Would the partial strike become a complete strike?
That was the question Flin Flonners were asking in the weeks after IAM Local 1848, the union representing Hudbay mechanics, machinists and pipefitters, launched job action in early May.
At the time, the community appeared divided on the answer. There seemed just as many predictions that other unions would join IAM on the picket line as predictions they would not.
The unknown variables were abundant. What would Hudbay offer the other unions? Would an offer identical or similar to the one IAM rejected win over the other unions? Were most workers really ready for a work stoppage if it came to that?
We now know the answer.
As of this writing, five of the six Hudbay unions not called IAM have ratified three-year deals with the company. The sixth union, representing 18 power engineers, has a tentative agreement with a ratification vote scheduled for yesterday, after The Reminder went to press.
As those six unions went through negotiations and internal discussions, here is what I noticed: Workers who foresaw or wanted further strikes tended to be older and workers who foresaw or wanted labour peace tended to be younger.
Similarly, as the unions began accepting the company’s offers, older workers tended to be more surprised than younger ones. Talk about differing perspectives.
The reasons for this generation gap vary, but a lot of it comes down to dollars and cents. Younger workers tend to have less savings and more financial pressures than older workers who have been earning a steady cheque for years or decades.
So for many younger workers, a strike is simply not an option, particularly when the outcome and time frame can never be known in advance. That’s just the objective reality.
Conversation
Falling into that category is a younger Hudbay employee with whom I recently had a candid conversation. He belongs to one of the first unions to re-sign with the company after IAM launched its strike.
He told me that while he sympathizes with IAM’s mission to get what it wants, he does not want to feel maligned for getting what he wanted – a $4 an hour raise and an end to nightmares about losing his house in a protracted work stoppage.
He said he did not want his name published because that would “out” him as someone who a) voted for the offer and b) doesn’t feel particularly wronged by his employer. He considers both items to be taboo at the moment.
Of course there are Hudbay workers who are not as pleased as this gentleman. That was illustrated not only by the IAM strike, but also by the double-digit percentages of other unions that voted to reject the company’s last offers.
It’s not for me to say which side is right and which side is wrong. Job satisfaction is a completely subjective thing.
I will point out, again, that while the younger employee I interviewed feared being “outed” as supportive of Hudbay’s offer, IAM leadership has made it clear that they respect the decisions of the other unions.
And I respect that position. The decision to strike or not strike is a very personal one, and while the outcome has the potential to be divisive, it need not be that way.
As it stands, most Hudbay employees have voted against a strike and to accept the company’s offers. Most IAM members voted to strike in pursuit of a more generous offer.
Both sides did what they felt they had to do. There’s no need for animosity.
Local Angle runs Fridays.
