The results of the strike settlement offer:
79% voter turnout
71% in favour of accepting the offer

Your Bargaining Committee has received a settlement offer for the membership.  Information meetings and a vote will be held tomorrow.

Snow Lake Senior Center

Friday August 28/15  11:00 A.M.

Flin Flon Steel Center

Friday August 28/15   4:00 P.M.

Hudbay is now employing new measures for the scab mechanics they have now hired to replace striking mechanics from the IAM to access the property now.

The security firm hired by Hudbay is now chauffeuring these replacement workers in vans to bushes near the property lines and dropping them off so they can scurry across through the bush to access the property.

IAM picketers have even witnessed these replacement workers climbing the fence that surround the property to enter it.

There is a security van on the other side that picks them up.

Hudbay preaches to all employees that safety is the number one priority at all times.

They have an entire department dedicated to it.

They have created a set of golden rules that all employees must follow.

There is a PASS system in place, where employees have daily shift safety huddles to report anything unsafe and can be improved upon.

When it comes to safety, shouldn’t that mean everyone?

Hudbay has always had an in house security department to police who enters and leaves the property throughout the day.

They have a fence around their property so no one can trespass.

During this strike they have hired an outside security firm equipped with audio and video surveillance equipment to monitor all entrances to the plant and mines.

All this to protect the employees inside.

Now Hudbay is instructing these scab workers to break all the rules.

They must be….

Why would a van be waiting on the other side to pick them up?

It is now OK to climb over and through fences to get to work?

Any Hudbay employee would face discipline or suspension for the very same action.

Is safety just lip service?

Does the protection of the workers in the plant not matter?

Doing whatever it takes to get the machinery repaired is all that is important.

Safety at Hudbay doesn’t apply to everyone.

Only when it is convenient.

On the National Geographic channel they feature a television program called “Border Wars”

This program features the ongoing battle along the United States and Mexican border between Border Security and illegal aliens from Mexico trying to cross into the United States.

Most of the border is unprotected and rugged so in many cases security personnel use 4X4 trucks and horseback to patrol the vast border in their efforts.

In many instances the desperate aliens will use any means necessary to thwart the authority’s efforts in trying to keep them out.

They crawl on the ground.

They hide in bushes.

They will do just about anything to escape their current way of life in the hopes of living the American dream.

The video you are about to see looks like it could be an episode from Border Wars.

The unfortunate part is that it is not.

This video is not taking place along the US/Mexico border.

This video was shot in Flin Flon Manitoba on August 11, 2015 where at the present time there is a labour dispute between IAMAW 1848 and Hudbay Minerals.

Actually it was shot from the Perimeter Highway looking north of Hudbay’s mine and plant property.

The people seen scurrying through the bushes are not illegal aliens.

They are scab mechanics in a pathetic effort trying to gain entry into Hudbay’s mines undetected.

The trucks the scabs are being chauffeured into belong to EMS Security Services.

This is the outside security firm hired by Hudbay during this labour dispute

On several occasions the IAM have been told that they are a neutral firm to assist both parties.

They are not.

But unlike Border Wars, instead of preventing aliens from entering, the trucks are escorting the scab mechanics to their work locations.

It is unbelievable the desperate and pathetic efforts Hudbay is incorporating to maneuver these scab mechanics in and out of the plant.

What kind of worker will crawl and hide in bushes to get to work?

As the saying goes:

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

Well if that’s the case, this video is worth a million.

The video can be found on YouTube under the title “Hudbay smuggling in replacement workers”

It is eerily disturbing.

When the orange line appeared across Hart Avenue a few weeks ago we wondered….

Can a mining company really own a road in a City?

The evidence was hard to dispute.

The City of Flin Flon gave us maps denoting that Hudbay owned all the property and road surrounding the Whitney Forum.

They gave the same one to Hudbay and the Police also.

Then the orange line appeared.

We received information that we should look deeper into this.

In fact we were told that Hudbay did not own Hart Avenue, they did not own the road that continued West from Hart Avenue around to the Hospital.

We reached out to the Assessment Services of Manitoba and questioned the evidence we were given.

After conferring with an assessment officer and some digging they found The Plan of Subdivision for the property and road.

In fact the information we received was true. Hudbay did not own Hart Avenue or the road that continued around to the Hospital.

Somebody in the City didn’t do their homework….or was this planned from the very start?

Hudbay has never wanted the IAM to be able to picket Hart Avenue from the start of this strike.

It’s an easy access for staff employees to enter the plant and mines without having to face the IAM picketers whose jobs they are now performing on a daily basis.

One way to stop it is to say you own the road and will prosecute for trespassing.

The City still refuses to publicly state their viewpoint when it comes to the use of replacement workers.

Our Mayor currently holds a position at Hudbay as the contract administrator.

He signs off on contracts for the plant and mines.

These contracts are now for replacement workers used in place of striking IAM members that belong to this community.

IAM members who pay taxes and support the infrastructure of this community.

Where does his true allegiances reside?

Could this be why the City remains neutral on replacement workers?

Is this why the orange line appeared?

You decide.

Rob Winton, Vice President, Manitoba Business Unit has publicly stated that management would not return to the bargaining table with the IAM if a money proposal remained.

A Federal Conciliator facilitated a meeting between the IAM and management on August 10, 2015.

The IAM removed the money proposal as Mr. Winton asked with the hope of resolving our language issues pertaining to the grievance procedure and contracting out.

With the removal of the money proposal as Mr. Winton asked, the IAM would soon find out if Mr. Winton was interested in reaching an agreement with the IAM and find a mutually beneficial resolution to our language issues.

