In the days immediately following Vale's Nov. 17 announcement that they plan to close the Thompson smelter and refinery by the end of 2015, there were two groups sticking out as sore thumbs as not being part of the initial discussions - beyond their local representatives, neither the federal government nor Vale had come out at the forefront of the issue.
That changed last week, as a delegation from Thompson travelled first to Toronto and then on to Ottawa to meet with those two parties.
"It was very positive for Local 6166," said United Steelworkers Local 6166 president Murray Nychyporuk of the trip. "We went out to meet with the corporate players from Vale, to break down a barrier so that we can open up a dialogue and have discussions about the closure of the smelter and refinery, so that we can look at all options."
After a brief stop in Winnipeg on Nov. 23, where they met with senior members of the provincial cabinet and were introduced to the legislature, Nychyporuk, Mayor Tim Johnston, Thompson MLA Steve Ashton, provincial Minister of Innovation, Energy, and Mines Dave Chomiak, and John Clarkson, Chomiak's deputy minister, flew to Toronto where they spent much of the afternoon meeting with senior Vale officials, including Vale Canada chief executive officer Tito Martins.
"We were pleased with the opportunity to begin the dialogue with Vale," said Johnston. Johnston and Nychyporuk then flew to Ottawa on Nov. 25, where they met with federal officials including Vic Toews, the federal cabinet minister responsible for Manitoba.
"I think there was a measure of success in a number of ways," said Johnston, noting that it benefits all parties to see the province, the city, and USW working together on the issue, and that getting a meeting could also be considered a success. "We're going to work together in the best interests of this community in the long term," said Johnston. "I want people to feel confident that we have the right players involved."
Both Johnston and Nychyporuk say that they intend to keep the dialogue open in the weeks and months ahead, and Johnston added that the province will be heavily involved.
Rather than continuing on to Ottawa, Steve Ashton returned to Winnipeg on Nov. 25, where he attended the annual conference of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM). AMM passed a resolution supporting Thompson's efforts to save the smelter and refinery.
Meanwhile, Churchill MP Niki Ashton - who was in Ottawa but did not take part in the meeting with Toews - did meet with federal Industry Minister Tony Clement on Thursday.
Vale announced Nov. 17 it plans to phase out its smelting and refinery operations at Manitoba Operations by 2015, eliminating 500 jobs or 40 per cent of its local workforce, and focus on "developing new sources of ore as it transitions its operations to mining and milling...."
The estimated payroll hit to Thompson for job losses of that magnitude is at least $50 million annually, money which will no longer be circulating in the local economy as some of the city's highest paid jobs vanish.
"The transition is still four to five years away and we will use that time wisely," Martins said in reference to the company's Thompson operations. "We are committed to partnering with the provincial government, the community, our employees and other stakeholders to manage all aspects of the transition as effectively as possible and minimize potential impacts. This includes participating fully in the workforce adjustment process that has proven effective in similar situations elsewhere."
