04) UNIONS, MICHAEL MOORE BACK SUDBURY STRIKERS

(The following article is from the October 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

Supporters from global labour movement were joined by filmmaker Michael Moore in Sudbury on Sept. 19 in a major show of solidarity with about 4,000 Vale Inco strikers.

     Vale Inco is 100% owned by the Brazilian transnational Vale SA, the second largest mining company on the planet, which took over Inco three years ago. The company is trying force inferior pension plans and seniority agreements on United Steelworkers members who have been on strike since July in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, and at Voisey's Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador.

     The guests in Sudbury included representatives from the International Trade Union Confederation, ICEM (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions), International Metalworkers' Federation, and leaders of the AFL-CIO, Unite from the UK, CUT and Sindimina from Brazil, and the National Union of Mineworkers from Mexico. Together, they represent over 168 million workers.

     "Vale Inco is massively profitable, currently has huge cash assets, and increased its executive compensation by 121% in the last two years," according to John Fera, President of USW Local 6500.

     Academy Award winning filmmaker Michael Moore also showed his support for the strikers and the community by holding a special Sudbury screening of his new film, Capitalism: A Love Story, to be released in theatres on October 2. At the world premier of the film on Sept. 13 in Toronto, Moore walked the red carpet with four striking miners and the National Director of the United Steelworkers.

     Facts and figures about Vale Inco reveal a story of incredible greed. The company has $22 billion US worth of cash assets as of last March 31. It reported $13.2 billion US in after-tax profits for 2008. Vale Inco has made twice as much profit in 2 years, as Inco made in past 10 years. Vale Inco collected $4.1 billion US profit from its operations in Ontario during 2006-2008, compared to Inco's tally of $2.2 billion US in Ontario profits over 1996-2006.

     Six of Vale Inco's executive officers were paid $33 million US in 2008, while the average wage for Vale Inco workers is $29 per hour. The workers formerly earned an hourly bonus averaging $4.86, which has been eliminated. Labour accounts for less than one-tenth of Vale Inco's costs.

     Vale SA allows its Brazilian workers no seniority rights, no access to union representation, and no grievance procedures. Hired mainly on a contract basis, the workers can be terminated at any moment without cause. Health and safety standards are low, and a majority of the workers are terminated for one reason or another after just three to five years.