39496 444 News Sept up

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A
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CAW
TCA
CANADA
Building our Union – Strengthening Our Communities
NO. 387
WINDSOR, ONTARIO
SEPT. 2004
Local 444 congratulates the Alliet and
Vigneux Families – ”The Gift of Life“
By
KEN
LEWENZA
President,
C.A.W. Local 444
W
hat a fabulous story that
I am about to share
with our membership!
What a wonderful feeling! What
can I say except to share in some
of the excitement and joy that two
members allowed me to experience with them and their families,
recognizing that words alone cannot adequately reflect my true
feelings. I ask you to put your-
selves in my shoes for just a
minute.
Jim Alliet, a friend, a colleague
and a member of Local 444 contacted my office seeking my
advice and guidance. He is very
sick, his liver is no longer functioning, his body is breaking
down and he feels his life slipping
away from him. He is incredibly
weak but he wanted my assurance
that his wife Jan and his family
were going to be okay.
We took the time together, we
discussed all of the options available, – quite frankly, we made all
the preliminary arrangements necessary, preparing for the worst.
That same night, if you can imag-
Blaise Vigneux following surgery, pictured with his
wife Donna and family
ine, his wife Jan calls my home
from the emergency department
of Windsor Regional informing
me that Jim has been notified that
a liver donor has been found and
transplant surgery is in the
process of being scheduled at
University Hospital in London.
The following day he successfully
receives a liver transplant. God! –
I was feeling great, the sense of
relief was overwhelming!
Just about the same time in the
same week, the Skilled Trades
representatives along with the
guys in the Research and
Development Centre called me
seeking our support for yet another
. . . cont’d on page 3
Jim Alliet before surgery, pictured with his wife Jan
and family
444 News
Inside
444 Congratulates Alliet and
Vigneux Families
Ken Lewenza, pg. 1 & 3
Labour Day . . . Ken Lewenza, pg. 4
United Way . . . Ken Lewenza, pg. 5
Concerns about Pension Plan . .
Gary Parent, pg. 6
Union improves Integram. . .
Tom Lesperance, pg. 7
Compassionate Leave . . .
Rick Reaume, pg. 8
Casino Report . . . Pam Leach, pg. 9
Windsor Assembly Report . . .
Casino Windsor representatives Liam Sneyd and Ken Difederico join with Ken
Lewenza in congratulating Don Kumarasinghe for winning the honour of representing Canada at the IKA Culinary Olympics being held in Erfut, Germany. Good
luck Don, from all your colleagues and friends at Local 444 CAW.
Rick Laporte, pg. 10-13
Casino Report . .Charie Virga, pg. 13
Johnson Controls . . .
Craig McAlorum, pg. 14
Integram Report . . .
Paul Jacques, pg. 15
There’s more to Unions . . .
Buzz Hargrove, pg. 16
Recreation Report
Mike Louric, pg. 17
444 Picnic Pictorial . . . pg. 18-19
Education Report . . .
Ken Lewenza, Jr., pg. 20
Innovatech Report . . .
Ken Smith, pg. 21
Casino Pay Equity Plan . . .
Ken Lewenza, pg. 22-23
Benteler Automotive . . .
Ken Howard, pg. 24
Human Rights . . .
Kathy McKay, pg. 25
Randy Voakes, Essex Councillor and Ken Lewenza Jr., Councillor, Ward 4, City of
Windsor, march in the Labour Day Parade representing their constituency and
their Local union. Municipal leaders Tom Burton, Marcel Blais, Ron Jones, Joyce
Zuk and Len Janisse also joined with Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis in recognizing
the Labour Movement’s contribution to their respective municipalities.
Political Education . . .
Peter Pellerito, pg. 26
Environment Committee . . .
Richard Labonte, pg. 27
Working toward Wellness . . .
Rolly Beaulieu, pg. 28
Retirees’ Report . . .
George Johnson, pg. 29
Obituaries . . .
Benefits Report. . . .
pg. 29
Pat Cushing, pg. 30
Skilled Trades Report . . .
Percy Rounding, pg. 31
Substance Abuse . . .
Pat Keenan, pg. 32
From the Mailbag . . .
pg. 33-34
Women’s Committee. . .
Sandra Dominato, pg. 35
Website: http://www.local444.caw.ca
2
Charie Virga, Pam Leach, Dana Dunphy, Dave French, Wayne Pierce seen
above welcoming the Bargaining Committee of the Blue Heron Casino to
the CAW following their presentation to Council.
444 News
PRESIDENT’S REPORT . . . cont’d
member of our Local Union who, believe it or not,
was a second recipient of a donated liver and he too
successfully received a transplant.
Blaise Vigneux, a young member, someone who I
did not know all that well but I understood and knew
that just a couple of years earlier, experienced liver
surgery. His brother, – “another member of our
Union,” – donated part of his liver, and that by itself,
my friends, is another incredible story worth telling
at a future date.
Well, by this time, I am flying pretty high. My
work day is almost complete and my schedule for
the next few days will take me out of the city on
union business, so I decided rather abruptly to jump
in my car and head for London where I wanted to
represent our Local Union in giving both Jim and
Blaise our message of support and encouragement.
I did not know what to expect. You could assume
following a liver transplant that both Jim and Blaise
would be weak, would be in recovery and may not
even be able to communicate, so my expectations
were slightly guarded.
Wow! It was the visit of my life! Jim is laying in
his bed with his wife Jan at his side and they greet
me enthusiastically. It was truly a miracle because
less than a week earlier we were preparing and
thinking the worst. My heart was going a hundred
miles an hour. The joy I felt was just incredible!
Nevertheless, I am thinking, I have to find
Blaise’s room in this massive hospital. I am sharing
with Jim and Jan, the reality, – “the unbelievable
reality” – that one of his fellow colleagues, another
member of Local 444 is also in the hospital recovering from a liver transplant. Incidentally. the surgeries
each of them experienced was less than 24 hours
apart from one another.
Little did I know, Blaise himself spotted me from
a little visitation room where he was spending some
time with his family. Less than one week after the
transplant, I see him walking down the aisleway
unassisted, free of any medical devices seeking me
out. It was a relief because, as you can appreciate, I
was convinced that I would get lost trying to locate
him.
Blaise looked and felt like a new man. He introduced me to his wife Donna, – “another incredible
woman,” – and I had the added privilege of meeting
his youngest child who could not have been much
older than two or three months. I was ecstatic!
What I saw was a young member of our Union
given the gift of life. What I saw and felt was a
young wife with a young family who wanted her
. . . cont’d on next page
3
444 News
PRESIDENT’S REPORT . . . cont’d
husband back, who wanted her
children to feel and touch their
Dad and get to know him as a
father, as a provider.
This young family has been
through an emotional, uncertain
and stressful journey and they
deserve the opportunity given to
them in fulfilling their dreams
together.
The simple fact is, both Jim
and Blaise would have been prematurely taken from their families
without the transplant surgery, and
the liver donors who they may
never know, have provided each
of them with a gift of life. They
have been given a second chance
to live and enjoy life to its fullest.
Local 444 CAW wishes Jim
and Blaise a full and speedy
recovery and we must now use
this experience to encourage our
membership to learn more about
the Organ and Tissue Donation
Program – the Gift of Life, and
consider donating.
Rarely do I write a report
without thinking about its content
from a union and social perspective, but the experiences I have
learned in the last month allows
me the opportunity to again feel
grateful for having the privilege
of representing Local 444 CAW.
Local 444 is incredibly happy
for the Alliet and Vigneux families. I have personally been
touched in a way that goes beyond
any description that I can write in
the space I am allocated, but I
wish to leave our members with
this thought. Where would the
Alliet and Vigneux families be
Labour
L
ABOUR DAY 2004 was a
great day for fun, reminiscing and comradeship. The
turnout was the best we have experienced in a decade and the participation of Local 444 and its membership was exceptional. Our
retirees and their spouses led our
delegation with the same pride and
enthusiasm they had when building
our great Local Union.
