'Trump's message resonates with working class people,' says union president

They look like those red Donald Trump-supporting ‘Make America Great Again’ ball caps, but instead of America they say, ‘Algoma Tubes’.

“Trump's message resonates with working class people,” said union president Cody Alexander.

In March, the Tenaris Algoma Tubes United Steelworkers Union Local 9548, made up boxes of the ‘Let's Make Algoma Tubes Great Again’ hats in preparation for their new collective agreement on May 31.

Alexander said that his union was impressed with certain pro-American economic policies put forward by Trump and that he would like to see our nation take a similar pro-Canada approach.

Alexander mentioned Trump's support of building oil pipelines, his rejection of trade agreements like the Trans Pacific-Partnership, and his general pro-American business approach.

In April, Trump issued a ‘Buy American’ executive order stating that it "shall be the policy of the executive branch to buy American and hire American."

The order singled out steel and manufacturing.

Earlier this month, Trump made comments saying he was going to stop steel dumping into the U.S. and it was widely reported that American rust belt states like Pennsylvania, where the United Steelworkers head office is, were the reason for Trump getting into office.

Alexander said he realizes American-centric policies might actually hurt Canadian companies, but he thought it was good to align the union with the sentiment of supporting your own nation’s industry.

“We were hoping that as a result of Trump’s plans that our government would somehow follow suit to help retain Canadian manufacturing and help support steel plants and seamless tube mills,” said Alexander. “We recognize that (‘Buy America’) could work against Canada. It’s not that we want Trump to shut us out, (but) we want Justin Trudeau to work better for Canadian manufacturers because we are losing them and once we have none we’re in trouble.”

Cody would like to see the Trudeau government work to stop steel dumping, set up policies where government funded construction projects need to use Canadian steel, and fight against trade agreements and policies that are bad for Canadian manufacturing.

He said, because of Canadian policies that hold manufactures to high employment and environmental standards, the costs to produce in Canada are much higher.

“In the case of China, they make steel and they dump it in Canada but they’re making dirty steel (by) using coal, having no scrubbers, (and) no rules saying they have do it clean. Meanwhile they can come here and undercut the companies that are forced to follow the high standards. It costs our companies more. Basically what the government is doing is putting rules on us to make us less cost effective and then opening up the doors for other nations that aren’t,“ he said. “Our companies are run out of business because we can’t compete.”

Alexander highlighted that although his union wants a Trump-style economic and trade plans in Canada, they aren’t supportive of his social policies.

“We don’t agree with his immigration policies necessarily (or) delineating a group of people as trouble,” said Alexander.