Steelworkers get 12% raise

Last month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published the August 2024 Bargaining Update.

This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta. In August, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 28 private sector and 9 public sector bargaining settlements, covering 2,361 and 1,857 workers respectively.

Among those settlements was a contract for 7 workers employed by the Haver & Boecker Canada at their Edmonton location.

Based out of Germany, Haver & Boecker specializes in machining services and wire weaving goods. They have facilities throughout the world, including the one in Edmonton, which focuses on processing technologies in the mining, aggregate, and industrial mineral industries.

The workers are represented by Local 1-207 of the United Steelworkers and include lead hands and equipment operators.

Their previous contract expired last month, and their new contract was settled just 5 days later.

According to the bargaining update, these workers received wage increases in each year of the new contract.

31 March 2024	6.00%
31 March 2025	3.00%
31 March 2026	3.00%

That’s a combined 12% over 3 years (or 12.46%, if you include cumulative increases), which works out to 4% (4.15%) per year on average. That’s way better than the 3% increase (1% average) over 3 years they got in their last contract.

By the time this contract expires, the top-end hourly wage will be above $32 an hour and the starting wage will be over $30 for lead hands and $23 for operators.

Here are some highlights of other changes between the previous contract and the new contract.

Under the old contract, workers who worked overtime hours could be paid straight time. That has been increased to 1.5 times the regular rate of pay.

The shift premium has increased from 55¢ an hour for each hour worked outside the day shift to $1 an hour, nearly doubling.

Vacation time has improved as well, with workers receiving more vacation time earlier than under the previous contract.

	Old contract	New contract
1 day per month of service	Up to 1 year	Up to 1 year
2 weeks	1–5 years	1–5 years
3 weeks	5–12 years	5–10 years
4 weeks	12–20 years	10–15 years
5 weeks	20+ years	15+ years

Life insurance coverage has changed from $40,000 to the equivalent of their annual salary, up to $250,000. Same goes for accidental death and dismemberment.

Long-term disability has changed from $400 per week to 66.7& of monthly earnings up to a maximum of $10,000.

Boot allowance has increased from $140 a year to $200 a year. Prescription safety glasses allowance has increased from $150 every year to $200.

The contract also updated language to be more gender inclusive.