Our active members, surrounded
by family and friends followed
where our delegation of marchers
covered a full city block. Walking
shoulder to shoulder, one generation after another. Children of all
ages actively participating with the
enthusiasm needed where some day
the torch will be passed to them as
it was to us as we continue to fight
for economic and social justice.
We took the day to recognize
4
without our Universal Publicly
Funded Health Care Programs?
What position would they be in
today if they were not covered
under a unionized collective
agreement that provides for
income support, disability and
drug coverage?
Make no mistake about it, in
this particular success story the
organ donors literally saved the
lives of these two incredibly
strong brothers but we can also
take great pride in recognizing the
Union through collective bargaining, utilizing our collective
strength has in fact enhanced the
quality of life for, not just these
families but every family represented by our Union.
In Solidarity and Sincere
Appreciation!
Day
our many victories, our many successes and we reminded each other
of the defeats, the struggles of
working families and those with no
voice or power as we commit to
learn from those experiences and
fight on.
Internationally we must concern
ourselves with the growing violence and hatred facing the people
from one nation to another. As we
recognize the third anniversary of
the tragic events surrounding
September 11, 2001, we can at least
take comfort in knowing the position we took against the invasion of
Afghanistan and the war against
Iraq was correct. History will substantiate that statement in months
and years to come.
Sadly, our predictions of growing violence, hatred and economic
and social unrest is now surfacing
and to think that we live in isolation
of these tragic events would be a
mistake.
As we remember the victims of
September 11, we also must reach
out with a hand of solidarity and
friendship to the victims of the latest terrorist attack that killed hundreds of innocent people, – many of
them children – as the
Russian/Chechen conflict escalates.
On behalf of the Executive
Board and workplace representatives of Local 444, I want to thank
our membership for their participation, for their encouragement and
for their support. These are indeed
challenging and uncertain times,
both domestically and internationally. I believe Labour Day was a
day that energized our movement
as we fight for a more just and
humane society for all the world’s
people.
Thank you!
444 News
The Essential – United Way
by employers, employees alike,
The entire donor membership base
ome of our members feel it, othunionized and non-unionized is secof Local 444, both active and retired,
ers do not. Some experience
ond to none in this community and it
and its affiliated unionized members
first hand the services provided
is for that reason we lead our nation
employed at Daimler Chrysler,
to the community through the United
in per capita giving year after year
Casino Windsor, TransAlta Energy,
Way and its member agencies and
after year. The United Way inspires
Integram Seating, Innovatech Seating,
others are fortunate enough to never
community involvement and action.
Benteler Automotive, Johnson
require the services and assistance
Our experience tells us that the best
Controls, Etna and Presteve Foods,
provided.
way to make the biggest differences is
along with the salary groups should
But the reality is, one in three
to tackle the root causes of some of
take great pride in recognizing and
people in Windsor/Essex seek the
our most challenging social prounderstanding that your commitment
support of the United Way through its
grammes. To succeed the whole comto the United Way is sincerely appremember agencies. If your daughters
munity needs to work together.
ciated. Furthermore, I am asking
or sons are connected to Big Sisters or
United Way brings community groups
each of you on behalf of the
Big Brothers, you have been touched.
like labour, business, health care, eduCampaign Team and its many volunIf your parents and grandparents seek
cation, media, volunteers, neighbourteers to pause for one moment and
the friendship and comradeship of the
hoods and others to find better ways
accept our thanks for your donation,
Seniors Centre, you have been
in reaching our objectives of building
for your kindness and for your gentouched. United Way donations
a community of hope versus despair.
erosity. People's lives are positively
maintain the network of vital services
touched every day
and they've been doing
because of your genit for 57 years.
erosity to the United
When one looks at
Way and our donors
that incredible history
have every reason to
and recognizes the
feel proud, to garner
individual donations
that sense of pride that
given by our members
we clearly hold for
and what those donaeach of you.
tions have meant to
Realistically for
thousands and thousands of people, you
our community camcan't help but feel a
paign to reach its full
sense of pride in
potential, we need to
knowing that we have
seek the support of
collectively made our
those who do not give
communities in which
or might have been
we live and raise our
missed during the
The United Way and its member agency “Center for Seniors”
families a better and express
their appreciation to the CAW in a very direct and public workplace campaign.
more compassionate
We absolutely need
way by participating in the Labour Day Parade.
place. This year just to
your help and we
maintain the existing
would with the greatservices, the United
est amount of respect
Way volunteer board
ask each of you to
has asked our commucome forward in comnity, the dedicated volmitting to a cause that
unteers and donors to
is meaningful because
work together as one
the reality is those in
in achieving the camneed and in despair
paign
goal
of
rely in a very large
$9,525,000.
way on the generosity
The generosity of
of CAW members.
the citizens of
Thank you very
Windsor/Essex is nothvery
much!
ing short of amazing.
The coming together
KEN LEWENZA
S
5
444 News
Concerns about Pension Plan
not limited to Chrysler
Workers
The Local Union officers have
had enquiries relating to how
secure Chrysler's pension plan is
since the articles in the newspaper
about Air Canada's solvency.
Believe me, these concerns are not
only at Chrysler. The Canadian
Labour Congress commissioned a
poll over the last several months
and found that 73% of respondents
were worried about not having
enough money to live after retirement.
The Canadian Labour Congress,
following a poll, wrote to Prime
Minister Martin asking him to
appoint a new Minister of State for
Retirement Security as a first step
in addressing these issues.
It is felt that with a Minister of
State championing these issues in
Parliament and at the Cabinet table,
the government will start looking at
these concerns with an eye for solutions.
We also have to move on setting up something similar at the
Provincial level so that, for example, in the case of bankruptcy, plant
closure, etc. workers' pensions are
protected.
As for the Chrysler pension
fund, it currently sits at 91% funded
and they have never borrowed from
the fund.
As we approach 2005 bargaining and it being a pension bargaining year, we will be attempting to
provide as much protection as possible for both past and future
retirees as the current legislation
provides, with us still pushing both
the Federal and Provincial governments for greater protection for
6
By
GARY L.
PARENT
Financial Sec.,
C.A.W. Local 444
workers' pensions.
Occupational Disease
Consultation Panel Comes
to Windsor Sept. 23rd
The Compensation Board in
Ontario is conducting a tour of
seven cities of which Windsor is
one, to consult on the "Draft Report
of the Chair of the Occupational
Diseases Advisory Panel."
The panel, which included six
worker and six employer representatives as well as representatives
from the Ministry of Labour and
the Workplace Safety and Insurance
Board met for over two years to
come to a consensus on occupational disease issues, and after this
length of time, the consensus was
broken when employers reversed
their positions at the end of the
process and as a result the Chair
issued a report for all sides to
respond to.
This discussion is long overdue
as workers have extreme difficulty
in establishing occupational disease
claims. The Compensation Board
tendency has been to require
"irrefutable" scientific evidence to
the work relatedness of the disease,
and to maximize the importance of
confounding factors and to minimize evidence of exposure.
Changing the approach in those
three areas in particular as well as
adopting a proactive approach to
adjudication are key to revamping
the Compensation Board's approach
on Occupational Disease Claim.
The labour movement must join
with injured workers in participating in the hearings scheduled in
Windsor on September 23rd at 9
a.m. Those interested are welcome
to attend.
Father William Capitano, Gary Parent, Joe Comartin and Brian Masse
enjoying the Labour Day celebrations.
444 News
The Union has improved
Integram and created
Innovatech!
T
hat’s right Integram is a better
place to work now than three
years ago. No, the world did not
fall apart, the business hasn’t faltered. In fact it has grown into two
innovative, productive plants that
produce quality products. With a
“Just in Time” schedule that
changes by the hour but has never
missed a deadline. What is even
more impressive is the customer
DCX has given the 2003 Gold
Award for outstanding performance to Integram Windsor
Seating and Innovatech. We have
seen Magna set records for sales
of $5.1 Billion in the last quarter
alone.
