Last week USW Staff Coordinator John Catto, USW Hamilton District Council President Darren Green, member of the USW Area Council and I attended the grave of Gabe Cabral. Gabe was the 32 year old contractor who was fatally injured from the Quench Tower incident. Unfortunately, a Christmas wreath placed at his grave by his mom was vandalized and ornaments were stolen from it. Steelworkers wanted to reach out to her and acknowledge the disgusting act by presenting a flower arrangement, which we did on January 7th. The next scheduled court date for this incident is April 3, 2025.

Orders are really slow this first quarter. The Steel shop is down to 24 heats a day from 35 or more. The HSM is only running steel on the night shifts and the Pickle Lines are running minimally. This is due to January being slow and the lingering threat of the tariffs from the U.S. Cleveland Cliffs has actually moved some of their orders from the U.S. to LEW.

The Production to Trades program is going ahead. 87 people applied. Of those, 56 applications were for mechanical which is what Stelco is looking for first. The next step of the process (the aptitude test) will be commencing soon.

As of January 1st the co-pay of 50 cents for a prescription should be reinstated. If anyone is having issues please call Jamie Knowles or Rob Bussey at your union hall.

RUMOUR OF THE WEEK…

"Why is the purchase of a Stelco parka a taxable benefit under ESA?" It isn't. Any PPE we receive is not a taxable benefit including work boots. The only taxable benefits are the DC Plan RRSP's, Basic Life Insurance, Basi ADD (ES&S), Flew Credits-RRSP & Optional Life Insurance (LE ES&S) and STELAR Point Redemption.

I look forward to seeing everyone out in the mills this week.