Steelworkers receive support from filmmaker Michael Moore

 Support for striking Steelworkers Local 6500 members is coming from an unusual source - Hollywood.

Patrick Veinot, former union vice president, said he and several other Steelworkers met American activist filmmaker Michael Moore Sept. 14 at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto.

Veinot was joined by fellow Steelworkers Kevin Boyd, Eric Delparte, Norm Rivard and Michael O'Brian.

“It all came out of some strategy meetings we had recently. Some of the international Steelworker representatives attended. The idea of contacting Michael Moore came up and it was followed up later by Steelworkers international president Leo Gerrard,” said Veinot.

Moore's films are among the top selling documentaries ever made. He was at the film festival for the screening of his latest film Capitalism: A Love Story. The film focuses on how Americans have been devastated by the recent financial crisis, loosing homes and jobs by the millions.

“Michael Moore spent a lot of time with us. We were only supposed to visit with him in a big black van parked outside but after talking to him we ended up walking the red carpet with him right inside the film festival itself,” chuckled Veinot.

He said the Steelworkers members were treated like gold by Moore.

“We watched his new movie with him. We were treated like one of his people.”

Boyd said Moore was up to date on their strike issues.

“He was knowledgeable. He was a super super guy. He could relate to us. He knew what we were fighting for,” said Boyd.

Boyd said at the screening of Moore's film they were asked to stand up and speak for five minutes to the audience.

“Then Moore told the audience that Canadians should get behind our cause and back us because companies like this were taking over.”

Moore told the union members that the Sudbury labour strife reminded him of the fights between auto giant General Motors and United Auto Workers in Flint, Michigan, the scene of his first film, Roger and Me, which was released in 1989.

In that film, he used the Flint, Michigan auto plant as an example of the effects of global corporations on communities where their plants were located. Veinot noted that Moore mentioned the Vale Inco strike and the union's view of the situation in front of about 1,400 participants at the Toronto film festival.

While no Hollywood stars immediately pledged financial support for Local 6500, Veinot said the union's website and e-mail contacts were made available if any did want to follow up.

Moore, while still in Toronto this week, continued to mention the plight of Sudbury workers to national media while being interviewed about his new film.

Moore was interviewed on the CBC Radio One program Q Sept. 16, and mentioned the Sudbury strike as an example of what can happen when workers benefits are under attack by management and when they do not receive a fair share of the profits from industrial operations.

He cited the company's $4 billion in profits, prior to the recession, as a blatant example of corporate greed.

Boyd said Moore may have been interviewed by another CBC television host, George Stromumboulopoulus, of The Hour.

Northern Life confirmed Moore's interview will be aired Sept. 30 at 11 p.m. after the CBC national television news.

Veinot said Moore showed some interest in coming to Sudbury in solidarity with Local 6500 and even having his new film screened here.

“I think him coming personally would be tough right now as he is promoting his new movie but he did show interest in having a special screening here of his film, maybe during Cinefest.”

Patrick O'Hearn, Cinefest managing director, said Thursday morning no one had contacted Cinefest about such a request.

“Michael Moore's films are distributed through Alliance films. They have not contacted us. At this point, it is quite late to be able to fit it into the schedule,” said O'Hearn.

O'Hearn did say the new Moore film is scheduled for commercial release to the general public on Oct. 2.