We have experienced major
parts suppliers crying hard times
to extract concessionary agreements from workers. The UAW
has penned agreements that new
workers never see the full rate or
benefits that senior members
enjoy. Some get to the full rate but
not until after ten years of service.
These agreements are not just
three years in length but five, six
and even seven years. Ten years
ago we worried how manufacturing in Mexico would affect us.
Now the competition has heated
up. Workers in Germany extended
their work week from 35 to 40
hours.
The right to work states have
also looked to ease environmental
laws, health and safety rules, and
benefits to attract new manufacturing. Did you see the front page
of the Windsor Star September
7th? China will surpass Canada as
the top trading partner to the US
within five years.
There are other variables that
have to be factored in. What are
the governments of the day doing
to workers’ pay packets? The last
time I looked, there was a huge
surplus in the EI fund but less
workers eligible to collect it. Can
that money be returned to workers
or could it be used to create new
jobs in our community. What
about Dalton McGuinty’s Health
Care Tax? Should the employer
pay it?
When this union asked the
governments of the day for incentives for the new Greenfield Site,
where were they? It took an election call before there was any
reaction, then it was too late.
What about drugs or services that
are delisted? Who will pick up the
costs?
By
TOM
LESPERANCE
Vice-Pres.
C.A.W. Local 444
One thing that is different at
Integram and Innovatech, is there
will be no strike vote. The members will not have the right to
strike for another three years. This
should not discourage any member as we didn’t have that right in
the first agreement.
I encourage each and every
member to help your bargaining
teams with suggestions about
what went right and what we as a
union need to improve. All suggestions will be reviewed by the
Bargaining Committee and
brought forward to the membership on September 26, at 10 am at
the local union hall. Your input is
important and critical to getting
what matters to the entire membership, a fair and equitable
agreement.
Auto Parts Unit Chairpersons Paul Jacques, Ken Smith, Ken Howard and Craig
McAlorum are seen above participating in the Windsor Assembly Plant Steward
Body Meeting discussing the issues affecting workers in the Auto Industry recognizing the supply chain is controlled by the vehicle assemblers.
7
444 News
And what about
Compassionate Leave
from Work?
A
n entitlement to compassionate
care benefits is one thing. The
right to take compassionate leave from
work is another. Full access to new EI
Compassionate Care Benefits requires
8 weeks leave (2 waiting weeks + 6
weeks EI benefits). Your legal right to
compassionate care or family medical
leave is set out in the provincial, territorial or federal labour law that applies
to your workplace. Ten jurisdictions
(July 1, 2004) provide at least 8 weeks
compassionate leave when a family
member is gravely ill (Manitoba, New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Nunavut,
PEI, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Quebec,
Federal level and Ontario). B.C,
Alberta, Newfoundland. NWT have
not yet committed to such leave
New EI benefits - Compassionate
Care Benefits - became available
January 4, 2004.
Purpose: income replacement for a
worker absent from work to care
for or support a seriously ill family member with a significant risk
of death within 6 months.
Family Member (including those living outside Canada) is defined as:
• child, child of spouse or common-law partner
• spouse or common-law partner
• parent or parent’s spouse or
common-law partner.
“Care/Support” is defined as:
• providing psychological or
emotional support
• directly providing or participating in care or arranging
care by a third party
To Qualify: 600 insured hours in the
last year or since the start of your
last EI claim.
Duration: maximum of 6 weeks benefits during a 26 week period.
Wait Period: EI benefits are not paid
in the first 2 week “waiting peri8
od” (unless you have an active
claim and already served the 2
weeks).
Other EI Benefits: up to 50 weeks
when compassionate care benefits
are combined with regular EI benefits or up to 71 weeks when combined with maternity, parental and
sickness EI benefits.
Sharing EI: 6 weeks may be shared
among EI-eligible family members. Only one family member
serves a 2 week waiting period;
it’s deferred for the others.
Sick Pay: Employer-paid sick leave
can be paid during the 2 week
waiting period without affecting
your benefits.
SUB/top-up: Employer-paid supplementary benefits for sickness (EI
pre-approved), maternity, parental
or compassionate leave will not
reduce EI benefits.
Tax Time: EI compassionate care benefits do not have to be re-paid at
tax time.
Medical: provide name, birth date,
address of family member on special Compassionate Care Benefit
medical certificate signed by their
doctor confirming the serious
medical condition with a significant risk of death within 6 months
and the need for care or support of
family members.
More EI information at
www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/gateways/topics/tyt-gxr.shtml .
What is Family
Medical leave?
Family Medical leave is unpaid,
job-protected leave of up to eight (8)
weeks in a 26-week period.
Family Medical leave may be taken
to provide care and support to a specified family member for whom a qualified health practitioner has issued a
By
RICK
REAUME
Vice-Pres.
C.A.W. Local 444
certificate indicating that the family
member has a serious medical condition and there is a significant risk of
death occurring within a period of 26
weeks.
Although two or more employees
may qualify for the leave, the eight (8)
weeks of leave must be shared
between the employees.
In certain limited circumstances, an
employee would be entitled to take
subsequent leaves to care for the same
family member.
Who can take Family
Medical leave?
All employees, whether full-time or
part-time, permanent or contract, who
are covered by the Employment
Standards Act 2000 (ESA) are entitled to Family Medical leave.
There is no requirement that an
employee be employed for a particular
length of time or that the employer
employ a specified number of employees in order for the employee to qualify for Family Medical leave.
Are there Employment
Insurance (EI) benefits
available to an employee
who takes Family Medical
leave?
Under the Employment Insurance
Act, 6 weeks of employment insurance
benefits called “compassionate care
benefits” may be paid to EI eligible
employees who have to be away from
work temporarily to provide care to a
family member who has a serious
medical condition with a significant
risk of death within 26 weeks and who
requires care and support from one or
more family members.
The right to take time off work
under the Family Medical leave provi. . . cont’d on page 15
444 News
By
PAM
LEACH
CASINO REPORT
Altering doctors’ notes leads to discharge
S
ince bargaining we have seen
somewhat of a drop in the number
of members being terminated, but yet
not nearly to the numbers we’d like to
see. One of the reasons for raising this
concern, is that I still am amazed at the
number of members who are being terminated for altering a doctor’s note.
We have mentioned this in the past, so
that we can get this message out, that
you cannot alter/change or write on
your doctor’s note. If the company
suspects that one of these things has
occurred, they will call and confirm it
with the physician. So please, do not
change dates of return or anything on
that physician’s note or you will put
yourself in a position of being fired.
And while I’m on that subject, if
your doctor has put you off work as
unfit, it is not acceptable to be elsewhere other than at home! If you are
spotted out, whether it be shopping, at
a bar, or whatever the case may be, the
Casino will terminate you for falsifying your level of disability. So please
keep this in mind.
Our United Way campaign will
soon be starting and I’m asking the
membership in advance to please participate in this very worthwhile organization. If we all stopped and thought
about how many of our own members
were in need of one of the United Way
agencies, particularly while enduring
our 41 day strike, we would realize
how vitally important it is to become
involved. If each and every one of us
could pledge a few dollars per pay, it
would benefit so many. I know that by
seeing the generosity of this membership in collections for different things
affecting our co-workers, that you will
find it in your hearts to participate.
Congratulations goes out to the
members of the Great Blue Heron
Casino on their ratification of their
first Collective Agreement. The bargaining committee reached its agreement on July 15, 2004.
Bargaining as we know, is very
tough at best and this committee
fought hard and stood solid. They were
Vice President
CAW Local 444
able to negotiate some very good language that we also had to fight for in
the past. We kept in touch with the
Chair and Committee constantly and
offered our assistance where we could.
We welcome them into the CAW
family!
PENSIONS– Contributing to a Secure Future
Pensions were of paramount
importance in the last set of negotiations and the improvements made
certainly positioned our members
to better prepare themselves for
their golden years of retirement.
Local 444 CAW would encourage
its membership to make the maximum contribution which will force
Casino Windsor to do the same.