Or was this just simply lip service for the media.

The Conciliator flew in from Edmonton for this meeting.

The IAM International Representative drove in from Winnipeg.

At 7:30 pm, through the Federal Conciliator we tabled our language proposals, specifically towards the grievance procedure and contracting out.

As Mr. Winton likes to state it, they were not unreasonable “demands”

Management also tries to use the argument that the IAM “demands” continue to change and the list of “demands” is growing.

This is nothing more than a smokescreen to try discredit the IAM at the bargaining table in the eyes of the public.

We are not greedy.

Our issues have remained the same from the very beginning.

We traded money with the hope of language changes.

Management asked us what it would take to get a recommendation from our Bargaining Committee to help a deal get ratified.

We proposed a new system to the grievance procedure to speed up the process to rectify disputes when it comes to our collective agreement.

We wanted changes to our contracting out language so management would bring pending contracts to our monthly meetings before they were tendered for discussion.

We wanted to assist management in the recruitment of new employees to replenish our dwindling membership and limit the amount of contractors filling our positions.

We suggested a joint apprenticeship program to help management in doing so.

At 2:00 am in the morning, the Conciliator told us that they were not interested in any of our proposals.

The Conciliator told us that management said that all that was left on the table was the strike settlement offer from June that was turned down by our members.

We would only receive the offer with a recommendation from our Committee.

Mr. Winton, why are you so deceitful?

You never intended to resolve any of our issues from the start.

You wasted our time.

You wasted the time and money in bringing in a Conciliator and the IAM International rep.

You were never interested in reaching a fair agreement with us.

This is Union busting in the purest form.

We have received information and witnessed from our picket lines that the amount of scab mechanics is now beginning to grow.

We have received information that a new Ontario contractor called TECHNICA MINING is now supplying scab mechanics and is in the plant as we speak.

This is the same contractor used at VALE in Sudbury Ontario who supplied scab labour during their strike.

Rod Leydon was in Sudbury during the strike at Vale.

He is now employed by Hudbay as part of their contingency plan.

Is it a coincidence that the same firm used in Sudbury now appears here in Flin Flon during the IAM strike?

In Sudbury, we hear TECHNICA MINING was promised 1,000,000 man hours of work in order for them to cross the picket line then.

What has been promised them now?

We believe that TECHNICA MINING is supplying a total of 8 mechanics and 2 supervisors at this point.

They are supplying 4 mechanics and 1 supervisor for the dayshift and nightshift.

Hudbay has now put a fence around the 777 North Mine Mechanic Shop restricting access for all Hudbay employees and supervisors.

This is where they are harboring these new scab mechanics and it will be their home base for operations.

It is unbelievable that Hudbay protects these scab workers.

If any Hudbay employee uses the legal word scab in the workplace to describe these workers, they are subject to discipline or sent home.

Hudbay does not care about the well being or morale of any of its employees who are forced to work beside them.

As this strike continues, we begin to see the true colors of Hudbay.

All Hudbay employees are just merely a number.

A means for them to reach the bottom line.

As Hudbay now shows we are all replaceable.

And when the time arises we all will be.

The IAM will be holding a general membership meeting on:

Tuesday August 4, 2015

4:00pm

Steel Centre

Flin Flon

All members are encouraged to attend.

As many of you are aware, Hudbay held a conference call yesterday morning to announce their results from the second quarter for 2015.

Hudbay reported a net loss of $55.2 million and a loss per a share $0.24.

Analysts had predicted a day earlier that shareholders could expect a positive return on their investments of $0.10 per a share.

In the second quarter of 2014, Hudbay reported a profit of $300,000

As a result of this announcement, the bottom fell out of Hudbay shares.

At the start of trading that morning, the values of Hudbay shares were worth $8.56.

At closing they had tumbled to a loss of $0.70 per a share to $7.86.

The value of Hudbay Minerals had diminished by an incredible 8.18% in one day.

What went so terribly wrong?

In the second quarter report Hudbay blamed part of their losses on the pension expense arising from a new collective bargaining agreement with their Flin Flon employees.

What we find puzzling is there is no mention in that report of the amount of money wasted on a contingency plan that has been in place since the middle of April.

From our calculations it is costing Hudbay $1.5 million dollars a month.

The cost for the security firm, room and board at the Victoria Inn, bus contract, and scab labour is astronomical every month.

Hudbay claims that their Constancia project in Peru is now ramped up and near full production.

Hudbay also claims that the strike of the IAM is not affecting production of their Flin Flon operations.

How can any of this be true after suffering such massive losses?

Who does Hudbay really think they are fooling?

Also in the report Hudbay states that for the second quarter in 2015, ore processed in their Manitoba Operations was 3% higher compared to the same period of 2014.

This is nothing but another misleading smokescreen by Hudbay to try to minimize the effect this strike is having on the bottom line.

In the second quarter of 2014, the Reed and Lalor Lake Mines were still in the development stages with minimal ore production. The only mine in full production was 777 and its sister 777 North.

Now in 2015, Reed and Lalor are at full production.

With two more mines producing ore, shouldn’t this bolster production by 200%.

How could anyone see this as a gain of 3%, when in actuality it is a loss of 197%?

Doesn’t this seem more along the lines of 55 million dollar loss?

The IAM was on strike for 2 of the 3 months of the second quarter.

Hudbay had one month at full production.

If this strike continues for the next full three months of the third quarter, what kind of loss can shareholders expect?

No matter what Hudbay wants you to believe, this strike is crippling this company.

55 million is only the beginning….where will it end?