Local 2304 down to just 37 members
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 01/00) - Canadian Auto Workers Local 2304 members flipped through a few old collective agreements as they said goodbye last Saturday.
The union hall closed its doors for good on Oct. 28.
Members also displayed a black and red banner from the 1992 strike, held draws for the union hall's television, its two computers and the strike shack.
The shack, once part of a dark chapter in the city's not-so-distant past, will now serve a more serene and peaceful purpose. It is to be used as an ice-fishing hut.
"The hall is being shut down, but the local lives on," said CAW plant chair Steve Petersen.
There just aren't enough members left in the local to justify rent payments for the office space. The local, which represents Giant mine hourly-paid workers, is down to 37, Petersen said. In the past, the local has had about 300 members.
Local 2304 will have a presence in the Northern Territories Federation of Labour offices in the Yellowknife Centre.
"The strike in 1992 put this union, and this hall, in to the national spotlight," said Petersen.
The hall, which is located in the bowling alley building on 51st Street, recently served as a transition centre for workers who lost their jobs when Giant mine was sold by a receiver to DIAND, which sold it to Con mine owner Miramar Mining. Giant's mill and other operations were shut, and Giant ore is now being trucked to Con and processed.
Petersen says Miramar may be looking at work at Giant's 1,500-foot level to extend the life of the mine.
"When the price of gold goes down, one way to trim is to cut wages," he said.
Gold's London afternoon fix Friday was $264.75 US. The commodity last traded around that level mid-September 1999. Earlier in 1999, gold bottomed out at around $253 in August.
More than just a building
There were a lot of "heated battles and debates," in this room, said Local 2304 vice-president Sylvain Amyotte.
"We had some good discussions in this hall, quite heated sometimes," he said. Voices and emotions were high because "we had a lot of tough decisions" to make.
But it was more than just that, he adds.
"The union hall has been here for 10 years. During the strike, during layoffs. Members also came here to talk with each other."
Marko Mrdeza, among those at the hall Saturday, says there will be "tough times ahead."
He is among a group of 15 miners working for Miramar Mining at Giant who recently learned they would be out of work.
He says if he can't find work in the next few days, he will head to B.C. where he has family. Mrdeza is hoping to get on at BHP, Diavik, or Winspear.
Mrdeza, whose history with Giant goes back to 1973, was among the huge layoff a year ago. He did manage to get back on at the mine earlier this year.
"I'm here to say goodbye. I don't know if I'll be back."