Employee/Employer contribution
pension plans are certainly being
seen as the trend for the future as
many companies are shifting from
their existing defined benefit plan
to a shared approach. Standard Life
once again will host the annual
pension education week and we
would very much encourage our
members to attend to learn more
about the choices they have to
obviously better prepare themselves
financially for the future.
Pension Contributions
Employee
0%
1%
2%
3%
over
3%
Employer
Total
3%
4%
5%
6%
3%
5%
7%
9%
6%
9% +
Employee
Contribution
9
444 News
Windsor
Assembly
Plant
O
n behalf of the plant 3 steward
body and myself we would like
to welcome everybody back from a
well deserved vacation. Plant population is approximately 5400 members
with the junior person having April
11th, 2000 seniority as of this writing. We have 255 members on layoff
city-wide.
In addition we have 475 T.P.T.s
with 138 full time members now
working TPT status. While we are on
the subject of T.P.T.s, it should be
noted we are having on going discussions with the company in regards to
the TPTs. One of a number of issues
that needs to be addressed is the issue
of allowing TPTs to work before or
after any holiday. Under the current
collective agreement the company
does not have the sole right to bring
in TPTs on these days without the
consent of the Union.
As most of you already know the
long weekend that just passed
(Labour Day) TPTs were not originally approved by the Union until a
number of issues were resolved with
the company. Once the issues were
resolved TPTs were allowed to come
in. Everybody from this day forward
should never assume TPTs are OK
prior to any given holiday.
Another issue regarding TPTs that
is of concern is the fact some TPTs
are just coming in without being
properly scheduled. Since installing
turnstiles some divisions have taken
the position and are telling TPTs not
to just show up. While other divisions
are still telling TPTs to just come in
and we will find you work. This practice needs to stop, in order to be fair
to all TPTs they either need to all
come in or all stay home.
10
By
RICK
LAPORTE
Chairperson
Management needs to live up to their
commitment and properly schedule
them in advance. When the issue was
raised with the company they chose
to have them stay home and wait for
a call. The company has mailed out a
letter to the TPTs informing them of
this policy. This is not a new policy
the collective agreement talks about
being scheduled in rather than just
showing up for work. This was put in
the agreement to keep the system fair.
As of this report all TPTs should be
scheduled in and if they just show up
they will be sent home with no pay.
As of this report the order condition for the Pacifica is at 17.2 days
with a gate line condition of 8 days,
based on a daily build of 359 units.
The 2005 FIF RS mini-van order
condition is at 18.9 days with a gate
line condition of 8.1 days, based on a
daily build of 1066 units. We are producing Pacificas at a rate of 1 in 4.
The total daily production is 1425
units.
Saturday Schedule
We will be working the remaining
Saturdays in the month of September.
The company notified us Labour Day
weekend that all remaining Saturdays
after September have been pulled
from the schedule. We were also told
there was a down week in January
but it was now filled with orders. In
reporting that, they also advised us
we could still experience a down
week if sales don’t pick up The company has stated the reason was due to
an inventory adjustment. Just so we
are all clear, the Saturdays for
October, November and December
have been pulled from the schedule
and we could possibly see some
down time in the new year while the
company retools St Louis to build
some more Minivans we don’t need!
Whoever made that business decision
should be fired! It can’t be justified.
Rumour Mill
It just amazes me to hear some of
the stuff coming from the shop floor.
The rumours on the shop floor are
just that, RUMOURS. I even have a
piece of paper with rumours typed
out I might add, that are being passed
around the plant at an alarming rate.
We will try and clear up some of
these false rumours and distinguish
fact from fiction such as the one
referring to being laid off for six
weeks starting in January. Simply not
true.
A few weeks back the plant 3
steward body attended a meeting at
the hall to discuss the turnstiles and
to come up with a plan to deal with
them. There was a press truck parked
out side the front gate on the very
same day and had nothing to do with
DaimlerChrysler whatsoever. This
sent the plant into a downward spin
and rumours were running wild
throughout the plant, the biggest one
was the elimination of the third shift.
This is not true, we have never been
told the third shift is going nor do we
think it is going anytime soon.
Believe me, if the notice to cut the
third shift comes we will be the first
ones on the shop floor to tell our
members where they stand.
There are rumours out there about
the cradle and axle line being outsourced to another workplace. This is
simply not true. We have never been
given any notice of outsourcing. If
there is any outsourcing expected, the
company is obligated to give the
Union six months notice before anything goes. This notice may come
during 2005 negotiations but we do
not expect it any time soon.
Then there is the rumour about the
building being too old and the company cannot get insurance so it will
be closing soon. This is so stupid it’s
almost funny. There is absolutely no
. . . cont’d on next page
444 News
withdrawal from the language was to
lodge a grievance in regards to “the
. . . cont’d
no swipe out program”. This grievance is now at the fourth step. There
truth to this rumour. When raised
is ongoing discussions taking place at
with the company they could not
the most senior levels of Union and
believe this was going around the
management but at the end of the day
plant. We (your inplant leadership)
the grievance will dictate what hapwould ask you not to participate in
pens. Once the arbitrator makes a rulthis activity. If someone tells you
ing all parties will have to live with
something, check with your represenit. We as a Union believe we can win
tative before passing it on. Our memthis argument of no swipe out. That
bers do not need the added stress of
could mean freewheeling the gates
going home worried he or she may
when the whistle sounds. This effecnot have a job tomorrow because of
tively would mean not swiping out.
some B . . . S . . . somebody started
Our biggest argument is the line
down the line.
ups at the turnstiles and congestion
on Chrysler Center and in the parking
Turnstiles
lots. We have asked the company to
In the last three shop reports we
freewheel the gates for twelve minreported turnstiles were coming, well
utes at the end of each shift to relieve
they’re here and nobody is impressed
the congestion. The company’s
with them to say the least. This issue
response
has been no to this point.
is certainly a controversial one. We
Just
so
everyone
has all the informahave been criticized by the members
tion
we
have
checked other
for doing very little but yet your
DaimlerChrysler facilinplant representatives
ities and found nobody
along with the help of
freewheels turnstiles at
the local Union have
any facility, and all
been working on this
DaimlerChrysler facilissue since day one.
ities have turnstiles.
We have had several
This is why corporate
meetings with the
has taken a strong
leadership to discuss
position, – their
the whole issue of
thought process is “no
turnstiles and what
other
plant does it
action if any we
(freewheel)
so why
should take as your
should
Windsor”.
inplant leadership. The
Getting information
biggest problem may The DaimlerChrysler Windsor Assembly Plant Steward Body seen engaging
be with our own mem- in discussions and debate on issues facing the membership. The installa- out to our members on
bership. This issue is tion of turnstiles, absenteeism, manpower, investment, restructuring, bene- this subject has proven
very divisive. It has fits and the changes being implemented or contemplated by the auto indus- to be difficult, we certry dominated the exchange of ideas and information.
tainly can not come
divided our members
out with a written
into two groups, those
leaflet explaining our
who can leave early
future strategies. If we
and those who have to
did the company
work whistle to whiswould know what we
tle.
are doing so we have
Just to give everyremained tight lipped
body some insight into
in our plan for the
what has taken place
future.
since their inception.
We are raising your
In order for the comconcerns daily includpany to take away our
language they were
. . . cont’d on next page
Windsor Assembly. . .
required to give the Union written
notice ten days prior to pulling the
plug which they did. The contract
language had a clause in it allowing
the company to withdraw from the
agreement if abuses are taking place.
Corporate did an audit at the gates
twice within a six month period and
wrote up discrepancies such as members leaving two hours early without
any intervention from security. They
also made mention in their report of
people coming and going, in and out
of the plant all hours of the day without being stopped and checked for
identification. Only management can
be held responsible for their lack of
managing, I remember a day when
you could not get out the gate even
six minutes without a pass. I have
also personally seen management
walk out the gate with people leaving
early and not say anything to these
individuals.
Our response to the company’s
11
444 News
Windsor Assembly. . .
