shakes head in general direction of out of work tembec employees.

The comments were equally head-shakable.

In one hand, jobs. Albeit fewer jobs, for less money and benefits.

In the other hand no jobs for anybody.

Well, I can see the indignant no, we don't want any jobs then response.

Maybe they figure a labour run mill or a Sagkeeng run mill can run it better and keep all of the jobs at the old rates and benefits.

I dont get the comment about the "young men moved away with new jobs"

Right now they dont have jobs. Nor do they have ANY prospect of jobs paying the same salary if they are still there. Wouldn't the young men have moved away already?

Maybe they were waiting for the union to come to the rescue.

Looks like nobody want's the plant now...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/08/23/mb-pine-falls-mill-manitoba.html

what a surprise eh?  Guess what... the COMPANY WAS NOT LYING they needed heavy wage concession to make it a viable enterprise.

Wonder if there will be any crow served up, or is reality's cold hard b*tch-slap enough, ya figure?

*Sputters* Wha????

Must be the exception to the rule then since all other paper mills in North America are viable. Why else couldn't the employee group develop a business model that would make it viable?

Okay. So I'm a Tembec employee pulling down large coin and life's a breeze.

Okay. Now I'm on the picket line and refusing to compromise the lifestyle big coin delivers.

Okay. As a principled man I will refuse, along with my brothers, the reduced salary to make the plant viable and keep the doors open.

Okay. Now I'm unemployed and there are no jobs in the neighbourhood. But I've maintained my principals.

I knew guys up there, not tradesmen, who were pulling down almost 35 bucks an hour plus benefits whereas a tradesman here in the city is lucky if he is pulling down thirty an hour as a sub-contractor, union or not. That is the reality that many of the Tembec employees would not acknowledge as being "unfair". Many of them figured, like many in single industry communities, that they were "owed" a living because they had inherited their jobs.

I feel for my many friends in that area, it is gorgeous to live in and play in, but let's face it guys, anywhere else and you would be pulling down if you were lucky, maybe twenty bucks an hour, no benefits.

And many of those jobs are unskilled labour jobs. Great work if you can get it. Why risk the plant closing and being completely unemployed with very little real skills to offer somewhere else in Canada?

Yes, yes, I know. Some are very skilled tradespeople. And their skills are transferable into other well paying jobs anywhere in Canada. What do ya suppose the ratio of skilled tradespeople was to labourers? Too bad they'll have to move to take advantage of them...

grumpy old man wrote:Maybe they were waiting for the union to come to the rescue.

Looks like they really got screwed by the union leaders who were holding on to unrealistic demands. Not the first time this has happened.

This is what happens when you have "local" union leaders who have little by way of formal education or experience, towing an old party line touting "loyalty" at the expense of practicality. That is the problem in these small towns - some are still stuck in a time warp dating back over thirty years ago.

They got the union brainwashing.

"You are the company"
"The bosses work for you"
"Without you, the company is nothing"

etc., etc.

When you are unskilled labour in a rural town, you better be thinking about how many alternative employers there are when you decide to strike.

It would be one thing if this happened in a city where you could find work. Now they are unemployed in a town where it was pretty much the only employer. To find work they have to go to a larger city, make less. Sell their home in Pine Falls ( if they can) and probably take a loss. If I was a worker and my arm was twisted into striking by the union , I'd seriously think about taking them to court for negligent misrepresentation.

I think real estate prices in Pine Falls are about to collapse.

Best quote from our illustrious Minister of Labour (didn't even know who she was until yesterdays news)
"We will consult with the public, First Nations, municipalities and all stakeholders for input into the future of the forest resource in order to maximize the benefit in the region," she said. "We will also explore opportunities for the region such as tourism development."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/08/23/mb-pine-falls-mill-manitoba.html#ixzz0xd05RGKS

So, how much tourism do you expect in order to employ those folks? Talk about rose coloured glasses.

perhaps quite a bit with the East side road passing nearby?...

Deank wrote:perhaps quite a bit with the East side road passing nearby?...

Imagine if Hydro were to build the Bipole3 next to that road on the east side. Imagin what could be done if Business was allowed to conduct business with out the Government's incessant interference.

Here is what I would do if I owned that Mill.

I'd shut it down lay everyone off. start a new company and then buy the mill from my old company for $1.00 open the mill under a new name and hire new employee's under a new reasonable pay scale.

Isn't that what they just tried to do? ...only through a employee based group?

JTF wrote:Isn't that what they just tried to do? ...only through a employee based group?

If you needed a skin graft, would you use cancerous skin?

The company needs to reduce its labor costs and be more productive in order to survive in todays competitive global world. It would be easier to lay them all off and sell the mill. If the demand is there and/or someone thinks they can make it work then let them get the finacing to buy the mill and have a go at it.

Apparently, they need $100 Mil to get it going again.

That is the deal breaker I understand.

No...the deal breaker (according to interviews on CBC yesterday) was that the union workers would not take a major paycut, and after reviewing the economics of the mill, based on salaries that were ridiculous, they found they could not compete since the industry as a whole has had a 30% decrease in demand over the past 2 years.

So basically, they would have to find at LEAST 30% reduction in operating costs before they can even open the doors again.

The Province even sent in some analysts and mediators to assist in negotiations and proposals.

About 10% of the former employees have moved on to other employment by moving out of the area. Most of the homes being sold are going to retired seniors...which concerns residents, because they say a town cannot sustain itself when the majority of the residents are seniors.

AGEsAces wrote:
About 10% of the former employees have moved on to other employment by moving out of the area. Most of the homes being sold are going to retired seniors...which concerns residents, because they say a town cannot sustain itself when the majority of the residents are seniors.

So what better business is there than profiting from an aging population, like many former mining towns in Northern Ontario have. For example:
http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/Industry-News/government/Elliot-Lake-needs-skilled-tradespeople225.aspx

I think the argument is turning a community into a retirement community does not provide on-going and sustainable revenues. It is well known that seniors spend the least of all consumer groups.

The upside is of course the houses are occupied and property values don't turn every house into firewood.

JTF wrote:Isn't that what they just tried to do? ...only through a employee based group?

not really.
1) Tembec wont sell the equipment at a major loss
2) The employees refuse to work cheaply enough

Could the employee based group make it happen? yeah.. if they hired other people to work cheaper then they were willing to.