Lockout ends, production restarts at Welded Tube of Canada

On Jan. 26, 340 members of United Steelworkers Local 8328 ratified a new contract and returned to work.

The union said the labor agreement secured meaningful gains in wages, benefits and working conditions, including a 10% wage increase over three years and a $2,000 signing bonus.

USW Local 8328 President John Manfre praised the resilience of the union members during the cold and challenging lockout.

“We did not back down, and we fought for a contract recognizing our work’s value,” he stated. “Overall, we are happy with the outcome as we came together as a collective to bargain for fairness and respect.”

Welded Tube of Canada said it returned to full operational capacity immediately after the contract’s ratification.

“A work stoppage is always regrettable, but we are happy to have our employees back at work doing what we do best: making great steel tube for our customers,” the company said in a statement to SMU.

The company’s three facilities in Concord, just north of Toronto, have more than 600,000 feet of manufacturing space combined, multiple tube mills, a slitter for coil processing, a warehouse and distribution facility, and other equipment.

In total, Welded Tube of Canada operates five manufacturing and finishing facilities in Canada and the US. They have a combined annual production capacity of 700,000 tons of hollow structural sections (HSS), mechanical ERW tubing, and oil country tubular goods (OCTG).