Tenneco Workers Take a Stand!

October 12, 2004
Volume 5 Number 4
Tenneco Workers Take a Stand!
At about 5:30 PM on September 16th, Tenneco workers at their plant on Jefferson Road
declared “enough” and walked off the job. The firing of a member of the union plant committee was, in the words of Tenneco Chair, Cindy Reaume, “the final straw” in a long struggle for
respect and recognition as representatives of the workers in the facility.
Tenneco is a just-in-time supplier of a module for DCX’s minivan plant and as the line at
the Chrysler facility came close to running out of this component the negotiations on the dismissal took a more dramatic turn.
Interview with Cindy and full story on page 3.
In this issue
A large contingent of CAW Local 195 workers
joined their many CAW brothers and sisters as well
as Labour Council affiliates on the annual Labour
Day parade.
Pictures on page 7
Editorial
Deep Integration vs. Sovereignty?
and revenues Canada’s flagship
steel producer has been chalking
up while in CCAA bankruptcy
court! But a similar trend in the
Canadian automotive sector is
reflected in overall lack of expansion of assembly operations and a
flight of capital. The independent
parts sector is experienceing
“death by a thousand cuts” with the
larger operations eating the smaller. As well, both the Canadian steel
and automotive sectors are being
geared to the growing demands of
the US war economy.
CAW President, Buzz
Hargrove (see October 6, 2004 letter from the Windsor Star on right)
counters the excitement of the
establishment over the Canadian
Labour Congress’ realism of
accepting that FTA and subsequent
multi-lateral trade deals dictated by
the US have been “good for
Canada.” The trade deals the US
forced on Mexico and Canada as
with the FTAA and WTO plans
worldwide, are the very opposite
of “free”. It is monopoly dictate
under the proverbial Sword of
Damocles. Accept our terms or the
entire weight of the monopoly
establishment will be unleashed
against your economy. If that fails,
be prepared for invasion militarily!
Deep integration in reference to
Canada actually means complete
US annexation of our country. In
the sphere of the economy it is
most dramatically revealed in the
steel sector where American vulture capitalists are hoping to feast
on Stelco despite the record sales
In the political sphere, under
Paul Martin, a Liberal bloc has
emerged taking the form of House
of Commons banter and backroom
brokering by the elected political
parties. The Liberals have secretly
has signed on to the Ballistic
Missile Defense (BMD) program, a
US-run integrated border security
pact, and an international agenda in
which Canada has hitched its fate
to acting as the junior partner of the
US in new wars of aggression and
annexation.
While it is difficult to generalize about these complex and dangerous developments, this much
can be surmised. All Canadians
and the workers in particular are
faced with a grave challenge: submit to US “total spectrum domination” or fight for our sovereignty
and independence. Identifying our
independent class interests as
workers in opposition to conniving
to curry favour with the power brokers to gain advantage for one or
several monopolies in the military,
high tech, auto, oil or some other
sector will be a good beginning.
Deep integration means the
working class in Canada will
become a tool in the hands of the
section of US-dominated monopolies who harbour dreams of world
domination. Illusions on this fundamental issue will spell disaster
for the Canadian working class and
facilitate devastating global conflict as well.
Bob Cruise
Interview with Cindy Reaume
Plant Chairperson, Tenneco Automotive
The Standard Can you tell us why the Tenneco afternoon shift workers walked off the
job on September 16th?
Cindy “I think the main reason was that our members and their representatives did not
feel they were getting the respect they deserve. There had been many long-standing
concerns that had not been satisfactorily addressed. The spontaneous walkout came
after our 5:30 pm coffee break that evening and it was over the firing of of our union
committeeman who was our midnight shift steward. He had, according to the company,
reached his “termination occurrence” in their no-fault absenteeism rules. I guess you
could say that was the final straw that broke the camel’s back amongst our membership.”
The Standard What do you mean “no fault”? How do these rules operate?
Cindy “If you miss work for any reason whatsoever, it is considered an occurrence. Twelve occurrences in one year
and you are fired. In the course of negotiations we were able to make some modifications in these rules regarding
notice. It used to be that you had to call in two hours before your shift or their was a double penalty against your record.
That meant day shift phoning before 5 AM! We reduced that to one hour’s notice. The Committeeperson who had been
fired was reinstated with back pay.”
The Standard At the time of the wildcat there were Chrysler security around the trucks and quite a bit of speculation
that the mini-van line would go down if the afternoon shift did not resume production. What was that all about?
Cindy “Our plant produces a module for the van. It is delivered by trucks every shift, 24 hours a day. We were told that
night that the line at Plant 3 would go down if parts did not arrive within a few hours. I think that helped to push forward our discussions which resulted in an agreement to look at these outstanding
issues in the plant. We also got agreement to have monthly meetings with the
company and the CAW Local 195 fulltime officers to foster better relations.
