Bitter US Steel lockout took heavy personal toll on workers Hamilton Spectator
NANTICOKE (Apr 17, 2010)For almost a year they drained their savings, denied themselves little treats, relied on donations from strangers and frequented food banks.
Now it's over and the painful process of getting back to work is ready to start.
The 1,000 employees of U.S. Steel Canada's Lake Erie Works ratified a new contract Thursday to end a bitter lockout that started last August over company demands for concessions. The cost of resisting those demands was heavy.
Stationary engineer Donna Wingrove, for example, watched her oldest son put his life on hold. He had planned to go to college, but when the plant gates were locked, his family couldn't help with the costs and jobs for an unskilled youth were rare.
"Everything he wanted to do had to be put on hold," Wingrove said. "He's doing another year in high school instead."
While lost opportunities like that hurt, Wingrove is also proud of the way her family held together during the long months of uncertainty.
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