. . . cont’d
ing the build up of water in front of
the gates, the issue of the drive way
across from the front turnstile along
with any new issues that are raised
with us. The issue of the driveway
across from the front gate was raised
as a major issue that needs to be
resolved before somebody gets hit.
As of this report we have had discussions with the company about closing
that entrance/exit of the front parking
lot and making a new one further
down the road. If there is something
you see, please let your representatives know and we will raise it with
the appropriate management personnel for resolution. Your inplant leadership will continue to work towards
a resolve to this controversial issue
and will report back on the end
resolve.
Motorcycle Parking
The company is planning to move
the motorcycle parking back to its
original spot at the front gate and
BIW gate. They plan to fence the
back in and cut a gate in the front to
allow motorcycles to enter from the
front.
the paint shop. We have had some
discussions with the company about
the paint shop; we all agree the existing paint shop will not last four more
years. The company has informed us
they are in the approval stages in
terms of finance for a new paint shop
and should have the green light by
the new year. We can tell you that
studies are being done as we speak to
see if it is feasible to move the building from the Pillette property to
Windsor. They are also investigating
the possibility of moving CTI
(Chrysler Transportation) to a new
location to make room for the new
paint shop. This is the only bright
spot in our future so we will continue
to stay on top of this important issue,
as new developments come up we
will try to keep the membership
abreast of the situation.
United Way
This year’s United Way campaign
is just about complete and we are
doing better than last year. That does
not mean we can sit back and take it
easy. As of this report we have raised
$1,239,072.00 compared to the same
period last year of $1,185,465.00,
that’s a 6% increase over last year.
We still have a way to go yet so we
are expecting the number to grow a
little higher. This increase, even
though it seems small, – we did with
less workers than last year.
We would like to thank Dave
Redmile and all the United way canvassers for their hard work. If you
were missed or have changed your
mind and want to make a pledge, you
can contact Dave Redmile at (9732180) or ext.2180 inplant.
COLA/General Increase
Your C.O.L.A. has increased 32
cents effective September 6th 2004.
We will be going from $1.05 to $1.37
C.O.L.A. We are also going to see a
general increase of 2% or 59 cents for
production workers and 70 cents for
an Electrician. This general increase
of 2% in your base rate will take
effect September 20th, 2004. A production worker will now earn $31.24
an hour and an Electrician in skilled
trades will earn $37.23 an hour.
Safety Shoe Deadline
Safety shoe deadline for purchase
of this year ’s safety shoes is
September 20th, 2004. You can purchase your next year’s safety shoes
the following day, September 21st,
2004.
Taking Your Vacation
For those who worked shut down
we would again remind you that it is
mandatory to take your two weeks
vacation by year’s end or you will
find yourself taking the last two
weeks off at the end of the year. It
was passed at a membership meeting
earlier this year to force out members
who do not want to take their two
weeks off. The membership voted
100% in favour of action for those
who worked shutdown and did not
take vacation. With over 300 members on lay off there is no acceptable
reason for not taking your time off to
spend with your family.
New Paint Shop
If all goes well in the next six
months we should have the approval
for a much needed second phase to
12
To All CAW Local 444 Members and Retirees
The H. J .Heinz Co. of Canada Ltd. is pleased to open their “company store”
to your facility on the following days:
• October 25, 26, 27, 30
• November 1, 2, 3, 6
• Nov, 8, 9, 10, 13
• November 15, 16, 17, 20
Your organization will be entitled to purchase a variety of products at a discounted
price. The “company store” is located at 85 Wilkinson Dr. in Leamington (AMCO Storage
Building).
The store hours are: 9 am - 4:45 pm (Mon. thru Wed.)
8 am - 11:45 am (Saturdays)
All shoppers are required to abide by the “company store” rules as stated below:
• No smoking or drinking in the facility
• No children under 12 years of age allowed in facility
• Only one case per variety per person per day
• Products cannot be sold, they are for personal use only
• Products cannot be used or sold in public establishments
• Payment is by debit card only
Proof of employment must be provided in the form of an I.D. Card or pay
slip, or a list of employees’ names provided in advance.
If you require any further information, please don’t hesitate to call Barb Wiper at 519-3224056 or the Company Store at 519-326-5701, ext. 4361.
444 News
CASINO
REPORT
By
CHARIE
VIRGA
Chairperson,
Casino Windsor
This year has been hard not only
for our workers and their families
but also for the entire community
of Windsor-Essex. Let’s work
together to make this year better for
all of those in need.
Election
Poker Room
As you know the poker room
has been temporarily put on hold.
The Company is looking for a new
location other than Lotsa Motza in
order to facilitate future business
plans; it didn’t make sense to spend
all that money and have to rip it out
down the road. Training for the
Poker Room has been postponed
at this time but training will continue for the non-departmental members. The external will be able to
complete the training but will be
receiving a letter explaining that
there will be no job offers at this
time.
All aspects regarding the present
language on the Poker Room will
be revisited. The company realizing
that the employees picked their
shifts knowing that there was
another shift pick in the next 6 to 8
weeks will still happen. If a new
location can be found before
December this will coincide with
the shift pick.
Recall
There has been some misunderstanding with the Recall language.
If there is a recall within 365 days
of the initial layoff in your job classification all employees must
accept. This pertains to full or part
time. This language was not
changed through Bargaining, it is
the same as the previous agreement.
United Way
There is a time when we give to
the community and there is a time
when we ourselves have to use the
services from the community. This
year due to the strike a large number of our members had to use the
services that the United Way helps
fund:
Unemployed Help Centre
Credit Counseling
Distress Center
Canadian Mental Health
You’ll see a change in the way
we do the United Way campaign
this year. Not giving away all the
details, but you will be approached
by volunteer canvassers asking you
to participate in the campaign. If
the canvasser assigned to your area
does not approach you, please go to
the table in the Cafeteria and a canvasser will be happy to help you.
The contest will also be done
differently this year also. You will
have to fill out only one ballot this
year. I don’t want to give away too
much information on this yet;
you’ll have to wait for the
Chronicle for all the details.
Also new this year will be
Leadership Awards given to the
payroll participants to recognize
your generous donation.
The Campaign will run this
year October 8th to 30th. Our participation has been very low for far
too long and we are hoping this
one-on-one approach will not only
get our participation level up to
where it should be but also help
you understand the need and
answer any question that you may
have.
Congratulations to all the members elected to the Election
Committee. This Committee will be
setting the date for our upcoming
elections.
Security
In August the Security
Department zeroed out the overtime equalization in order to fix the
errors that had occurred over the
last year.
Slots
Dave French will be setting up a
meeting with Glen Sawhill on the
E-Z Pay and the limits.
Culinary
As per the Collective Agreement,
a Joint Culinary Committee has
been set up in regards to readymade foods. The joint committee
will make recommendations to the
department, presenting options for
consideration addressing the feasibility of reducing outsourced products while ensuring criteria of cost
effectiveness, efficiency, and quality are acceptable. The following
union employees who are Chef de
Parties are members of the committee:
Lee Armstrong, Zone 5
Committeeperson
Joe Roberts, Midnights
Rodney Bourque, Days
Julian Rawle, Days
Marek Zalewski, Aft.
13
444 News
Johnson Controls
By
CRAIG
McALORUM
Chairperson,
Johnson
Controls
Population
Plant population as of this writing is approximately 190 employees with zero on layoff. The company has just extended employment
offers to five new team members.
They had their orientation the first
week of September and started
work the second week. Please welcome them to Johnson Controls
Lakeshore and help make their
transition a comfortable one.
Production
The current product on schedule
at Daimler Chrysler Windsor
Assembly Plant is one Pacifica for
every four minivans.
The following Saturdays are
scheduled, unless otherwise notified:
• September 11, 18 and 25
Scrap continues to be a concern in Lakeshore. The year to date
is a 22% increase over last year and
for this quarter we have a 53%
increase over the same quarter last
year. This is an area that we all
need to focus on improving.