They company is paying a ‘greaser’ now to keep the machines maintained, a task
that used to fall to the operators.”
The Standard How was the response of your members to this action?
Cindy “It was fantastic. Within minutes of the walkout our day shift and midnight shift members had arrived outside
the plant to give support. There are only 20 or so of us working three shifts and we enjoyed near-total support. Our
members were solidly behind our union and the action. We are a new unit, certifying in September 2002 and getting our
very first collective agreement on March 27th last year. It was a huge encouragement to see everyone standing strong
together and we really appreciated the support and assistance of our CAW 195 leadership, the Solidarity Committee and
our members from other plants.”
END
President’s Report
Greetings! Our current membership remains steady at approximately 7000
members with some of our plants facing layoffs while others have seen limited
hiring. This fall is a very busy time for our Local with some key bargaining
challenges and important events coming up.
BARGAINING HIGHLIGHTS
On Tuesday August 3, 2004, our members at Canadian Engineering ratified a new 3-year agreement.
Congratulations to Bill Fenton, Chairperson, Greg McKenzie, Committeeperson, Ron Goulin,
Committeeperson and Glen Myers, Area Director.
On August 10, 2004, the membership of Performance Ford ratified
a new 3-year agreement by a margin of 69%. Highlights include
numerous language improvements, improved bereavement
allowance, improved vacation entitlement, increases in Health and
Welfare benefits as well as an increase in pension. 1 floating vacation day per year and 1 additional personal day in 3rd year. Wage
increases of $0.35 first year, $0.35 second year, $0.30 third year as
well as incentive bonus for classifications. Congratulations to Jim
Dugdale, Chairperson, Todd Brushett, Committee Person and
Chris Hutnik, National Representative.
Also on August 13, 2004, Romeo Machine ratified a new 3-year contract by a margin of 78%. Highlights
include language improvements, increases in benefits and pension, wage increases of $0.20 first year, $0.20
second year and $0.20 third year. Congratulations are in order for the bargaining committee, Duayne
Wagner, Chairperson, Robert Logan, Committee Person and Mickey Bertrand, National Representative,
during this difficult set of bargaining.
On Saturday September 18, 2004, our members at Emrick Plastics ratified a new 3-year agreement by a margin of 58%. Highlights include: language improvements, improvements to safety shoe allowance, life insurance, vision care, sickness and accident benefits, long-term disability benefits, orthodontic coverage, chiropractic coverage and physiotherapist coverage. Pension plan improvements from $1.35 an hour to $2.00 an
hour. $750.00 signing bonus. Wage increases of $1.05 an hour plus COLA over the life of the agreement taking wages to $27.26 an hour plus COLA at the end of the agreement for an electrician and $20.96 an hour plus
COLA for a machine operator. Congratulations to the bargaining committee Vickie Westworth, Chairperson,
Lynn Powell, Committeeperson, John Smithies, Committeeperson and Debbie Fields, National
Representative.
IN BARGAINING – The following units are currently in bargaining. Rose City Ford, G.W. Anglin (new
unit), Laidlaw, A.D.M. and U.of W. Campus Police.
UPCOMING BARGAINING – We’re preparing for bargaining with the following units. Riverside
Fabricating, Falcon Tool & Die, Hiram Walker Security, Chromeshield (Flex-N-Gate). We have some key bargaining coming up where although we face challenges we look forward to the opportunity to make progress on
behalf of our members. Early in the new year we’ll be entering into bargaining with both Veltri Units (now
Flex-N-Gate) and Siemens Automotive.
Continued on Page 5
Continued from page 4
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT – Is there finally hope that the
federal government realizes the need for an automotive policy in our
country? They recently announced some significant amounts of money
to help the auto assembly industry in our country, which would surely
produce a trickle down effect in terms of jobs and security into Canada’s
parts industry. The problem is they were very vague in their recent
throne speech in terms of specifics. Although encouraging we’ll anxiously wait for more information at this stage.
AUTO PARTS MEETING – We’ll be participating in the upcoming leadership meeting on the current challenges facing the auto parts industry. We’ll be sending approximately 40 chairpeople to St. Thomas by bus on
Wednesday October 20, 2004.
CHAIRPERSON’S SEMINAR – The annual chairperson’s seminar will be held later in November 2004.
Information to be mailed to plants.
WORKERS OF COLOUR SEMINAR - We recently sponsored a one-day Workers of Colour educational at our Local.
It was the first time that a one-day program was delivered
which allows for greater participation. The turnout was
excellent consisting of people who already hold in-plant leadership positions and people who just wanted to learn how to
get more active in our union. We remain committed to do our
utmost to make sure everybody feels comfortable, that our
union belongs to all of our members and anyone can get
involved and assume a leadership position. Thanks to all
who participated and keep pushing forward. Thanks to Raj
Dhaliwal, Director Human Rights Department and the instructors. Also a special thanks to Vince Bailey,
National Executive Board member for taking the time to be here.
