For a third straight day locked-out U.S. Steel workers are picketing on the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge.
They’re keeping the bridge from rising to let ships carrying steel product from coming in and out of Hamilton Harbour. The federal Justice ministry is threatening a court injunction to keep the workers off, so that industry can move in the canal.
Police in the meantime say they are only monitoring, aware of the situation, but not required at this point to enforce any laws.
Justice officials are arguing that strikers can’t completely block access to a facility, they can only delay traffic to get their message out, and since they can’t pass a message to the ships, the protest is illegal.
There is a ship called the Federal Yukina in the harbour which is hoping to load up with raw steel-making materials and move it to – according to the ship’s operator – Alabama.
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The union wants the raw materials to stay in Canada. But U.S. Steel’s response has been: “At this point in time we have fulfilled the current need for coke at our other Canadian facility, Lake Erie Works.”
“The USW 1005’s ideological crusade and continued refusal to allow their membership and our employees to vote on our full and final contract offer has ensured that Hamilton Works does not require these materials at this time.”
CHCH News has calls out to Industry Minister, Christian Paradis, to hear his perspective on the pressure on businesses that depend on shipping in and out of this port, and also to find out what is happening with the lawsuit against U.S. Steel.
His department sued the company for not fulfilling the labour promises it made when it bought the former Stelco. Last month a challenge to the Investment Canada act was thrown out, clearing the way for that lawsuit to go ahead.
