Manitoba’s top labour boss brought words – and dollars – of encouragement to striking Hudbay workers on Monday.
Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL), visited IAM Local 1848 picketers during a visit to Flin Flon.
“I admire them for standing up and doing what’s right to draw a line in the sand,” Rebeck said of the striking tradespeople.
Rebeck said IAM members are underpaid compared to others in their professions elsewhere in northern Manitoba and the province as a whole.
He said IAM’s job action was a topic of discussion at the MFL’s recent annual convention in Brandon, where all 450 delegates unanimously supported the strike.
Delegates also passed used ballot boxes around the convention hall to collect donations for the IAM strike fund.
While in Flin Flon, Rebeck presented IAM president Rene Beauchamp with a cheque worth a little more than $2,600.
As of Monday, the IAM strike was one of two job actions underway in Manitoba, with the other involving nurses in Norway House, Rebeck said.
MFL is the umbrella organization for organized labour in Manitoba, representing over 100,000 unionized workers.
IAM’s 180 members have been on strike since May 2. Over 80 per cent of Hudbay’s remaining unionized workers have agreed to new contracts with the company.
