The United Steelworkers (USW) began leafleting Bank of Montreal (BMO) branches in downtown Toronto Monday as part of a national campaign to inform the bank's customers about what the union called BMO's attack on unionized workers and its questionable loan to Infinity Rubber.

The union said that BMO replaced a loan (with another lender) at 18 per cent interest with a $7.5 million loan at prime plus 5 per cent.

"This will prolong the strike by giving Infinity the funds to withstand the economic pressure placed on them by their customers, suppliers and competitors," said the Steelworkers.

Las Vegas in August is hot -- as in its temperature, a ripping 40 degrees outside, as 4,000 or so delegates assembled here this week for an international convention of the United Steelworkers. My own union is an affiliated partner, so a few from our bunch joined this convention as observers and guests.

The USW is one of Canada's untold success stories. Specifically, the story of the prominent role played in that international (Canada-U.S.) union by its president, Leo Gerard of Sudbury.

Louie Fiori worked for Stelco (now U.S. Steel) for 40 years until he retired in 1979. For that he received a pension indexed to the rate of inflation. Up until March last year, he received a monthly cheque for $890. His wife, Mary, now receives a survivor's pension of $553 a month.

And if U.S. Steel gets its way, she'll never receive a penny more.

"It's pathetic," said Fiori, at a rally held for the 900 locked out workers organized Monday outside the head offices of the Bank of Nova Scotia and Brookfield Asset Management in the heart of Canada's financial district.