NEW EDUCATIONAL INSTRUCTORS – We have 4 new people from our Local who have been chosen to
help deliver the various educational programs offered by our Union. They are: Rob Assarica, Titan Tool,
Karen Harnden, Ventra Plastics, Bonnie Machacek, Kautex and Chris Gignac (Health & Safety),
Chromeshield. Congratulations to all of you and I know you’ll do a good job along with your colleague Kossi
Dodjro (Siemens) who is already doing some instructing on our behalf. Good work!
ORGANIZING – Randy St. Pierre and our community-based organizers continue to reach out on our behalf
to encourage people to join the CAW family. There are a number of organizing drives going on where Randy
is working closely with Colette Hooson from the National Union to help bring the benefits of the CAW to
those people who want to join us. We’ve recently assigned Tammy Anger (Chromeshield) to work on a temporary full-time basis to assist with organizing. We know she’ll do an excellent job.
Continued on page ... 6
President’s Report... Continued from page 5
UNITED WAY – We’re now in the midst of
the United Way drive. Please give generously.
Your donations are wisely spent and are disbursed to a wide cross section of charities. If
you need help with a drive in your workplace,
please don’t hesitate to call us.
LABOUR DAY – Thanks to Ed Cook and the Labour Day committee for making sure that all who participated had a good day.
FOOD FOR THOSE IN NEED – A big thank you to FlexN-Gate, Chromeshield, Siemens and Veltri Stamping for
responding in rapid fashion to the Unemployed Help Center’s
request for their food bank that was running empty. Their
donations along with a donation on your behalf from the
Local allowed us to deliver two pick-up truck loads of food to
the Unemployed Help Center. Thanks to Bob Maurice for
doing the purchasing and the Zehrs on Westminister for their
donation.
IN APPRECIATION Ed Bergen, Trustee, Executive Board has tendered his resignation. Thanks for your
service Ed and good luck in your new endeavors.
Mike Renaud, President
REMEMBER ...SHOP UNION
PINNACLE CHRYSLER
CENTRAL CHRYSLER
HILTON HOTEL
PERFORMANCE FORD
ROSE CITY FORD
RADISSON HOTEL
VETERAN CAB
TRAVELODGE HOTEL
JAMAR FASHIONS
JAMIESON LABORATORIES
Labour Day 2004
This year’s Labour Day parade included a large contingent of CAW 195 members. They joined thousands of other
workers from the Windsor & District Labour Council affiliates, including a large number of elementary and secondary
school teachers. As well, a number of union committees and community and youth organizations also marched.
Windsor’s award-winning Optimist Youth Band marched at the front of the large parade.
Quite a contrast with last year’s rain and umbrella-strewn march, the sun shone and the weather was perfect for
the festivities at the Fogolar where participants enjoyed the food and refreshments while speakers from the labour community and others addressed the gathering.
Unemployed Help Centre makes an urgent appeal
as Windsor Food Bank stocks are severely depleted.
An Appeal to our
Union Brothers and
Sisters
Have any of you been down to the level of
having to survive with a bag of items from a
food bank?
I ask you to think a little and then take the
initiative to set up a canned goods and packaged food drop off in your shop.
It might be good to focus one week on
asking members (tour the plant) to bring
items from home that were bought with the
best of intentions but have been sitting for
months inside a cupboard in your kitchen or
pantry.
It is a small but significant action to help
those who are increasingly desperate to provide the most basic essentials to their families.
Randy St. Pierre
Second Vice-President
CAW Local 195
CAW 195 members deliver $1,000 in food to the Windsor Food
Bank. The donation from our Local was in response to an urgent
appeal. It is reported the drive brought in over 1300 kilograms
of food, however, Pam Pons, Executive Director of the
Unemployed Help Centre, says the donations will probably not
last past the end of October.
Solidarity Committee Report
There is never a dull moment with our Solidarity Committee and it was proven
again when we rushed out to give support to our brothers and sisters at Tenneco on
September 16th. From dealing with threats of dismissal or arrest for just standing on
their own plant property during the walkout, to police and tow trucks being called to
take away their own employees cars parked in front of the loading docks, and even a
drama with the security around the DCX trucks, our Committee stood strong with the
Tenneco workers who stuck their necks out in defense of their union and their rights.
I want to thank all our members who came when needed and express my greatest respect for our brothers and
sisters at Tenneco who showed courage and confidence in the face of many threats and uncertainties. You make
us all proud!
Kevin Telfer, Chair CAW 195 Solidarity Committee
The Extradition and Conviction of Leonard Peltier is a
grave injustice spanning more than 1/4 of a century!
