Essar Steel unions distance themselves from survey

United Steelworkers Local 2251 and 2724 insist they weren't the initiators of a weekend online survey about Essar Steel Algoma's restructuring.

"I want to be on the record stating that we had absolutely nothing to do with that," said Mike Da Prat, president of USW Local 2251, representing the steel mill's hourly workers.

"We certainly would not survey through this way," added Lisa Dale, president of USW Local 2724, representing salaried employees.

The online questionnaire was posted Friday on SooToday and was removed from our site at 11 a.m. Monday, as planned.

"The questions were very specific," Da Prat told us. "I would like to know why whoever did that survey was not afraid to mention names and ask specific questions that we have been totally precluded from asking in public."

The two union leaders questioned both the methodology of the survey and the motives of whoever initiated it.

Jeff Elgie, chief executive officer of Village Media, SooToday's parent company, said that the survey "was conducted by a third-party company interested in conducting market research."

"While I will not confirm their identity, I can confirm that it was not related to any parties connected to the CCAA [Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act] process, nor our editorial team," Elgie said.

"I can share that we received over 2,400 survey responses within less than three days."

The survey was removed Monday as originally planned, Elgie said.

Both Da Prat and Dale said they wouldn't use an online survey to canvass their membership.

"If we wanted to poll our members, the way we did it already, it would be with special general membership meetings and with secret ballot votes so there was no coercion or any peer pressure." Da Prat said.

Dale said Local 2724 typically communicates with its membership through correspondence, "whether it be a mail merger to home or through emails to home."

If Local 2724 ever decided to conduct an online survey on a third-party website, it would advise its members "so they would understand that this was generated through our office."

Both Dale and Da Prat described current communication efforts related to the Essar Steel Algoma restructuring as "propaganda."

Dale pointed to full-page ads recently placed in Sault This Week and the Sault Star, promoting a website promoting the viewpoints of Essar Steel Algoma’s secured creditors.

"It's propaganda that is trying to sway the community to one way, or to divide the two locals," Dale said, "because they know that we've been working diligently together to see what's best for all members inside Algoma Steel."

"There's also in-house propaganda that's being given to our members at meetings. Inside the plant, by management," Da Prat claimed.

"It's propaganda at its highest. The members are not given any information other than what we've given them, and they just spin their little story."

Da Prat is concerned results from the survey will eventually be presented as representing the wishes of the Steelworker locals to potential investors or buyers of the Sault steelmaker.

Last week, Justice Frank Newbould of the Superior Court of Ontario agreed to extend Essar Algoma's insolvency protection to June 30.

The existing protection from creditors expired at midnight Monday morning.

Essar Algoma's debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing expired at the same time.

The court-appointed monitor is expected to present Judge Newbould with a confidential report as soon as possible about further developments with the DIP arrangement.

The judge is expected to review the DIP situation at a court hearing on May 10.