Days after the death of a GFL contract worker at Algoma Steel, the head of the largest union representing workers at the plant says it has ongoing concerns regarding the safety of contractors.
Mike Da Prat, president of United Steelworkers Local 2251, said he doesn’t have enough information on the cause of Thursday’s death of GFL contract worker Damien Bryant to comment on the situation directly.
“Apparently the investigation is going pretty slow,” Da Prat said Tuesday, in a phone interview with SooToday. “I can tell you on a general basis, the union is deeply concerned about how the safety program is communicated for the contractors.”
Asked by media on Monday about the union's safety concerns, Algoma Steel CEO Michael Garcia said he wouldn't discuss them publicly.
“As a practice I don’t respond to anything the union says through the press," Garcia said. "When I have something to say to the union I tell the union directly.”
Da Prat said the union has been having ongoing issues regarding health and safety at Algoma Steel when it comes to contract workers.
“The contractors are not represented by the local, however we do have a health and safety manual that is a part of the collective agreement that deals with the fact that contractors should be dealt with through our health and safety program,” said Da Prat. “For me to get into it, it’s more than a soundbite. It’s more than a paragraph or two.”
“Speaking generally, I can tell you we have had grievances regarding the safety program and how it’s applied with the contractors and we have grievances on that issue,” he added.
Bryant, 21, was a Sudbury-based employee of GFL Environmental Inc. who was cleaning an out-of-service gas line when he lost consciousness last Thursday afternoon.
A GoFundMe page set up in support of Bryant’s one-year-old daughter, by way of his mother, has exceeded its $50,000 goal. It currently stands at more than $77,000 after a $15,000 donation from The Employees of Algoma Steel Inc.
Da Prat’s comments on the safety of contract workers come one day after Garcia addressed Sault Ste. Marie City Council regarding the company’s electric arc furnace project.
In his remarks, Garcia also addressed the job losses expected to occur over the course of the company’s transition to greener steel production.
“In keeping with our core values of integrity and caring, we have notified those employees who will be impacted or could be impacted by the transition and we are starting to talk with these individuals about options and career pathways,” Garcia told mayor and council on Monday.
In his phone call with SooToday, Da Prat noted the company was contractually compelled to reach out to those whose jobs may be eliminated in the transition.
“To be specific, that obligation was negotiated in the collective agreement,” said Da Prat. “The reason for the notices to go out is there is going to be a large number of people affected. If they didn’t get notice, they wouldn’t be aware their job may be subject of change or reduction and as a result new hires might get established on jobs where they would have job seniority over people who were affected."
Da Prat said he isn’t aware of exactly how many workers received official notice that their job could be eliminated or reduced, but he said it’s in the hundreds.
When asked on Monday, Garcia was coy about specifically how many of the company's 2,800 employees could be affected.
“Not a discrete number and it’s going to happen over many years,” Garcia told reporters, after his appearance at city council. “The final steps of this could be happening in 2029, so we don’t have the exact number because our current number will change over the time during this period.”
Da Prat said workers who transition from one department to a new position will maintain company seniority, but their seniority in that new role will be behind someone hired earlier from outside the company.
“It’s going to be a significant effect that people should be aware that maybe they should be applying for other positions as they open up,” said Da Prat. “They will have corporate seniority, which entitles them to entry-level jobs, but those are limited and they will be junior in the job seniority of the trades.”
"People should be aware and they should start applying for other positions if they wish to in order to ensure their longevity on the job,” he added.
Another concern, said Da Prat, is despite years on the job, many current workers are not qualified for the jobs offered as the plant transitions to electric arc steelmaking. Many of those new jobs require a diploma from a three-year technology program.
“There’s not that many who have mechanical technology degrees or electrical technology degrees working as operators or labourers in the plant,” he said. “The government doesn’t require three-year technology, the government in some cases require Grade 10 and in most cases Grade 12. We have all kinds of people who have Grade 12.”
“We are right now talking to the company about reducing the bar in order to allow our people to be eligible," he said.