This year marks the 28 th year since Leonard Peltier was
extradited by Canada to the USA where he began serving two consecutive life sentences in Leavenworth Federal Prison. He had
been charged and found guilty in the shooting deaths of two FBI
agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in
June of 1975. On that day a shootout had erupted on the reservation in which two agents were killed during an incursion by the
FBI. Warren Allmand, who was Minister of Indian Affairs when
the extradition was implemented, admitted that errors were made.
He exposed the duplicity and manipulated evidence which had
been submitted to the Canadian government in order to procure the
extradition of Peltier. Allmand further stated that he was “convinced that there was fraud and misconduct at both the extradition
and the trial.” The die was now cast to railroad an innocent “fall
guy” to prison.
The false evidence provided for the extradition revolved
around the FBI submission of two sworn affidavits from an Indian
woman named Myrtle Poor Bear. Poor Bear, who suffered from
mental problems, gave conflicting statements regarding her presence on the reserve at the time of the shooting and whether she
actually witnessed the shooting of Leonard Peltier. Poor Bear later
recanted her affidavits at the trial but the judge would not allow the jury to hear her evidence.
Justice Minister, Anne McLennan, held the position that the extradition based on the affidavits was in order.
Ballistics evidence submitted at the trial was later found to be “unreliable and in part fabricated.” It is claimed that the
FBI hid evidence showing that Leonard Peltier’s rifle could not have killed the two FBI agents.
The duplicity of Bill Clinton
On one occasion, while appearing on a TV talk show, Bill Clinton intimated that he might grant Peltier a pardon
if he were elected to the presidency. Later, when Clinton was preparing to leave office, he began the process of granting
pardons. However, instead of declaring clemency for Peltier, he passed out pardons to a drug baron, a known wealthy
tax-evader and a relative who was a convicted felon!
Leonard Peltier had to learn from the press that he was not on the President’s list for clemency. In response to
Clinton’s abandonment of his cause, Peltier wrote, “For some reason I thought I might be having dinner with my family
that night. It was an especially disappointing day for all of us!” In a report issued by the Leonard Peltier Defense
Committee Canada (November/December 2002) there was a faint glimmer of hope. The LPDC, in conjunction with
Osgood Law School, is working with American attorneys towards filing a lawsuit which will charge the FBI and CIA
with obstruction of justice for refusing to release and estimated 100,000 or more classified documents. In addition, the
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a legal hearing in response to Leonard Peltier’s request for a reduction of sentence from two consecutive to two concurrent life sentences. If successful, it would make it more difficult for the US
Parole Commission to continue to deny parole. A favourable decision could bring this long and tragic ordeal to a successful conclusion. Leonard Peltier must not be allowed to die in Leavenworth prison!
Les Dickirson,
Secretary, Human Rights Committee
CAW Local 195
Homeless Awareness Week in Windsor
“Raise the rates” rally
The “Raise the Rates!” rally held at the Windsor
Downtown Mission on Saturday, October 2nd, was,
according to organizers of the Taking Action on
Homelessness Together Coalition, part of a provincewide action to highlight the plight of the homeless and put
forward demands to the government of Dalton McGinty.
A petition circulated at the rally called for raising the
minimum wage to $10/hour and increasing the Ontario
Disability Program and Ontario Public Works Program to a
level consistent with Article 25 of the Human Rights
Declaration!
In photo above is the mural dedicated on October 5th
during Homeless Awareness Week. Christine Easterbrook
(in photo on left signing the petition) spoke at the rally on
behalf of citizens with disabilities.
Randy St. Pierre to coordinate
CAW 195 fundraising for United Way 2004.
I would just like to take this time to remind everyone that your chairpersons will be coming around in the next few months to ask for your donations to United Way. CAW Local 195 and the United Way would ask that
you be as generous as possible with your donation. The money that you gives
goes directly to community-based organizations that help people within our
community. This includes Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Canadian Red Cross,
Scouts Canada, Windsor Jewish Community Center and a whole host of other
hardworking organizations.
If you are interested in organizing a campaign in your workplace please don’t hesitate to call me at
253-1107 and I will gladly help you get started.
The Local Union will be holding its United Way Campaign Luncheon on Friday October 22, 2004 at 11:30
AM at the Caboto Club. If you would like to attend RSVP Ruth Deklerk by October 18, 2004 at 258-0000
(ext 1175).
