Two more Hudbay unions, including the largest, have voted in favour of a potential strike if they believe the company’s upcoming final offer falls short.
USW Local 7106 members in Flin Flon and Snow Lake voted 91.5 per cent in favour of a strike mandate on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“This shows that our members are behind us in our proposals that we put forward to the company,” said Tom Davie, president of USW, which represents about 650 workers.
Davie said he was not surprised by the outcome. About 85 per cent of USW’s membership cast ballots.
Davie said USW and Hudbay have not discussed monetary issues but are scheduled to again meet with a conciliator this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
He said the two sides have not found common ground on non-monetary issues such as speeding up the grievance process and prohibiting employees from accruing seniority when they leave the union and join the staff.
“Seniority is a union thing. It’s not a Hudbay thing,” he said.
Davie said he didn’t know whether Hudbay would present a final offer during the three days of conciliation.
He said more than three days may be needed to address all of the issues and that USW will ask for an extension if required.
Meanwhile, the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 828, which represents 18 Hudbay power engineers, has also backed a strike mandate.
IUOE president Aaron Chigol said Tuesday’s vote carried by 89 per cent. All members cast ballots.
Chigol said one of IUOE’s main concerns is the length of the grievance process, which he called “broken.” He said the union wants the process to involve a third-party mediator.
Chigol said the union also has concerns with company policy around short- and long-term disability.
He said IUOE is scheduled to again meet with Hudbay and a conciliator on June 23, at which time he expects a final offer will be presented.
IUOE members will then vote on that final offer. If they reject it, they will have the ability to go on strike.
USW is in the same boat, but as Davie noted, it’s not clear when that union will receive its final offer.
IAM Local 1848, representing 180 tradespeople, has been on strike since May 2.
