(Published at Z-Net on July 23, 2010.)
On July 7 and 8, 2010, striking members of United Steel Workers Local 6500 in Sudbury, Ontario, voted 75% in favor of a contract that ended a bitter strike against transnational mining giant Vale Inco. The 3300 strikers had been on the picket lines for almost one year (along with members of Local 6200 in Port Colborne, Ontario, who voted in favor by a similar margin).
Despite the immense effort and sacrifices made by workers over the course of the year-long ordeal, the settlement marks a defeat for a local with a reputation for strength in a town with a reputation for solidarity. It is a hard moment for those who are returning to work — who endured so much and still lost significant ground — but as the world faces the renewed neo-liberal assault promised by leaders at the recent G20 summit in Toronto, it is important to…
Read the rest at Z-Net.