Randy St. Pierre
CAW Local 195
United Way Coordinator 2004
Photos from last years CAW 195 kickoff luncheon
BURSARY WINNERS
2004
CAW 195
members plants
noted below
Amy Ireland
Fabco
Bridgette Bancroft
Fabco
Shannon Porter
Windsor Tool & Die
Bursary winners at General Council Award Presenta
Josh Beyer
Fabco
Eric Grenier
Fabco
Miko Bautista
Kautex
Dan Ireland
Fabco
&
Amy
Christian Bautista
Kautex
Chris Charbonneau
DCX Security
Cyndel Mousseau
Fabco
Lubos Bujzas
Jamieson
Allison Myers
D&C Tunnel
Tara McKinney
Pinnacle Chrysler
Andrew Bezaire
Gates
Christine Ross
Windsor Matchplate
NOTICE
2005 bursary applications
available February
AWARDS
May-June
(In time for Fall registration)
Virgilio
Bautista
Kautex
with wife,
Miko &
Christian
Ron Porter
Windsor Tool
& Die
with wife &
Shannon
Joe
Mousseau
Fabco
&
Cyndel
Max N
group photo, a
essays and wer
who wrote the
$750 bursaries
Space l
tions from a co
number of cop
who are intere
Photos
ning students w
The effect o
“Many of us beli
a right, and should
those who believe
ever it takes to mo
forces that have gi
litical framework,
dicted that by 2025
fresh drinking wat
piece of the $82 bi
industry) ($400 bil
bottled water indus
spend billions of d
country over a twe
ing contracts of hu
....Over the
attempts by corpor
trol over one of the
of course are local
support of everyth
delivery systems.
lution from the pub
process of globaliz
Tom Bancroft
Fabco
with wife
&
Bridgette
on September 16, 2004
mmo, Education Committee chair in left of
d members of his committee praised the
happy to announce that ALL the applicants
,000 word essays qualified for the annual
or post-secondary education.
mitations have permitted only brief selecple of these essays to be reprinted. A small
s are available at the Local for members
ed to read the complete essays.
n this page of proud parents and their winere taken at the awards presentation.
Globalization on the Local Community
Amy Ireland
ve that water is a basic human need, and therefore
not be treated as a commodity. Corporations and
n the corporate model deny this and will do whate the issue of control over water into the market
en us war upon war. What oil is in today’s geopoater will soon become. The World Bank has pre2/3 of the world’s population will run short of
. The bottom line is that corporations want a
ion market ($9.3 billion alone in the bottled water
on market worldwide, including the $35 billion
ry). First (the Canadian & US) government(s)
lars of taxpayers money on the destruction of a
ve year period. Now they are handing out rebuilddreds of millions of dollars to multinationals.
ast decade we have seen a significant rise in
ions, both national and international, to get conlast great sources of available public funds. These
municipal budgets and public spending that goes in
g from public education to trash pickup and water
lmost every community has begun the slow devoic sector model to the corporate model. The
tion has accelerated this push for privatization.”
David Beyer
Fabco
&
Josh Beyer
John
Charbonneau
DCX Security
with wife
&
Chris
Syl Grenier
Fabco
&
Eric
Union Breakthroughs and Accomplishments
Allison Myers
“Unions have always been concerned about the working
child. The International Labour Organization estimates 250
million children around the world are working. Sixty million
of them work in the worst forms of labour. They work as
scavengers in garbage dumps, porters, miners, domestic
workers, or prostitutes. They are reported to be used in
pornography as well. In June 2001, the ILO launched a 10year program that hoped to remove the most abusive forms
of child labour. Labour and unions continue to be active in
this important area.”
Interview
Gerry Farnham CAW 195 First Vice-President
“It’s been anything but smooth sailing for our Vets Cab
brothers and sisters and their elected representatives”
The Standard I understand you have recently filed for expedited arbitration on three Vets Cabs grievances. How is the dayto-day life going in this new unit?
Gerry “We won one of those as soon as we met with the arbitrator and we believe we have a good case with the other two
as well. But as to how relations are coming, to tell you the honest truth, I’d have to say not very well. It seems whenever we
make some progress in working out issues, the next week the
company does something to put us back to square one. Let me
give you a very recent example. When a member of the committee comes to give something or discuss an issue with management they are refused. We faxed some grievances and were
arbitrarily rejected because it was not in person. We have not
really persuaded the company to cooperate on the level of
meeting and discussing issues. One of the committee members
has recently been forced to write to the company’s lawyer to
protest treatment of himself personally by the owner. Some of
his allegations are quite serious and as the matter is not
resolved it cannot be discussed at this time.”
The Vets union committee holds a summer
Bar-B-Q organized for their members and
families at Mic Mac park, July 2004.
The Standard It sounds as if the kind of tensions that emerged when the pickets and fire barrels went up and the Mayor of the
City had to intervene to get that first negotiated contract have remained in this unit.
Gerry “That is an understatement. It has been very frustrating for myself and the National Rep, Glen Myers. But the real frontline fighters are the elected committee members. Not a day passes when there is not some “issue” and it is almost as if the company regards the raising of concerns which come from the drivers as an occasion to launch some new complaint against members of the committee. I’ve got to hand it to the committee which has shown infinite patience and a lot of courage and determination to keep grappling with the day-to-day work.”
