2,500 USW members on strike for 2 months to vote on latest Vale offer

Mine, mill and smelter workers, members of United Steelworkers 6500 in Sudbury who've been on the picket lines since June 1, will decide Tuesday whether to accept Vale's latest contract offer.

The union says more information about the offer will be posted on its website in the morning and the vote is set to happen between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET..

The two-month strike by Local 6500 workers in the northern Ontario city is the first at Vale since a year-long one that ended in July 2010.

"It's not too bad actually. We're a resilient bunch," says Steve Rayner, who works underground at Creighton Mine.

"Tough times in the past, you're skin's a little more scaly this time around, right?"

The 21-year veteran miner believes the Sudbury community has been more behind the striking workers this time than during the bitter year-long walkout a decade ago. 

"It wasn't the same —Vale was new, they were dipping their toes in the water," he said.

"I think the community looked at us and said, 'Oh, you're asking for a lot.' I think it's the other way around this time."

He and other USW members say they are "striking for future generations" with the proposed cuts to the retirement health benefits of new hires inspiring many union members to vote down the company's contract offers.

During the strike, Rayner has worked as a taxi driver, but said several co-workers have taken "big money" mining jobs in northwestern Ontario and B.C.

"Vale might lose a big chunk of employees. They got to start thinking about retaining their people. Experience is worth money." 

This is the fourth time Mike Robert has walked a picket line since starting to work for Vale, so he's learned to put away money that can be used in the event of a strike.

But he said he knows some co-workers are struggling to make ends meet on the strike pay provided by the union. 

"We've heard some stories and there's definitely some people hurting already, starting to feel the pinch. People weren't anticipating it and weren't prepared for it."

The Clarabelle Mill worker said he is a year and change away from retirement and is looking forward to it. 

"I've had enough of this ... you don't want to be in this position every five years. Things that people fought for over the decades for us and now we're fighting for other people, but you don't want to have that fight every five years." Robert said. "It's ridiculous."