‘There were supposed to be jobs created. There were supposed to be training plans to allow people to upgrade and all of that,’ said United Steelworkers Local 2251 president
Algoma Steel’s largest union has filed a grievance against the company for failing to mitigate the 900 layoffs announced yesterday.
Mike Da Prat, president of United Steelworkers Local 2251, told SooToday that the steel producer did not implement mitigation strategies laid out in the EAF Letter of Agreement struck between the two parties in 2023.
“There were supposed to be jobs created. There were supposed to be training plans to allow people to upgrade and all of that,” said Da Prat.
His union represents 1,962 workers as of the end of October, not including the loss of 900 workers who were told they’d be out of work in March 2026.
“I filed a grievance today about the mitigation strategies that we negotiated . . . about the letter of agreement that should be still in force – and the company is maintaining it’s not,” Da Prat said.
Posted on the union’s website, the letter lays out numerous strategies to help workers who are “made redundant or displaced prior to July 31, 2025” as a result of Algoma Steel’s transition to the electric arc furnace.
Despite that, “none of the mitigation strategies were created,” Da Prat said.
The letter of agreement also states it will “remain in effect until the EAF transition is complete,” meaning when “iron-making and coke-making operations have been permanently discontinued.”
Some of the strategies include creating a “transitional trades helper program” to perform work that may have otherwise been contracted out, or providing training opportunities such as obtaining a D2 licence, 0-8 tonne hoisting, among other certifications.
The mitigation strategies also include approving leaves of absence to obtain training deemed beneficial to the company, investigating training opportunities through the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition, Employment Insurance, and more.
Da Prat said he cannot share a copy of the grievance until its processed.
Although 1,000 positions were expected to be cut in the coming years as Algoma Steel transitions to electric arc furnace production, yesterday officials at the mill said U.S. tariffs “fundamentally altered” the competitive landscape and bumped EAF production ahead.
“As a result of these pressures, Algoma has been forced to conclude its long history as an integrated steel manufacturer and close its blast furnace and coke-making operations in early 2026,” said Laura Devoni, vice-president of human resources and corporate affairs at Algoma Steel.
“Algoma will transition to Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking at that time, a year earlier than previously anticipated or planned.”
Roughly 150 workers from local 2724 also received their layoff notices yesterday.
Union president Bill Slater said he has not filed a similar grievance.
“We have many grievances filed against the layoffs that happened earlier in the year,” he said.
“Right now our members are not sure – they haven’t been given the information – so when the company comes out and states who’s being laid off and who is not, then we’ll look at the collective agreement and see where we have a basis to file grievances.”
– with files from Brandon Walker