USWA/CALM

The United Steelworkers’ National Director Lawrence McBrearty congratulated the Bank of Nova Scotia on its decision to pull financing out of Oregon Steel Mills Inc. The decision comes after a Steelworker boycott campaign protesting Scotiabank’s financial support for Oregon Steel. "Together with the support of the Canadian labour movement, we took our message across the country. The end result was the withdrawal of over $21 million from Scotiabank by working people and their organizations across Canada."

Two Steelworker locals in Colorado went on strike against Oregon Steel’s subsidiary, CF&I Steel in October, 1997. The U.S. National Labor Relations Board determined the strike is the result of the company’s unfair labour practices. The Bank of Nova Scotia was drawn into the dispute because of their participation, along with eight other banks, in a $125 million lending agreement with the company.