United Steelworkers union converges in St. John’s for triennial conference

Myles Sullivan, USW District 6 Director giving his opening keynote speech to the District 6 Conference in St. John’s, Nfld., on July 8, 2024. (USW District 6/Facebook)

The United Steelworkers (USW) union has brought 450 of its members, staff and guests – including a delegation from Greater Sudbury, Ont. – to St. John’s, Nfld., as part of the union’s triennial District 6 Conference.

The conference, with the theme “We’re Ready” is taking place at the Delta Hotels by Marriott St. John’s Conference Centre on New Gower Street and will run until July 12.

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“Delegates to the conference will help set the direction for the district over the coming years, including in the areas of bargaining strong contracts, organizing new workplaces, building power through education, health and safety and political action,” said USW in a news release.

The conference kicked off on Monday at 9 a.m. NDT with an Indigenous opening and an address from District 6 Director Myles Sullivan along with presentations from a number of guests.

The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

USW District 6 is the largest district in the union, with 80,000 members across the five provinces and known as the health and safety union in Canada.

During the conference, union members will have the opportunity to visit Bell Island on Tuesday and Wednesday to learn about the union’s important labour history of representing underground mine workers on the island.

Participants will also take part in a series of workshops focused on raising the bar on women’s health and safety, action on ending gender-based violence, political action, finding your voice in the union, building power at work and preventing and dealing with harassment in the workplace.

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Over the last two years the union has been pressing Newfoundland and Labrador elected officials for a criminal investigation into the flash fire at the Braya Renewable Fuels refinery in Come By Chance in September 2022 where one worker was killed and seven more were critically injured. According to the news release, the union had been ‘sounding the alarm’ about unsafe working conditions at the refinery since 2017.