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USWA Escalates Global Campaign Against Rio Tinto

USWA-Led Coalition Announces Actions to Reverse 'Outrage' Perpetrated by Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Utah Corp.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah/USA – Leaders of the Kennecott Coordinated Bargaining Committee (KCBC) and the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) announced today that the union coalition representing 1,300 workers at the Utah-based Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP, FTSE:RIO.L, ASX:RIO) subsidiary, Kennecott Utah Copper Corp., will initiate a worldwide legal, political, publicity and Solidarity campaign on behalf of at least 120 Rio Tinto workers who were illegally laid off by Rio Tinto only two days after the company and the KCBC settled a six-year labor agreement.

The agreement, which was ratified by a 4-1 margin, was the result ofsettled a bitter eight-month labor dispute of more than eight months that did not yield any work stoppages, but was fought acrimoniously.

“On June 27, I wrote Rio Tinto’s agents in Magna and Leigh Clifford, their CEO in London, demanding that they immediately reverse the destructive layoffs that came without notice and violated our newly-ratified labor agreement,” said USWA District 12 Director Terry L. Bonds, who heads the KCBC. “They have not found the time to answer, so now they will hear our answer Our answer will neither be words, nor silence. It will be actions.”

Bonds then outlined a series of actions to be put forwardbeing implemented by the union coalition and its allies:

• KCBC unions are filing formal grievances on behalf of the laid-off workers, alleging discrimination based on legitimate union activity, and multiple violations of the new labor agreement in areas of seniority, reduction and restoration of force, improper uses of contractors and temporary workers who may replace union workers, abuses of training provisions and any other provisions that may apply.
• The KCBC unions will file parallel Unfair Labor Practices charges with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board and will contact the International Labor Organization and other relevant international labor relations bodies to condemn the outrage.
• Individual workers will file state and federal charges with the relevant equal employment opportunity commissions (EEOCs) to demand relief for gender discrimination, racial discrimination, and age discrimination.
• Also, union lawyers are aggressively investigating the rights of injured workers who were laid off, to advise them of their rights against discrimination and retaliation.

In alleging “targeted retaliation” by Rio Tinto officials, KCBC leaders noted the following characteristics of the layedlaid-off workers, (many of whom belong in multiple categories):

107 are active union supporters, officers and/or representatives
94 filed actions or complained about safety
71 are over the age of 40
27 are eligible for race and/or gender discrimination actions
37 have been receiving workers compensation, disability payments or Family and Medical Leave Act benefits

“In addition to an aggressive legal campaign, we are accelerating our Campaign for Justice at Rio Tinto, sharpening the focus on the Utah operations,” said USWA International President Leo W. Gerard. “We will directly inform the Rio Tinto board of the vile conduct of Rio Tinto representatives in Utah and tell them how destabilizing that conduct is. Also, we will inform Rio Tinto shareholders of this situation,” Gerard continued.

“And we will use our full investigative and public relations energies into throwing white light on the Utah operations, and other deficient Rio Tinto operations. Just as the world is beginning to see the truth of the copper market price-fixing investigations initiated by the Europe Commission, Canadian regulators and U.S. grand juries, they will begin to see other truths,” Gerard said. “The final truth is this: the Rio Tinto Global Network and our allies will act in our defense until Rio Tinto’s managers stop their unprovoked attacks, and obey our labor agreements and the law.”

Rio Tinto’s , Magna, Utah (USA)-based facilities employ about 1,900 mineral mining, processing and support workers in the Salt Lake City area. In 2002, Rio Tinto, which employees about 60,000 people globally, reported US$10.8 billion in gross revenues and US$2.4 billion in gross profits. Rio Tinto’s Utah operations claimed US$755 million in revenues and US$78 million in net profits. The Rio Tinto Global Network is a global coalition of trade unions that represent about 60 percent of Rio Tinto workers.

The Kennecott Coordinated Bargaining Committee (KCBC) represents about 1,300 workers at Rio Tinto’s Utah works. It consists of local unions belonging to the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Office and Professional Employees Association (OPEIU). The labor agreement is a master agreement that expires on Sept. 30, 2009.