How the Steelworkers plan to take Parliament Hill

Three representatives of Algoma Steel locals of the United Steelworkers of America will travel to Ottawa this weekend for a full week of efforts to persuade politicians to protect the Canadian steel industry from predatory imports.

The three will be among 30 to 40 steelworkers who'll be lobbying federal ministers and members of Parliament, said Local 2251 president Tom Bonell (shown).

Bonell won't be making the trip, but his local will be represented in Ottawa by vice president Dave Pettalia.

Also going are Ian Kersley, president of Local 2724 and Norm MacKay, the USWA's steel trade co-ordinator.

Announcing details of the lobby effort on Thursday, Bonell also called on ordinary citizens to contact their federal politicians about the issue.

All necessary information to do that can be obtained by calling the Sault Ste. Marie offices of the Steelworkers, he said.

To see the members of the Sault delegation to Ottawa, please click here.

The following is the full text of a news release issued by the Steelworkers late Thursday afternoon:

***************************************************************** Steelworkers national lobby effort begins in Ottawa April 7th

Sault Ste. Marie - Representatives from the United Steelworkers of America Local Union 2251 and Local 2724 in Sault Ste. Marie, will join fellow Steelworkers from across Canada in Ottawa next week to take part in a National Lobby Campaign.

They will be seeking support from federal Ministers and Members of Parliament for legislative changes that will provide protection for the Canadian steel industry.

Dave Pettalia, Local 2251 Vice President stated "This is the best opportunity we will have to pressure Ottawa for strong measures to defend our industry.

"Our members must have some degree of confidence that pricing will remain fair for a period of time in order to stabilize the industry and protect our jobs.

"The interests of our members and the communities in which they live should be of grave concern to our elected MPs."

The United Steelworkers, representing over 35,000 steel industry workers across Canada, has expressed strong disappointment with the findings by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT), that were released in Ottawa last July.

In the face of the most significant economic crisis to hit the Canadian steel industry in its history, the Tribunal found injury in only five of nine product categories under consideration, making up less than 40 per cent of Canadian steel production.

In late August, the CITT's final report and recommendations were released, recommending the government impose measures known as tariff rate quotas, rather than simple tariffs, in four of five product areas in which injury was found.

Imports from the United States were included.

In a tariff rate quota, countries exporting goods to Canada are assigned a tonnage quota and are free to ship steel up to that quota amount without penalty.

Tariffs apply only to shipments above the quota amount.

In the view of the USWA, the recommended remedies are at best useless and at worst counterproductive.

Tariff rate quotas might make sense if the steel crisis was triggered mainly by the sheer volume of imports, but this has not been the case.

In fact, the exceptionally low prices of imported steel from many non-U.S. countries have caused the problem and tariff remedies can't address that.

"Even those products with a positive injury finding require a realistic, effective remedy," said lan Kersley, Local 2724 President.

"We need remedies put in place that will match what other steel importing nations have done, and we need to argue for an exemption for the United States that adequately reflects the integrated nature of the North American steel market."

Recent court decisions on the challenges put forth by the Steel Industry favoured the ruling of the CITT because they had no choice.

The President of Local 2724, lan Kersley, Vice President of Local 2251, Dave Pettalia and Steel Trade Coordinator, Norm MacKay will be joining an advanced group of Steelworker lobbyists in Ottawa on Sunday April 6th to begin preparations for meetings with Federal officials.

They hope to convince government officials that the steel crisis is far from over, and that in order to protect our markets and industry, legislative changes are necessary for the Canadian Industry to recover.

The Sault representatives have meetings lined up with a number of parliamentarians and hope to increase that number by the time they arrive in Ottawa.

Later in the same week, Local Union Presidents in the steel sector from across Canada may also meet for debriefing and strategy sessions.

"The Union will continue to push hard on the issue of fair steel trade," said Tom Bonell, President of Local 2251, "the future of our community and our jobs depend on it."

The union's agenda for trade law reform includes:

- The right for unions in the industry to participate directly in the regulatory process, including the right to file complaints, as is the case in the U.S. trade system

- Following the example of the United States' process, the right to participate in the process for workers and communities - A reverse onus in the trade administration process, so that once a prima-facie case has been proven, the onus falls on the importer to prove the product was not dumped

- A dear definition of injury in the legislation to ensure that depressed prices as well as reduced volumes must be considered as potentially injurious to the industry (in the recent cold rolled case, the absence of a volume impact was cited as a basis for dismissing the complaint, despite overwhelming evidence of depressed prices)

- Automatic retroactivity, with refunds if complaint fails. If dumping is against the law, penalties should apply as soon as the dumping is identified, not months later; the delay turns the process into a licensing system for dumping

- Acceptance of complaints (which starts the retroactivity clock ticking) on the basis of market evidence only, so that the time needed to determine injury does not fall outside the retroactivity period

- Self-initiation by government, where there is evidence of source-switching away from sources subject to recent dumping and countervailing duty orders

- An open and accountable process for selection of members of the CITT, and a legislative requirement for a balancing of interests in the membership of the tribunal, including worker and community representatives.

More information on the campaign to "Keep Canadian Steel Strong" can be found on the Steelworkers' website, www.uswa.ca.

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