The Standard What is the reason relations will not normalise as they do with most of our units over time.
Gerry “I am guessing (...) but it is almost as if the company does not want to accept that a majority of the drivers fought for
and got the union in the establishment. I think also, because there were a number of vocal drivers and independent owners who
were not initially for the union, that the company listens more to what it prefers to believe than the views of the majority of the
drivers and their elected representatives. I believe he would like to return to the free wheeling state before the workers brought
in the CAW, what they call one-on-one. But our members know that one driver vs. one owner is not a fair fight!”
The Standard What is in the cards for this unit?
Gerry “Well the company has to accept that our drivers are represented by a union and begin working out concerns like every
other place where workers choose to be represented collectively. We know the drivers are not exactly like a factory where
everyone slowly gets on the same general page due to informal and formal discussions with fellow workers. It is more complicated with the different types of employment and the partial self-employment that comes with the percentage of owner-drivers and owners. But these are just the particular features in this sector, it has worked in Ottawa, Toronto and elsewhere and we
expect to make it work in Windsor also!”
The Standard Thanks for the update and good luck!
Community News Briefs
Fahrenheit Burn 2004
The Essex County farm of local artist Dennis Bolahan (wearing white hat behind the bonfire in photo below) was the
site for the annual “fire art” Artcite fundraiser. The event attracted over 200 including many children who who were treated to a spectacular fire show on September 18th. Besides the dramatic fiery artistic works (there were close to a dozen
entries this year including artists from Michigan, Alberta and elsewhere) Dennis roasted a 100 lb pig and Artcite volunteers served up a complete meal. Artcite, an artist-run initiative, has supported many progressive community and labourorientated programs over the years.
International protest Against Ballistic
Missile Defense on October 2nd
The Windsor Peace Coalition organized a rally on
October 2nd as part of an international call against the
U.S. plans to proceed with its Ballistic Missile
Defense program. MP Brian Masse (photo below),
Richard Harding (in photo on left) and others
addressed the rally which was held in the parkette
across from the Tunnel entrance on Goyeau.
Second Vice-President’s Report
Increasing the tempo of our organizing work
Over the last few months we have increased the tempo of
our organizing work. To ensure the success of this work, in consultation with our full time officers and Colette Hooson from the
Regional Office, it was decided to bring Tammy Anger (photo on
right with Nadine Piper) from Chromeshield out on a full time basis
until the end of October. Tammy will be working with Colette
Hooson from the organizing department and reporting back to me
on a regular basis with updates on organizing drives that are happening within the city. Tammy will also be contacting the rest of the
organizing committee to set up times and dates for when they will be needed to help organize. I would also
like to use this opportunity to congratulate and wish Colette every success in her newly-appointed position as
Community Organizer at the Regional Office. Colette Hooson, prior to this important appointment, has been
the President of CAW Local 240 in Windsor.
The drives that we have going on currently include the following: Q.M
Plastics, Anchor Lamina, QSS, Ground Effects, Rona and AP Plasman. If
you know someone that works in any of these plants please discuss with
them your experience with our union or have them give me a call or email
me. They can also contact Tammy Anger or Colette Hooson at 944-5866.
Randy St. Pierre
Second Vice-President CAW Local 195
CAW Local 195 hosts first ever day-long Conference
of the Aboriginal & Workers of Colour Caucus
Photo (Above) CAW 195 President, Mike Renaud, address the opening session of the Day-Long Conference
(Below) Group photo of delegates to September Conference
In a bold decision, it was decided to try and compress our 2-week Human Rights course into a firstever day long seminar. National Director, brother Raj Dhaliwal, and brother Vince Bailey, from the National
Executive Board, took time out from their busy schedules to come and ensure a successful event. Of the 25
registered delegates who attended, over 80% were from our own local. The presentations and discussions on
a broad range of topics were well received. I wish to thank our Education Committee and the guest speakers
who made it such a success.
This seminar was part of our Fall program which will include our Area Classes on November 6th.
They run from 8:30 to 4:30 with lunch provided. Subjects will include Grievance Handling, Advanced
Grievance Handling, Finding Your Voice and Collective Bargaining.
In Solidarity, Max Nimmo - Chair, Education Committee
Windsor Family Forum provides critical
help when most needed!
A member of the Substance Abuse Committee, sister Nadine
Piper, visited the Windsor Family Forum on Friday October 1st, to
become more familiar with the services the organization provides. Bob
McGuire, in photo above discussing with Nadine, explained the way the
counselling and group help services are accessed.
