Nearly 1,300 mineworkers represented by United Steelworkers Local 7619 voted unanimously to strike at the Highland Valley Copper Mine in B.C. Minutes before they walked off, a smug supervisor yelled, “Chicken!” at the bargaining team. Now the company is hemorrhaging $6 million a day, and putting their untrained HR staff on mining equipment in a desperate bid to keep production running.
Six out of every thousand tons of copper mined on the planet comes from this one site, but treatment of its workers is almost comically villainous. Workers have fallen through corroded floors twice, and reported over 40 other near-fatal accidents in the past year alone. But when basic safety concerns are raised with management, they’re met with threats. As soon as the strike began, Teck began withholding banked time and health insurance, on top of demanding 25 per cent cuts to future pension improvements.
At the same time, Teck is making staggering profits. Copper is a critical mineral, with demand spiking due to its use in AI data centres and EVs. In the last year, shareholder profits have increased 468 per cent. Between June 30 and Sept. 30 alone, Teck made $559 million in profit, or an uninterrupted $4,219 per minute.
Carney and the B.C. government have rolled out the red carpet for mining companies like Teck, fast-tracking permits and giving them a 30 per cent tax credit for critical minerals exploration. They say this is for the “national interest,” but who is actually seeing the benefit? Certainly not the mineworkers. The capitalists know this is their government, so they feel they can squeeze workers for every penny. They are afraid of the precedent a successful strike would set for Carney’s mining plans as he pivots the Canadian economy towards critical minerals to capitalize on the renewed militarization driven by Trump.
But consciousness is being transformed in real time. Workers have been sharing posts comparing Teck to the Grinch that stole Christmas and beating a piñata with the company name on it. Spirits are high as workers’ families keep them well-stocked and well-fed, and a new rallying cry has emerged from the United Steelworkers’ picket line: “Steel is stronger than copper!”
These workers have the company in a chokehold. The miners are in a strong position to win their demands, and must prepare to defy any back-to-work order. At the end of the day, the law is a reflection of the class balance of forces. It is paper. And if steel is stronger than copper, it is sure as hell stronger than paper.