Job Postings
We recently went through a 5s
audit at the Lakeshore plant. This
quarterly audit is new to the company. The first time around,
Lakeshore scored the highest marks
within the corporation to develop a
5s position. The plant has been told
to try this for a one-month trial
period. If Lakeshore could prove to
the corporation that we have benefited and shown improvement from
this experiment, the position would
14
become permanent and be posted
following the language of the
Collective Agreement. It has, and
the posting went up late last month.
The company will interview the
members who applied for this position; the successful team members
will be identified along with a
backup. The position of 5s co-ordinator will be responsible for the 5s
initiatives throughout the entire
plant, work closely with the JCMS
co-ordinator and various other
departments to ensure that JCI
Lakeshore is succeeding the
requirements set out to us during
the audit.
Health and Safety
We had an overflow from the
glue barrel on the HIC Cell last
month. This led to a lot of smoke
that filled up the plant very fast.
The air units were turned up and
the bay doors were opened, but still
some employees felt a little uncomfortable. Further investigation on
the part of the supplier is needed to
find the root cause, in the meantime
the Joint Health and Safety
Committee has made recommendations to the company in regards to
air quality testing and additional
ventilation. We are waiting for the
date of the testing as soon as all the
quotes have been received. An
update from the Safety Reps will
follow after the committee has had
a chance to review and participate
in those discussions. In the month
of August we had 28 incidents, as
most of these are small cuts and
burns we all have to try and bring
these numbers down. Please continue to work safe and cautious.
Steward Training
The entire Steward Body will
be involved in a training session at
the Local on October 13 and 14,
2004. The training will further help
the Stewards handle any issues or
concerns that you may have. Please
make sure, if you don’t know, to
ask who the back up is for these
days while they are out of the plant.
JCI Council
The JCI plants in Whitby and
Tillsonburg will come down for a
Council Meeting on October 29th,
2004. We will discuss common
issues and ways to better serve the
membership of all JCI unionized
plants in Canada. If you have any
suggestions you would like raised,
please bring them to the Union
Office or to your Shift Steward.
Labour Day Parade
The Labour Day Parade on
September 6th was again a great
success. Thanks to everyone who
purchased raffle tickets and everyone who volunteered their time to
walk and participate.
•
•
•
The membership at Johnson
Controls Lakeshore would like to
wish the Bargaining Committees of
Integram and Innovatech, their
Chairs Paul Jacques. Ken Smith
and the CAW Local 444 all the best
in their upcoming contract negotiations.
444 News
Compassionate Leave
INTEGRAM
REPORT
P
opulation in plant at present is
658 members working and none
on layoff. The time is fast approaching when we will be bargaining. The
priority sheets are incredibly important to the process, so please return
all priority sheets before Sept. 17/04
to your area committeeperson or the
Union Office mailbox. The committee will be looking at each sheet and
compiling by order of importance the
issues you the membership want to
have brought up at bargaining.
We are at present, working on
issues in each area and have seen
several members added here at
Integram. We have seen an additional
crew of ten added in foam and 24
people added in Assembly due to the
R.G. seats we are building for
Europe. This program is for 18 to 24
months.
We have raised some more pension questions with the company.
The last group of members affected
are those who were hired after the
pension choice was given. This
group of workers were told by the
H.R. Dept. and the first choice booklet that all new employees would
automatically go into pension plan B.
Since then these members were put
into plan A. Many wanted plan B
and believed they were in plan B.
However, the question has now been
brought to the corporate level, and
we are awaiting the company’s
response.
We are working on some areas
where compensation problems have
arisen and recently had the company
agree to add one person per shift on
the 2-pass line as well as they agreed
earlier in the summer to put a third
cushion builder on the 3-pass line
By
PAUL
JACQUES
Chairperson,
Integram
Seating
which they did, due to ergo problems
encountered by the membership. We
are still looking at other improvements to the job stations and talking
to the people on line who do the jobs,
to raise what the people need when
we meet with the company and
explain these situations.
We have also seen more accommodation of workers with injuries
and the H & S Committee are meeting and developing a program for
return to work which we will present
to the company soon.
The BEST program will be underway again soon. We have had good
interest in sign ups and many members are eager to start. Tammy and
Leak will begin in late September to
conduct classes for those members
who have shown an interest. The
BEST program is very rewarding, so
to all the students, the very best of
luck in your studies.
The CAW picnic was a great success and so was the Labour Day
Parade. We had several members
attend both functions with their families and enjoy all that was offered.
Thanks to all those who volunteered
to help make those days so much
fun.
Recently, some of our sisters
attended a CAW Women’s
Conference in health. All who
attended commented on how fulfilling that time was and how much they
could take back into our workplace.
We have set a meeting date of
September 26, 2004 to have a joint
Integram and Innovatech unit meeting. This will be where reports will
be given and we will have a chance
to discuss the upcoming bargaining
sessions. See you all there.
. . . cont’d from page 8
sions of the ESA is not the same as the
right to the payment of compassionate
care benefits under the federal
Employment Insurance Act. The
Ontario Ministry of Labour cannot
assist an employee to obtain the compassionate care benefits.
For information about EI compassionate care benefits, you can call the
nearest Human Resources Skills
Development Canada (HRSDC) Employment Insurance Telemessage
General Inquiries. The telephone number is listed in the blue pages of your
telephone book, under “Employment
and Unemployment”. You can also
visit HRSDC’s internet site.
For what reasons can an
unpaid Family Medical
leave be taken?
An employee can take Family
Medical leave to provide care and support to a specified family member who
has a serious medical condition with a
significant risk of death occurring
within a period of 26 weeks. This
medical condition and risk of death
must be confirmed in a certificate
issued by a qualified health practitioner.
What does providing care
and support mean?
Care and support includes: providing psychological or emotional support, arranging for care by a third party
provider or directly providing or participating in the care of the family
member.
For which family members
may a Family Medical leave
be taken?
The specified family members for
whom a Family Medical leave may be
taken are:
• the employee’s spouse (including
same-sex spouse).
• a parent, step-parent or foster parent of the employee.
• A child, step-child or foster child
of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
15
444 News
T h e r e ’s
m o re t o
unions
than
contracts
LAST YEAR, the President of
Mozambique paid a visit to Canada
and was feted at a state dinner hosted
by the Governor-General. As it happens, I was there representing my
union. And I’m pretty sure that a fair
number of the other guests were, reasonably enough, more than a little
curious about why a trade union
leader was invited to this particular
dinner.
The answer, I’m sure, surprised
them greatly and fills me with pride. I
was asked to attend because our
union is a major player in the onerous
task of land mine removal in
Mozambique. It began in 1997, when
then-Foreign affairs minister Lloyd
Axworthy convened an international
conference in Ottawa that agreed to
ban the scourge of land mines. The
CAW was the first Canadian private
organization to offer to contribute
funds for land mine removal, an initiative that was recognized by Mr.
Axworthy when he and I held a joint
news conference to announce it.
Over the last six years, working
with CIDA, the CAW has made a
significant contribution to ridding
Mozambique of these obscene remnants of the war between their legitimate government and a group of terrorists armed and trained by apartheid
South Africa and the administration
of Ronald Reagan. Now we also work
directly with the Mozambican
Ministry of Health to assist with the
training of rural health care providers
as well as with small community
groups on clean water and women’s
credit unions. We have sent delega16
By
BUZZ
HARGROVE
Reproduced from
The Financial Post,
Aug. 3, 2004
tions of rank and file CAW leadership to learn about our projects and
the importance that grassroots solidarity makes to people’s lives.
I believe Mozambicans have
appreciated meeting our members. I
know our members have had experiences that will remain with them the
rest of their days, and I’m delighted
by that.
Over the years, I’ve heard from
people, sometimes even thoughtful
people, that unions should stick to
services for our members – negotiating collective agreements with
employers restricted to setting wages
and benefits. This often baffles me
because our country and the world
would be so much poorer if that was
the case. But I guess it reflects how
little Canadians know about the history of trade unions. We are after all
the people who brought you the
weekend, who backed the forces
fighting hard for medicare (and it was
a very hard fight to win, as most
Canadians are unaware), and who put
an end to child labour in Canada.