Family Forum plays a big role in helping people having trouble
coping emotionally and psychologically whether due to a sudden traumatic event, such as loss of a loved one, or more protracted difficulties such
as child abuse or depression. Rather than compete with other social services, the Forum encourages its members and support helpers with programs designed to assist people to become self-reliant and work through
their difficulties.
Program Director, Bob McGuire explained that the organization
has well over 100 volunteers (see photos on cork board at right) who do
everything from fund raising by working bingos, to actively participating
in the group discussions. Bob mentioned that some of the auto plants
have negotiated a certain number of councilling sessions in their collective agreements to assist unionized employees who may face anger management challenges or other emotional and psychological difficulties.
Windsor Family Forum is on Ottawa Street in the Market Square
off Walker road.
Bill Sadowski
Substance Abuse Committee Chair
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Financial Secretary, Mike Dunning (photo left), addressed
several issues of interest at the September meeting including ques tions raised concerning qualifications for being a retiree in CAW
195. He also gave an update on our new union hall and confirmed
it is both “on schedule and on budget.” Sid Cooke (photo right)
reported on the Port Elgin Retirees Conference which was held over
the Labour Day Weekend. Conrad Schleier and Sid attended as delegates and participated in one of the largest Labour Day parades
ever held in Port Elgin. Sid highlighted a number of the resolutions
that were passed at the Conference in his report to the monthly
meeting.
Photos below show last year’s very successful retirees
Christmas dinner and dance. We ask all our units to sell tickets to
ensure an even greater success this year.
Retirees
Annual Christmas
Party
Circle your calender for our 2004
Christmas party at the Fogolar
Monday Noon - December 6th
Agency or “temp” workers in our shops
In the past ten years the number of temp agencies in Ontario has grown dramatically. Today there are
more then 500 temp agencies in Toronto alone. Agencies send workers to factories, offices warehouses and
health care facilities. Statistics Canada reports that in 2001 464,000 used the services of temporary staffing
agencies. These workers worked on the average of only 476 hours in that year. That’s about the equivalent of
12 weeks of full-time employment. The same report shows that the employment services industries in Ontario
had more than $3 billion in operating revenues.
Working for a temp agency means you have two employers, the agency and the place where the agency
sends you to work. It’s confusing trying to figure out which boss is responsible for what. The same goes for
working conditions, schedules, health and safety, workers comp, wages, maintenance of equipment and overtime. Ontario used to set basic rules that temp agencies had to follow. But even though the number of agencies is increasing, the Conservative government cancelled the rules. This is the same government who in
2002 spent $662 million on fee-for-service consultants. This is a huge jump from $271 in 1998. In 2001 the
Ontario government spent $60 million on temp agency staff, double the $30 million spent in 1996.
The following information is for our CAW 195 temp workers
Some agencies will ask that you to sign a contract that states you are an
independent contractor or self-employed. They do this to save money because
then they would not have to pay Employment Insurance Premiums, Income Tax
and Canada Pension Plan contributions. Even if you sign this contract you have
not lost your rights and benefits. In almost all cases temp workers are employees of the temp agencies. You are truly only an independent contractor if you
run your own business and have control over your own work, your schedule
and when you complete your work.
Most temp agencies tell the workers you have to work for 3 months before you can receive statutory
holiday pay. That is not correct and outdated information. You should receive a day off with statutory holiday
pay as long as you work your regular shift before and after the holiday. Some agencies are saying that their
employees are “elect-to-work employees”. Elect-to-work employees do not get public holiday pay because
they can truly decide to work or not without fear of penalty or loss of future assignments. Some agencies ask
workers to sign contracts saying that you are an “elect-to-work” employee, but you can’t sign away your right
to holiday pay. As a temp worker you have all the rights in the law that any employee has, this includes the
Employment Standards act, Human Rights Code, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Workplace Safety and
Insurance Act and Employment Insurance.
It should be our aim as a trade union to ensure that whenever possible we use our collective power to
pressure the government and our workplaces not to use these agencies that take advantage of the workers.
Mike Dunning Financial Secretary, CAW Local 195
For Your Reference
THE FLEX-N-GATE GROUP
This material is excerpted from an internet report on a Lecture given by Mr. Shahid
Khan at the Cozad Lectures in Chicago in March 2000.
Khan’s story is a heart-warming local-boy (almost)- makes-good saga. He began working for Flex-NGate (FNG) in 1970, while an engineering student at the University of Illinois. A native of Pakistan,
Khan came to the United States in 1967, at the age of 16, to attend college. When he graduated in 1971,
with a B.S. in industrial engineering, he remained at FNG.
