USWA NEWS RELEASE
****************** Steelworkers' Local 8782 issues 90-day strike notice to Stelco CEO Pratt
TORONTO, HAMILTON - The United Steelworkers' Local 8782 has sent a letter to Stelco Inc. CEO Courtenay Pratt, informing him that, as of today (Wednesday, July 27 2005) the union is serving 90-day strike notice.
"After meetings with my membership, and informing them that the restructuring plan you have endorsed is not negotiable, it is with deep regret that I must inform you that the Local 8782 Negotiating Committee, executive and membership have given notice to Ford and Chrysler, and now to you, that we are serving 90-day notice of our intention to strike," said Local 8782 President Bill Ferguson.
"After 18 months of CCAA discussions and 12 months of contract negotiations, it has become painfully apparent to my membership and the local's leadership that you do not have any intention to negotiate with us over a meaningful restructuring of Stelco that will lead to a viable long-term solution to Stelco's problems."
Ferguson added that he still hopes Pratt will change course and engage in serious negotiations on both the restructuring plan and a collective agreement.
"As it now stands, the only stakeholders to benefit from Stelco's proposed restructuring plan are the financial speculators. And to the working people and pensioners of the Hamilton region, that is simply not acceptable or even reasonable."
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