that the root cause of the problem was a lack of understanding by Vale’s Brazilian owners as to North American culture, along with a desire to trample workers’ rights and reduce their compensation package [23].

As the months wore on, the USWA Local 6500 web page featured alleged replacement workers, providing names and addresses as well as photos of the individuals. Anonymous members posted that there should be retaliation toward these so-called “scabs”. This resulted in a flurry of threats, assaults and damage to property throughout the community. In May 2010, Vale fired nine strikers for purported violations of its code of conduct on the picket line. There were also criminal charges laid against some of the nine strikers for other offences related to the strike. The matter is still before the Ontario Labor Relations Board and the courts.

A War of Words or a War of Worlds: Brazilian Vale versus North American USWA – by Kim T. Morris (Part 1 of 3)

June 10, 2015April 15, 2011

Kim Morris won third place in the 2011 Arthur W. Page Society and Institute for Public Relations case study competition – business school category.

Final Case Study

Abstract

In July 2009, USWA Local 6500, the union representing the employees of Vale’s Sudbury operations went on strike. This was to become the longest and most acrimonious strike in Sudbury mining history. Both sides in the dispute were responsible for less than flattering behavior, including leaking of documents, bullying, making racist comments, and even criminal activity. The final result of this strike is a community that has lost respect for both organizations.

This case study offers an opportunity to study how actions taken during a strike impact on the reputation of both parties. It also highlights the communication breakdown between not only both parties but also with their key stakeholders.

Overview

“We are very happy with the results of the ratification vote. The agreement establishes a newworking relationship with our employees and the union and allows us to move forward with our long-term, sustainable growth plans. We look forward to returning to normal production andbuilding the future together with employees.”

Tito Martins, Vale’s Executive Director for Base Metals
Vale news release, July 9, 2010 [1]

Mining for victory [Inco, Nickel, World War Two] – by Stan Sudol (National Post – August 25, 2005)

September 18, 2016March 24, 2011

Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant who writes extensively on mining issues. stan.sudol@republicofmining.com

The Royal Canadian Mint last spring introduced the Victory Anniversary Nickel to commemorate the sacrifices and achievements of our fighting forces in the Second World War. In Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ont., that victory coin has many additional memories, especially for Inco Ltd and its work force.

During the war years, International Nickel Company of Canada, as it was known back then, and its employees in Sudbury and Port Colborne, supplied 95% of all Allied demands for nickel — a vital raw material critical for our final victory.

In fact, for much of the past century the leading source of this essential metal was the legendary Sudbury Basin; the South Pacific island of New Caledonia came a distant second. Until the mid-seventies, Sudbury supplied up to 90% of world demand during some periods.

Ontario’s mining sector safety performance continued to improve in 2010

February 11, 2011

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Ontario’s mining industry continues to show steady progress in improving its safety performance. According to provisional statistics released recently, Ontario’s mining sector’s lost time injury rate was 0.5 per 200,000 hours worked in 2010, compared with 0.6 in 2009. This shows a 17% improvement and continued advancement in the goal of creating safer workplaces.

In 2010, the total employee hours worked in the mining industry was about 28.6 million by 16,200 employees. The total medical aid frequency for mining in 2010 was 4.5 per 200,000 hours worked, compared with 5.8 in 2009 – a 22% improvement.

A more dramatic improvement was made by the industry in reducing the severity of incidents. In 2010, lost work days per incident were 12, compared with 74 days in 2009 – an 84% improvement.

In 2009, mining was the second safest industry in Ontario behind education. The average lost time injury rate for all sectors in 2009 was 1.3. Mining was significantly better than the average and safer than sectors such as the electrical industry, pulp and paper, forestry, health care, construction, agriculture and transportation.

NEWS RELEASE: [Manitoba MP] Ashton gets a hand from Michael Moore for Thompson [Job Cutbacks]

June 10, 2015February 1, 2011

Niki Ashton, is the New Democratic Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Churchill in Manitoba, Canada. She was first elected in the 2008 federal election. A resident of Thompson, Manitoba, she is the daughter of Manitoba provincial NDP cabinet minister Steve Ashton. (Wiki)

Renowned filmmaker to spread the community’s message

Tue 1 Feb 2011

OTTAWA–Award-winning documentarian Michael Moore agreed to a request by New Democrat MP Niki Ashton (Churchill) to help share her message about the devastating decision by Vale to close the Vale smelter and refinery in Thompson, MB.

Moore’s team expressed great interest in Vale’s decision and the devastating impact it would have on Ashton’s home community of Thompson. Moore’s team plans to post Ashton’s YouTube video on his website as well as post a series of blog entries by Ashton and the people who are losing their jobs.

“Our message is that this is about our jobs and our community,” said Ashton. “It is time our government stopped supporting profitable corporations like Vale, and started standing up for us.”

Vale, A Brazilian company, bought out Inco in a foreign takeover that was approved by Canada’s federal government in 2007. In the fall of 2010 Vale also received a $1Billion loan from Canada’s federal government. Despite promises to increase employment, Vale announced the closure of the smelter and refinery, eliminating all the value added mining jobs in Thompson by 2015.