Steelworkers launch a campaign to save Quebec's steel industry - The steel beam mill: we want it now!

CONTRECOEUR, QC - The United Steelworkers (FTQ) is launching a campaign to pressure the ArcelorMittal company to honour its commitment, made in 2007, to build a steel beam mill at Contrecoeur. "The layoffs that we are experiencing in this sector are threatening the viability of Quebec's steel industry. Quebec needs this type of industry now more than ever. We have iron ore on the North Shore. It would be entirely logical for it to be processed here in Quebec. Furthermore, the time to prepare for the economic recovery is now. Major infrastructure projects are in the offing. It would be inconceivable that we should import steel beams, since we could very well make them here, particularly since ArcelorMittal has promised us a mill. Finally, we are asking the government to get involved," declared Daniel Roy, Quebec Director of the United Steelworkers (FTQ).

Keep in mind that in December 2007, the company announced that a steel beam mill would be built. This was supposed to create over 200 jobs. Also according to the company, the mill could generate over $200 million in annual profits. In 2007-08, the beams used here came from Europe and Asia.

"Our campaign is a positive one. We are calling for the development of economic activity that will have a major impact in terms of jobs in particular. You have to understand that once things get going again at ArcelorMittal, the entire community will benefit. Steel has been very important in the Contrecoeur region since the 1960s. We must ensure that Highway 30, called "the Steel Highway," continues to bear that name for the well-being of the region and of Quebec as a whole," added Pierre Arseneau, Staff Representative of the United Steelworkers (FTQ).

Claude Langlois, President of Local 6586, pointed out that the fight that the ArcelorMittal workers in Contrecoeur are undertaking is in response to an emergency situation. "If we sit on the sidelines, ArcelorMittal will simply have benefited from the privatization that was carried out under the Robert Bourassa government and by the Minister of Industry, Commerce, Sciences and Technology at the time, Gerald Tremblay, without having to consolidate Quebec's steel industry. The Contrecoeur facilities have been profitable for ArcelorMittal. We have been their gateway to the North American continent. Now, it's payback time. Throughout the history of our union we have had to fight to save not just our jobs, but the Quebec steel industry. We believe in it, and we will continue the fight."

The Quebec Director concluded by stressing that this was just the beginning of the campaign. "We have no intention of backing down," he said. "Some people may feel that we're causing trouble, but jobs and the survival of a community are at stake here. We want the steel beam mill now!"

Historical background

We would point out that the workers and the union have been at the forefront of the creation of Quebec's steel industry. The Steelworkers obtained union certification in May 1965. The cold mill opened in March 1966, and the hot mill in January 1967. In October 1968, the Quebec government bought Dominion Steel and Coal (Dosco Inc), and the Sidbec-Dosco company was born.

In 1982, the Steelworkers accomplished the remarkable feat of preventing the closure of the flat mills. In August 1994. Sidbec-Dosco became Ispat-Sidbec. The privatization that took place under Robert Bourassa's Liberal government, led by his Minister of Industry, Commerce, Sciences and Technology, Gerald Tremblay, followed years of rumours. The Contrecoeur facilities have generated approximately $1.2 billion in profits. Mittal has taken advantage of this to expand its empire.

In November 2007, ArcelorMittal began consolidating and restructuring its operations. It announced the closure of the rolling mills at Contrecoeur. Dofasco took over the hot and cold mills located in Quebec, causing the loss of 450 jobs among union workers at Contrecoeur. In March 2008, the company announced the closure of the wire drawing mill in Lachine and the loss of 120 jobs. On April 7, 2009, it announced that the direct iron reduction plant would shut its doors on April 18 for an indefinite period. The slab casting unit will suffer the same fate on June 27, 2009 and 190 people will be laid off. Fewer than 400 workers will be left at the Contrecoeur complex.