Workers at Hamilton’s National Steel Car strike after rejecting contract

Workers at Hamilton’s National Steel Car are officially on strike Wednesday morning following a vote by United Steelworkers (USW) members, rejecting the employer’s contract.

USW is the union representing around 1,200 employees. Fair wages and workplace safety are top priorities for those on strike.

Strike action began at 12:01 a.m., with 1,092 votes cast out of 1,202 members.

Frank Crowder, president of USW Local 7135 says the vote saw around a 91 per cent turnout and almost 80 per cent voted to turn down the latest contract offered by the employer.

“That’s probably one of the highest numbers I’ve ever seen for members turnout to do a vote,” Crowder tells CHCH News this morning.

“For us to get such a high, just under 80 per cent vote, really speaks volumes that these members are serious about our wages being paid and they’re just looking for fairness in life. We’re not even meeting inflation rates with these numbers.”

Crowder says that workers accepted a lower base pay because the company’s incentive program accounts for about 25 per cent of their total pay.

However, the company sets those incentive targets. Recently, they raised the requirements, making it much harder for workers to reach that level of pay.

WATCH MORE: Steelworkers protest at National Steel Car following third employee death under two years

Crowder says members are now forced to work harder just to keep up and want fair contract language that gives them a voice in those decisions.

National Steel Car, which manufactures railroad freight cars, has seen multiple workplace injuries and fatalities in recent years, including incidents in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

“We find that the program is becoming very dangerous. We actually believe that the three fatalities we’ve had in recent years all relate somehow to the program,” Crowder says.

“These members would not have been rushing or been in the positions they were if they were not pressured due to money for being there.”

In August 2023, the United Steelworkers union ended a nearly six-week strike by ratifying a three-year collective agreement.

Back then, only 52 per cent of the United Steelworkers members voted in favour of a strike.

That three-year contract provided a 13 per cent wage increase, with a six per cent bump in the first year and a $1,000 signing bonus.

READ MORE: Hamilton-based railcar company fined thousands for workplace injury