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RP TE 8 GENEL PRE E EE ET a ree

By ED FRENETTE

SYDNEY, Cape Breton — An early
strike call by the 1,000 steelworkers at the
Sydney Steel Corporation (Sysco) is quickly
escalating into a major confrontation
between steelworkers and the provincial
government.

Sysco, the aging and dangerous steel
plant infamous for its mismanagement, has
been a provincially-owned Crown corpora-
tion since 1967.

Following 16 months without a contract,
members of Local 1064 of the United Steel-
workers of America walked off the job Feb.
1, originally seeking an improved wage and
benefit package. But circumstances are
rapidly changing.

This working class community feels it has
given Sysco enough. The workforce has
shrunk from 4,000 to 1,000 over the past
decade. The union has accepted a long line

of concessions as “their contribution”
towards keeping the plant operating. As a
result, wages are very low for the industry,
with skilled workers making between $10
and $12 an hour.

The government is holding the union to
provincial wage guidelines, offering two,
three and 4.5 per cent increases over a three
year contract.

Three days into the strike, Nova Scotia
Premier John Buchanan was jostled and
berated by 500 angry strikers after refusing
to accept any responsibility for manage-
ment’s uncompromising position. Known
as “the teflon politician”, Buchanan was
obviously shaken by the incident, which
was recounted as the most explosive he has
ever encountered.

The very next day, management announ-
ced the permanent closure of the coke-oven
battery, vital to any continued steel produc-

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tion which uses the blast furnace and open
hearth method. The decision immediately
eliminated 125 jobs and threatened all ongo-_
ing plant operations. The community was
aghast.

With the plant scheduled to undergo a
$250 million modernization and clean-up,
including installation of an electric fired arc
furnace, the steelworkers soon recognized
the long-range government scenario.

“They had never planned to return to full
operations,” said Don MacPherson, leader
of the militant coke-oven workers.

“Working in the battery we knew there
was only enough coke to feed the blast
furnace for a couple of months. The ovens
were scheduled to be dismantled in June as
part of modernization anyway, and they
could only stockpile enough coke for a few
months. We would have been laid off in
November, at the latest, and never called
back,” he pointed out.

“All they wanted from us was a long-
term agreement allowing them to proceed
with modernization without interference.
They'd pay little on any agreement we
might have signed.”

John Callaghan, the feisty local presi-
dent, is fed up with being used by both
government and management. “We’re tired
of being treated as second class human
beings,” he declared. ““The coke-oven clo-
sure means that we have forced their hand.
If they think they’re going to end up with a
privatized mini-mill, they’re in for a helluva
fight!”

The steelworkers are convinced the
government strategy is to dupe them into
signing an agreement on the premise that
coke will be purchased to operate a full iron
and steel-making facility when the intention
is to establish a mini-mill. A mini-mill pro-

ducing steel rail would provide only about -

300 part-time jobs.

Once an agreement is signed the plant
will then be closed, workers laid off and
modernization to mini-mill status begun by
private contractors.

Upon completion of the publicly-funded
modernization the plant would be sold to
the private sector. A consortium of Nova

Scotia industrial families is said to be inter-.

ested in purchasing a revitalized mill.

“Privatization, free trade, Meech Lake;
they’re all part of the right wing agenda
across the country,’ MacPherson pointed
out. “Sysco is part of the agenda. We know
‘what effect their plan will have on this
community. Just imagine what the effect
would be across the country if they are
allowed to continue.” :

The steelworkers are prepared for a long,
cold and dirty strike, Callaghan acknowl-
edged bluntly. “The men are 100 per cent
behind this strike and feelings are high.
They’re tired of being treated like dirt. This
may be our last chance to get what’s rightly
ours and we’re gonna fight like hell.”

The steelworkers are revamping their
demands to include more secure pension
benefits, an ample severance package, gua-
ranteed union successor rights and solid
health benefits as well as the original wage
demands. They also intend to seek the
establishment of a marketing committee
with influential union participation in order
to enhance. production and _ increase
employment when modernization is com-
pleted.

In the meantime, MacPherson said, the

strikers are going on the offensive. ““We’ve
been cheated and lied to for years. We’ve
been used as a whipping boy long enough.
We're calling for a Royal Commission of
Inquiry into the ongoing mismanagement
of this plant and accountability for the mil-
lions of dollars that have been squandered.
They’ve blamed the workers long enough.
It’s time the public knew the truth.”

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 17, 1988 « 11