Quote from: "Fashionista"My husband told me that for his trade the main difference in pay and benefits is not union or non union, but residential or commercial..



Commercial offers better pay, benefits and working conditions than residential electrical.

QuoteOn Wednesday, it was made official that U.S. Steel will shut down its steelmaking operations in Hamilton.



As a born and bred Hamiltonian, that's a tough one to swallow. The city has long been known as Steeltown and now another part of that history will fall by the wayside, and with it, jobs.



The company says only 47 jobs are being lost but that's because the steel mill portion of the plant was shut down long ago. Some hoped it would re-open. It hasn't and it won't.



There's lots of fretting about what to do to bring the jobs back, including calls by the NDP for the government to do something.



Here's a better question: What will the union do about it?



I've been warning about unions undermining their workers and the jobs they represent for some time now. The shutdown of the Hamilton steelmaking operations shows the real consequences of this.



It's true that there are plenty of reasons for the plant to shut down, but consider this: The United Steelworkers (USW), which represents the workers at the Hamilton plant, has called for the Obama administration to deny the Keystone XL permit.



Strangely, pipelines are made with steel, and you would think that a steelworkers union would support pipelines being built. But they don't.



In Canada, the USW backs the NDP to the hilt with money, where legal, and with volunteers and other support elsewhere. The NDP opposes the Keystone pipeline, a major project in need of much steel.



While it is the NDP they back in Canada, in the U.S. it's the Democrats. The USW spent $1.2 million of dues money from its members to support political campaigns in the 2012 U.S. election cycle. Every single dollar went to Democrats. The Democrats have been opposing Keystone.

Now the union will say they only want to make sure that steel made in Canada or the U.S. is used, but that is simply unbelievable. The USW has partnered with The Sierra Club to fight the pipeline.



The Sierra Club doesn't care where the steel for the pipeline comes from, they just want it stopped.



It's the same with other environmental groups the USW funds. From Environmental Defence to the Columbia Institute, they all oppose Keystone and every other pipeline being proposed, from Northern Gateway to an east-west route.



Let me point out the obvious once again: Pipelines are made from steel. They require lots of steel. The USW is fighting against jobs for steelworkers.



Beyond pipelines, they also fund other projects that undermine steel jobs in Canada and the United States.



The Blue-Green initiative is a partnership between the USW, Unifor, Environmental Defence, Pembina Institute and other activist groups that push hard for more public transit and green energy.



Hey, if it ends gridlock maybe public transit is a good thing, but it also means fewer cars built, which means less steel and fewer jobs.



This Blue Green plan also supports green energy, which in Ontario has pushed the price of electricity up to unaffordable levels and made manufacturing in the province, including for steel, a losing proposition.



Still the union funds it.

All told the USW has spent millions over the last few years supporting politicians, causes and projects that undermine the viability of steel jobs in places like Hamilton.



If I was in that union, I'd be demanding answers and changing the guard at the top.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/10/31/union-needs-to-act-usw-spends-millions-undermining-viability-of-steel-jobs-in-places-like-hamilton">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/10/31/u ... e-hamilton">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/10/31/union-needs-to-act-usw-spends-millions-undermining-viability-of-steel-jobs-in-places-like-hamilton