Evraz Regina steelworkers vote to strike

Union says membership voted 99.3% in favour of job action if necessary

Image | Evraz Regina plant

Caption: Evraz Regina, on the north edge of the city, makes pipelines for the oil and gas industry and calls itself the largest steel plant in Western Canada. (Kirk Fraser/CBC)

Members of the United Steelworkers Local 5890 who work at the Regina Evraz plant have voted 99.3 per cent in favour of striking if necessary.
The union represents around 900 workers. A special membership meeting was held Thursday to discuss proposals from Evraz.
According to the union's (external link)website(external link), members held a strike vote that resulted in 99.3 per cent voting 'yes' to job action.
The proposals from Evraz contain significant concessions, the union says, including no wage increases for the first three years of a five-year contract, followed by a half-per-cent increase in the fourth and fifth years.
Evraz has laid off numerous workers in recent years. However, the Regina plant is supposed to supply the majority of steel for the recently-approved Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.