Steelworkers ratify collective agreement

Nearly 77 per cent of United Steelworkers Local 6500 members voted to ratify a “historic” five-year collective agreement with Vale, the union announced Friday.

“It shows that this bargaining committee did a great job,” said United Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand.

The bargaining committee reached a tentative agreement with Vale a full month before the deadline for contract negotiations.

It marked a stark contrast to the last round of labour negotiations in 2009, which led to a bitter year-long strike that started July 13, 2009, and ended July 8, 2010.

It was the longest strike in the company's history — including Inco — and involved more than 3,000 unionized workers.

“We had to do something different after a long bitter strike,” Bertrand said.

He said informal conversations with Vale started long before labour negotiations officially got underway, in an effort to mend the relationship between both parties.

Bertrand said 89 per cent of the local membership went to the polls Thursday and Friday to voice their views on the collective agreement.

The collective agreement includes wage improvements between five and seven per cent over the five years for union members, not including their “generous” cost of living allowance.

The five-year contract also includes a $4,500 signing bonus.

“It's a historic day for us,” Bertrand said.