Within our collective agreements we
have also made some very innovative
breakthroughs over the years that
benefit far more than the members
covered by the immediate contract.
One of those exciting Innovations
is our union’s Social Justice Fund
(SJF), now almost 15 years old. We
first negotiated it with the Big Three
car companies in 1990, getting them
to agree to a penny per hour, per
CAW member to fund the CAWSJF. It adds up, you know. Since
then, we’ve supported hundreds of
humanitarian projects both in
Canada and around the world.
There’s no doubt we’ve been able to
make a positive difference to the lives
of countless ordinary people.
Here in Canada, although hardly
anyone knows it, the labour movement has always been a generous
fundraiser for many charitable causes.
Union locals are the backbone of
United Way campaigns in many communities and our members volunteer
at food banks, women’s shelters and
youth centres on a regular basis. With
the SJF, we’re able to add to these
civic contributions; last year alone we
contributed to 45 women’s shelters
and 44 food banks across Canada.
And our union hasn’t been alone.
Other unions in Canada, such as the
Steelworkers, CEP and CUPE, have
set up similar foundations, which
have been operating quietly and generously for years. Social unionism, the
principle that “what we want for our
own members we want for all,” has
always been a significant part of the
Canadian union tradition.
For the CAW, the SJF allows us to
put that principle to work all over the
world.
Along with Canadian Physicians
for Aid and Relief, we fund a substantial project on HIV-AIDS in Malawi.
When the UN’s Special Envoy on
HIV-AIDS in Africa came to our
convention last year and challenged
us to do even more, we joined with
the Stephen Lewis Foundation to
support the critical work it funds in
Africa. Our locals also throw themselves into Social Justice Fund projects, passing out leaflets in the workplace on important international
issues and then holding collections
for good causes. Activists challenge
their co-workers to care and are more
often than not rewarded by their generous responses.
Of course, we have some in our
own ranks who say we should look
after our own first. But for every two
of them there are eight more who
understand that “solidarity forever”
can have no borders.
The real shame is that few
Canadians have the slightest idea
that the CAW and other unions are
involved in such issues. Restrict ourselves to bargaining only – not on
your life!
444 News
By
MIKE
LOVRIC
Recreation
Chairperson
• CAW REGIONAL SOCCER
TOURNAMENT
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Entry Fee: $350.00
Deadline for Entries: Sept. 17th
Charles Brooks Golf
I would like to start off by congratulating the winners of the Charles
Brooks Golf Tournament. It was amazing how the rain held off both days
until the end of the tourney. I would
also like to thank all of the volunteers
and the Recreation Committee for
putting in all those hours to make it a
success.
We would like to acknowledge our
Donors who help make our tournament
such a success:
Green Shield Canada
DaimlerChrysler
Casino Windsor
CAW Local 200
CAW Local 1973
John Sheldon Central Chrysler
Border Press Inc.
P.P.G. Canada
Club Alouette
Caboto Club
Motor City Credit Union
Zellers
Union Pro Sportswear Inc.
Families First Funeral Home
Graphix Plus
Woodslee Credit Union
Windsor Raceway
Royal Canadian Legion Br. 143
Aim Tecumseh Chiro & Rehab
Bell Mobility
Delta Chelsea Hotels
Archon Architects
Baron Insignias Ltd.
City of Windsor
Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens
Farron’s Gourmet Butcher
Fine Touch Graphics
Fogolar Furlan Club
Haskings Financial Servies
Hyatt Lassaline C.A.
Image Promotions
Iseco Safety Shoes
Koolini Italian Eatery
Local 1498 CAW
Local 1941 CAW
Local 195 CAW
Marina’s Delicatessen
Merchants Paper
P.P.G. (Ron Graham)
Penalty Box Two
Royal Bank of Canada
Tecumseh Golf
Williams Food Supply
Wincon Construction
Windsor Family Credit Union
Windsor Police Association
D.L.O. Oak Creations
Ye Olde Steak House
Molson
Please Patronize them!
• CAW REGIONAL 8-BALL
TOURNAMENT
November, 2004
Johnny Shotz, Tecumseh, Ont.
Watch your Union Bulletin Boards for more
information on our recreational events and
others as they become available.
Family Picnic
Our Family Picnic was held July
25th with well over 5,000 people enjoying the day with other families of Local
444. It was a great success and it was
made possible with the help of160 volunteers. We will print some of the letters that we received from our members
that will sum up the day.
The Membership Draw Winners
were:
Stereo – James Moak
Bike – Dave Raffoul
DVD Player – Achille Azzalini
Home Theater – David Vanrijt
Bike – Cathy Prestyko
Television – Jim Tofflemire
Bike – Rachel D’Agnolo
BROOKS GOLF TOURNAMENT WINNERS – Don (Sparky) Leonard and
John Sheldon, Bill Noble and Barry Galerno, Janis Marentette and Mary
Rondot, Marcel Huot and Mark Kappes.
17
• LISA DUNN • DANA DUNPHY • SHIRLEY EGAN • JOHN ENRIGHT • FRANK FAVOT • DAVE FERRON • MIKE FOSTER • DEBBIE FOX • DAVE FRENCH •
• KEVIN LABONTE • ROBIN LACHAPELLE • JIM LAFRAMBOISE • DAVE LARUE • LAURIE LARUE • MARK LAUZON • PAM LEACH • ROB LEMAY
• BRUCE O’CALLAGHAN • AL PAULICK • ELLEN PELLERITO • MIKE PELLERITO • PETER PELLERITO • MARTHA PEREZ • RAPHAEL
• GARY PARENT • TRACEY DAEHN • ANISSA GRAY • MARYLOU GRAY • WAYNE HOOLEY • NATASHA MCLELLAN •
Sincere Appreciation to Our Family Picnic Volunteers!