Starting with the title of the talk, “Contrarian Thinking: Fumbling Your Way to Success,” it was clear that the capacity audience at
the Second Annual Cozad Lecture in Entrepreneurship was in for no ordinary lecture. The contrarian thinker is someone who
takes a view contrary to the conventional approach, Khan told the audience. He borrowed his theory from Sun Tze, a Chinese
philosopher, circa 2400 B.C., who was the original contrarian. In his book, The Art of War, Tze asks and answers the question,
“How does the underdog win most of the time?” Khan made slight changes in the answers so they apply to business and came up
with the following: never destroy the market while capturing it; play to your competitor’s weakness; keep information to yourself;
make strategic alliances to maximize strength; and get the maximum potential from your employees. These are the principles that
underlie Flex-N-Gate’s business strategy.
In 1972, the original owner of the company asked Khan, his hot new engineer, to develop a one-piece bumper. Keeping in mind the
auto industry mantra — lighter, stronger, cheaper — Khan set about designing a product with these characteristics. He remained at
FNG until 1978 when he struck off on his own. With the help of an SBA loan he began a new business, based on his greatest
strengths, a strong understanding of design and an entrepreneurial spirit. He began designing and building bumpers with an innovative design — a lightweight, continuous piece of metal with no seams to corrode or rust. This entrepreneurial adventure, which
began as a one-man, one-garage, one-press operation, created a product that today is considered the industry design standard.
Nearly two-thirds of the pickup trucks and SUVs have bumpers supplied by FNG.
Two years into his new venture, FNG came on the market and Khan, eager to return to Champaign-Urbana, made the purchase. He
remains the sole owner. Today the corporation employs over 3,500 associates at ten manufacturing plants in Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Canada, and Mexico. Annual sales exceed $500 million. The company’s major products are bumper assemblies, trailer
hitches, and running boards for a variety of pickup trucks and SUVs. The company supplies the Big Three automakers — DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, and Ford — as well as Toyota, Honda, and other automakers. Until recently, Nissan tried to go it alone,
but they have recently approached FNG and asked them to produce bumpers for them. To take on this new customer will require
added capacity. Khan attributes his success to smart thinking. For a small company, profitability must be a constant, in both good
and bad times. Happily, he reports that he has never had a bad month, financially, since starting on his own in 1978. At present,
FNG has 67 percent of the bumper market and 80 percent of chrome-plating capacity in the industry. Growth during the last year
has been extraordinary and the company is poised for take-off. To protect against unforeseen changes in the market, the company
recently diversified its product line slightly, by moving into plastics and making other parts, such as hitches, for the automotive
industry. But such moves are never far from FNG’s core competencies — design and chrome plating. Product changes occur so
swiftly that Khan has never felt the need to patent his products. “By the time a patent would be approved,” he said, “the company
may have moved on to a new design.”
“Running a small company well,” he observed, “requires that you observe a fine line between delegation and abdication. You can’t
bet the farm.” Another essential is to develop human infrastructure. “You don’t want to have too much turnover in personnel.” Khan
says the company is poised for growth .
Flex-N-Gate Group
Plant Chairpersons from Left to Right
Ernie Piunno (Veltri Modular),
Don White (Veltri Lakeshore ),
Nick Dolanski (Chromeshield),
Tammy Pomerleau (Ventra Plastics)
Dave Milling (Flex-N-Gate).
Profile
Veltri Lakeshore
New state-of-the-art plant produces the frame for
the “stow and go” seats in the Dodge Caravan
Veltri Lakeshore out on Patillo
Road is not even one year old and the
landscaping is still being completed but
the facility is going strong, employing
182 workers and producing the metal
frames which support the fold down seats
for Chrysler’s 2005 mini-vans.
The production facility boasts an
advanced transfer assembly line that is
fully robotized. From the spacious lunchroom, change rooms with showers and
individual lockers, to the shop floor itself
the place is spotless.
Robotic systems and punch presses incorporate the most advanced safety
systems. The production floor is climate
controlled and unpolluted despite the
large amount of automated welding at the
center of the shop.
Continued on next page...
Veltri Lakeshore
Photo (Above) A 2,000 lb fully automated press takes both steel rolls and single sheets to punch out frame components.
Photo (Below) One station of the fully-enclosed robot transfer line at a point
near the completion of the seating frame.
Photos (on left)
Production workers
shielded from the robotic welding transfer lines,
load and unload components.
With the recent purchase of Veltri
Corporation’s Windsor facilities, Flex-N-Gate is now
the largest corporate group employing CAW Local
195 members. Five Windsor plants employing over
1300 workers are withing the Flex-N-Gate Group.
They include Veltri Modular on Howard Avenue
(300 employees), Veltri Lakeshore (182 employees),
Chromeshield (160 employees) Ventra Plastics (320
employees) and Flex-N-Gate on Patillo (350 employees). This represents more than one in six of all our
CAW Local 195 members!
Background information on Flex-N-Gate
Corporation and its President Mr. Shahid Khan is on
page 13 of this edition.