Workers Go on Strike as Gerdau Tries to Take Advantage of Economic Recession to Bust Union and Permanently Punish Workers

CAMBRIDGE - On Friday, May 15, by a strong majority the workers at Gerdau Ameristeel voted to reject the company's final offer. The nearly 200 United Steelworkers have been on a legal strike since Saturday. During months of negotiations, and daily bargaining for the last two weeks, the union offered to work with Gerdau to bring in serious, temporary measures to deal with the current downturn.

However, the company's final offer insisted on permanent changes to the Collective Agreement whereby there would be a two-tiered set of employees: two-tiered wages (for the same work), two-tiered vacations (for the same seniority) and two-tiered pensions (for same years of service).

Gerdau Ameristeel, based in Tampa Florida, also insisted on permanent concessions to job descriptions, wage settlements and job placement. "These are hard times for companies and workers. However, these hard times should not be an excuse to bust unions or permanently discriminate against hard-working, productive workers," said Wayne Fraser, USW District Director.

"We believe that the Cambridge mill is profitable, even in these times. There aren't many steel works across the continent that can say that. The company's decision to attack our collective agreement has more to do with political expedience and union busting than cost management and plant viability," said Trevor Scurrah, president of USW Local 8918.