HAMILTON, Ont. – Members of Local 7135 of the United Steelworkers union (USW) have voted in favour of a new contract with National Steel Car, ending the strike by 1,475 workers that began June 29, 2023.
USW Local 7135 won the strike and made significant improvements from the contract offer that members rejected in June. Union members ratified the three-year collective agreement by an 87.4% majority in a vote today, Aug. 8.
“We believe that we achieved what we were looking for. Wages were a huge issue for our members. We wanted the company to offer wage increases that met inflation and we were able to secure that,” said Frank Crowder, USW Local 7135 President.
The new contract will provide a 13% wage increase over three years, with 6% in the first year, plus a $1,000 signing bonus. Members in the skilled trades will also get an additional $1-per-hour wage increase in each of the first and third years of the contract.
Workplace health and safety also has been a contentious issue at National Steel Car, with three workplace fatalities in a span of 21 months at the plant. Representatives of all levels of the union have worked jointly to address and improve systemic issues related to unsafe work entrenched in workplace. The new collective agreement will add another health and safety representative at the workplace and will improve other health and safety provisions.
“I want to applaud every one of the 1,475 Steelworkers at National Steel Car. Your win at the picket line and at the bargaining table sends a message that workers will no longer stand by and get left behind as corporations and CEOs rake in profits. It also echoes the demands of thousands of workers across the country who have had enough of greedy and negligent employers, and who are fighting back and taking action,” said Myles Sullivan, USW District 6 Director (Ontario and Atlantic Canada).
Other significant gains in this contract include improvements to the defined-benefit and defined-contribution pension plans, and increases in shift premiums, dental care, vision care and safety boots allowances.
“We went out with only a 52% majority in favour of a strike, but our presence on the picket line was 100%. I want to thank our members for their solidarity and patience as we worked to win a fair contract for them,” said Crowder.
Maintenance workers will head back to work immediately to conduct inspections of the plant, while the remainder of the union membership will return to work on Monday, Aug. 14.
The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of our strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.
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