The Stel Salaried Pensioners Organization wishes to
thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the following article by
Reporter Steve Arnold published in the July 25, 2005 edition
NANTICOKE, Ont. (CP) - Workers at
Stelco's plant in Nanticoke, Ont., voted overwhelmingly in support of their
union's strike mandate Monday night.
The workers represented by the United
Steelworkers, who have been without a contract since last summer, voted 98 per
cent in favour. We're quite happy with that result, union local president Bill
Ferguson said just minutes after the votes were tallied. Ferguson said a strike
date will be announced soon.
We just got the strike vote back, so
there is a little bit too much to do yet before I can start doing something
like that, he said.
Local 8782, which represents the 1,000
workers, is currently battling Stelco's proposed restructuring plan and has
thrown its support behind an offer from Tricap Management Ltd., a fund
controlled by the Brascan asset management company.
About 500 workers turned out for Monday
night's vote.
The plant, which lies on the north
shore of Lake Erie about 65 kilometres from Stelco's headquarters in Hamilton,
is the steelmaker's newest steel mill and - together with the Hamilton plant -
forms the core of Stelco's operations. It was designed largely for key
automotive customers, including General Motors.
Earlier this month, Stelco - operating
under bankruptcy protection since January 2004 - finally released a plan
outlining how it intends to pay creditors and emerge from court shelter under
the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.
The plan aims to retire Stelco's
$1.3-billion pension solvency deficiency by 2015, with an upfront contribution
of $200 million followed by annual contributions of $98 million adding up to
$900 million by 2012.
Local 8782, and the union locals
representing Stelco's subsidiaries, are still backing an offer from
Brascan-controlled Tricap because it promises an initial pension contribution
of $500 million.
Both Stelco (TSX:STE.A) management and
the company's bondholders have rejected the Tricap offer, which Stelco says
enriches one stakeholder at the expense of other groups.
United Steelworker local 1005, which
represents the majority of Stelco's workforce at the Hamilton plant, is not
supporting either plan. President Rolf Gerstenberger has chosen to sit out of
restructuring discussions, saying 1005's contract does not expire until next
summer and alleging Stelco is using creditor protection to seek concessions
from workers.
One stakeholder who did not want to be
identified Monday questioned why local 8782, whose pension deficit is a
fraction of 1005's, is fighting Stelco's plan so vehemently.
On Monday, shares in Stelco closed
unchanged at 82 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.