To the Editor:
I was taken back after reading your article in the Thompson Citizen on June 26 with the comments that you quoted by USW 6166 president Murray Nychyporuk in regards to the Honorary Driller Goran Aksic, also known to most as "Gypsy." If Mr. Goran is only recognized as a "coffee shop hero," then it doesn't say much for a worker who spent the majority of his life working in very dangerous conditions as a miner.
I believe the comments that Mr. Nychyporuk made were inappropriate and he should have stated that in all due respect Mr. Goran was a dedicated and a great miner who retired with his health intact from Vale and continues to mine in Thompson, but for another company now. Workers like Mr. Goran are far too often not recognized for their contribution to not only the workforce but also the community, which they live in.
In the future one would have hoped that a union local like USW 6166 would be more focused on the worker's achievements and not on the worker's personal life. Maybe the union has gotten used to the "coffee world" and has forgotten the real people that they are supposed to represent; their dues paying members.
Malanie Cutler
Thompson
