Effects of IAM Local 1848’s 17-week strike on businesses in the Flin Flon-Creighton area may be felt for some time.
An online poll posted by The Reminder this week shows almost half of respondents so far agree, with 40 per cent choosing the option “Yes, I think we will feel the effects for a while.” The poll closes next Tuesday at noon.
IAM members working at Hudbay in Flin Flon and Snow Lake were on strike from May 2 to August 28.
Tom Therien is president of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce.
“Chamber took the stand, and it’s the only stand we could take, that we were non-committal,” he told The Reminder this week. “We understood that things could happen, may in fact happen, but it wasn’t up to chamber to get involved in this.”
Dave Kendall is a director with the chamber of commerce.
“Certainly the chamber wasn’t approached to take a position, from either Hudbay or IAM,” he said. “From our own point of view we were just hoping it would get settled as quickly as it could.”
Kendall is also owner of Kendall and Pandya Chartered Accountants, which operates an office in Flin Flon. He said his own business did not see a change because of the strike, but he said his kind of business isn’t likely to be affected.
“People still need to have their accounting done, and their income taxes, so we didn’t necessarily notice a great deal of difference,” Kendall said.
However he said that some clients in various businesses were affected negatively.
Speaking as general manager of the North of 53 Consumers Co-op, Therien said the business hadn’t seen any change.
“People have to eat,” he said. It’s unfortunate what happened, but for our particular type of business, it didn’t have any noticeable impact whatsoever.”
The Reminder spoke to several businesses in the community while the strike was ongoing to find out what impact the job action was having. Most businesses chose not to comment.
However, there were a few local businesses that offered discounts to union workers.
Blaine Vankoughnett, owner of New Edge Auto in Creighton, confirmed that he donated five per cent of parts and labour sales to the union employees.
“I did it because these guys only get $150 per week and that’s not enough to live on,” he said.
Vankoughnett said union employees have
supported his business in the past and this was a way for him to help them out during the strike.
“I’ve had people come in and shake my hand and thank me but that’s not why I did it,” he said. “I just know I’d appreciate the help if it was me.”
Therien said that when USW Local 7106 signed a new contract, “everybody I’m pretty sure breathed a sigh of relief.” Local 7106 is Hudbay’s largest union.
Therien pointed out that IAM saw diminishing numbers employed at Hudbay as the strike progressed.
There were reportedly 180 IAM workers in Flin Flon and Snow Lake when the strike began May 2. By June 29 that number stood at 161 due to retirements and resignations.
Rob Winton, head of Hudbay’s Manitoba operations, would not comment on details surrounding internal manpower numbers for any of Hudbay’s unions or staff.
However, he said the number of retiring employees is not out of line from the company’s 2015 projections.
“Once all IAM employees have been contacted we will have a better understanding of the number not returning,” he said.
“From a macro perspective, I do not believe the impact of the strike on the Flin Flon area was noticeable,” Winton added. “Some local businesses probably noticed an increase in their business and others were probably impacted more negatively.”
Winton said the company successfully operated the business throughout the strike, keeping more than 1,200 employees working.
“Every decision I made during negotiations and the strike was to ensure the long term viability of the Manitoba Business Unit,” he said. “Had we shut down Manitoba and given mass lay-off notices, the strike would have had a completely different impact on our communities.
“These successes are a testament to the dedication and drive of my management team, staff, and a high majority of union employees who were determined to keep safely operating.”
Kendall said that how great an impact the strike had would be seen as things settle down. “If you’re looking from the economic spin-off point of view, it could go on for a period of time,” he said. “You just don’t know if things were pushed off from a buying decision point of view by a year, or if it’s going to be a major effect.
“I think … there has to have been a pretty significant effect not only on businesses but on people that were on strike. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is when you’re dealing [with] a union community. We’ve got six or seven unions and not everybody’s going to get along all the time.”
“We are a one-horse town, and whatever they do affects everybody,” said Therien.
— with files from Terri Eger