CASEY • DAVE CASSIDY • TONY CATTAI • DINO CHIODO • PHIL CHIODO • STEVE COATES • RACHELLE COHOE • MARYLYNN CREEDE
JAMIE HANSEN • DAN HARRIS • FRANK HARSHAW • LISA HARSHAW • LINDA HARTIN • JEFF HAYES • BARB HEDRICK • JASON HEFFERNAN •
• CRAIG MCALORUM • LARRY MCAULEY • SANDI MCAULEY • MIKE MCCANN • RENEE MCCANN • PARKER MCCONNELL • MIKE MCGOWAN •
• MIKE SANKOFF • WENDY SEGUIN • TAMMY SEXTON • PETE SIMEONI • KEN SMITH • STOJAN STOJKOSKI • ZORAN STOJKOVSKI
SHERAN ALWIS • LEN ARMSTRONG • BOB ARNOLD • BOB BAKOS • CRAIG BEAULIEU • PHYLLIS BEAULIEU • ROLLY BEAULIEU • STACEY BECHARD • RON BERTRAM • JIM BOUMA • LAURIE BRITTON • TOM BURTON • GENE BUTLER • DERRICK
LEE FRICKER • JOHN FROESE • MARY FROESE • HEATHER GORISSEN • RENE GORISSEN • SPENCER GORISSEN • MIKE GORSKI • ALICIA GRAY • GORD GRAY • LAURIE GRONDIN • RAY HACHEY • GHANDARA HANG • PENNY HANNAN •
• TOM LESPERANCE • KEN LEWENZA • LINDA LOMBARDI • LISA-MARIE LOMBARDI • VINCE LOMBARDI • MIKE LOVRIC • ALISON MACDONALD • STACEY MACLEAN • TOM MAILLOUX • ROD MARENTETTE • ANNE MARIE MARTINEAU
PEREZ • BILL PETHER • WAYNE PIERCE • ROY PITTMAN • SCOTT PLUIMERS • RICK REAUME • SYLVIA REAUME • RAY REDMILE • JEFF RIDSDALE • TINA REID • DAVE ROBINSON • RAY RODGERS • KIM ROMPHF • KEN ROSE
FRANKIE TARANTOLA • ROBERTO TARANTOLA • SUE TRAVIS • PHIL TSOTSOS • CHARIE VIRGA • GURBAX WAHID • SCOTT WALKER • DAVID WICKHAM • MARLENE WRAY • SPECIAL MENTION TO BRIAN COULTER,OUR D.J.•
RILEY MCKELLAR • VEANNE MCKELLAR • SUSAN MCKINNON • SHIRLEY MCLEAN • CHRIS MCLELLAN • TERRY MCLELLAN • JENNY MCLEOD • KEN MERCER • MARK MORIN • JOE MULLINS • ALBERT NARI • LAURIE O’NEIL •
PAUL HEPBURN • RANDY HOMENICK • SUE HOOLEY • KEN HOWARD • CINDY HOY • JERRY HOY • PAUL JACQUES • VAL JANUSAS • JEFF JENKINS • JEN JEWELL • TIM JOYES • KEN KAVANAUGH • BRIAN KELLY • DEWEY KNIGHT
PAT CUNNINGHAM • JAMEY DAEHN • RACHEL DAGNOLO • JOHN DEL BIANCO •TIM DELMORE • DENIS DESAULNIERS • CARLO DILUCA • JOE DOMARCHUK • SANDRA DOMINATO • LINDA DONAIS • ROGER DONAIS • EARL DUGAL • JASON
• LISA DUNN • DANA DUNPHY • SHIRLEY EGAN • JOHN ENRIGHT • FRANK FAVOT • DAVE FERRON • MIKE FOSTER • DEBBIE FOX • DAVE FRENCH •
• KEVIN LABONTE • ROBIN LACHAPELLE • JIM LAFRAMBOISE • DAVE LARUE • LAURIE LARUE • MARK LAUZON • PAM LEACH • ROB LEMAY
• BRUCE O’CALLAGHAN • AL PAULICK • ELLEN PELLERITO • MIKE PELLERITO • PETER PELLERITO • MARTHA PEREZ • RAPHAEL
• GARY PARENT • TRACEY DAEHN • ANISSA GRAY • MARYLOU GRAY • WAYNE HOOLEY • NATASHA MCLELLAN •
Sincere Appreciation to Our Family Picnic Volunteers!
CASEY • DAVE CASSIDY • TONY CATTAI • DINO CHIODO • PHIL CHIODO • STEVE COATES • RACHELLE COHOE • MARYLYNN CREEDE
JAMIE HANSEN • DAN HARRIS • FRANK HARSHAW • LISA HARSHAW • LINDA HARTIN • JEFF HAYES • BARB HEDRICK • JASON HEFFERNAN •
• CRAIG MCALORUM • LARRY MCAULEY • SANDI MCAULEY • MIKE MCCANN • RENEE MCCANN • PARKER MCCONNELL • MIKE MCGOWAN •
• MIKE SANKOFF • WENDY SEGUIN • TAMMY SEXTON • PETE SIMEONI • KEN SMITH • STOJAN STOJKOSKI • ZORAN STOJKOVSKI
SHERAN ALWIS • LEN ARMSTRONG • BOB ARNOLD • BOB BAKOS • CRAIG BEAULIEU • PHYLLIS BEAULIEU • ROLLY BEAULIEU • STACEY BECHARD • RON BERTRAM • JIM BOUMA • LAURIE BRITTON • TOM BURTON • GENE BUTLER • DERRICK
LEE FRICKER • JOHN FROESE • MARY FROESE • HEATHER GORISSEN • RENE GORISSEN • SPENCER GORISSEN • MIKE GORSKI • ALICIA GRAY • GORD GRAY • LAURIE GRONDIN • RAY HACHEY • GHANDARA HANG • PENNY HANNAN •
• TOM LESPERANCE • KEN LEWENZA • LINDA LOMBARDI • LISA-MARIE LOMBARDI • VINCE LOMBARDI • MIKE LOVRIC • ALISON MACDONALD • STACEY MACLEAN • TOM MAILLOUX • ROD MARENTETTE • ANNE MARIE MARTINEAU
PEREZ • BILL PETHER • WAYNE PIERCE • ROY PITTMAN • SCOTT PLUIMERS • RICK REAUME • SYLVIA REAUME • RAY REDMILE • JEFF RIDSDALE • TINA REID • DAVE ROBINSON • RAY RODGERS • KIM ROMPHF • KEN ROSE
FRANKIE TARANTOLA • ROBERTO TARANTOLA • SUE TRAVIS • PHIL TSOTSOS • CHARIE VIRGA • GURBAX WAHID • SCOTT WALKER • DAVID WICKHAM • MARLENE WRAY • SPECIAL MENTION TO BRIAN COULTER,OUR D.J.•
RILEY MCKELLAR • VEANNE MCKELLAR • SUSAN MCKINNON • SHIRLEY MCLEAN • CHRIS MCLELLAN • TERRY MCLELLAN • JENNY MCLEOD • KEN MERCER • MARK MORIN • JOE MULLINS • ALBERT NARI • LAURIE O’NEIL •
PAUL HEPBURN • RANDY HOMENICK • SUE HOOLEY • KEN HOWARD • CINDY HOY • JERRY HOY • PAUL JACQUES • VAL JANUSAS • JEFF JENKINS • JEN JEWELL • TIM JOYES • KEN KAVANAUGH • BRIAN KELLY • DEWEY KNIGHT
PAT CUNNINGHAM • JAMEY DAEHN • RACHEL DAGNOLO • JOHN DEL BIANCO •TIM DELMORE • DENIS DESAULNIERS • CARLO DILUCA • JOE DOMARCHUK • SANDRA DOMINATO • LINDA DONAIS • ROGER DONAIS • EARL DUGAL • JASON
444 News
Education
Report
By
KEN
LEWENZA JR.
Education
Committee
Chairperson
Next Education Meeting
about Focus and Direction
To returning members of the
committee, I ask for some leadership and determination to focus
on just a few concrete goals you
would like to see us achieve as a
committee. We need strategies so
we don’t get misdirected, waste
energy, and lose enthusiasm. We
need to be creative, but realistic.
So prior to the meeting, get your
thoughts and expectations together. See you in a couple of weeks!
level of commitment to the union
New members welcomed
Congratulations to first
and to life’s other responsibilities
and encouraged!
McMaster-CAW Labour Studies
vary between members, I ask that
On Sunday, October 10th at 9
Graduates
any member who seeks to come
a.m. our education committee will
out, make at the very least, some
On September 25th,
be hosting our first meeting of the
commitment
to
activism
beyond
McMaster University and the
2004-2005 calendar year. Any
attendance.
We
cannot
simply
be
CAW will be honouring ten Local
Local 444 member thinking about
a
debating
group.
We
need
to
444 members at our education
participating in our union is cerbuild the capacity in all of us to
facility in Port Elgin for graduattainly welcomed and encouraged
share
menial
work,
write,
debate,
ing from the first Labour Studies
to attend. The focus of this meetCertificate Program. Local 444 is
lead, and organize. We need to
ing will be to review and re-evaluproud of the participation from so
constantly
expand
the
number
of
ate some of our ongoing initiamany members in our Local who
people involved and deepen the
tives, past accomplishments, as
took part in this program. Another
involvement of those already
well as shortcomings of our comgraduating class is set for the
active to ensure we are capable as
mittee. It will be an opportunity
spring.
a union of meeting tomorrow’s
for members to present ideas as to
challenges.
Congratulations to CAW Local
what endeavours we should focus
444 - Graduates
on that will benefit
Robert Sheehan
the membership,
Richard Paquette
and moreover individual growth in
Robert McGuffin
those who attend
Kenneth Lewenza
regularly.
Frances LaSorda
Historically the
Richard LaBonte
education commitJennifer Jewell
tee has been a comJ. Ryan Couture
fortable environJames Corman
ment for union
Rachelle Cohoe
members to gather,
talk union, debate,
For those of you
discuss current
interested in
events, and just as
McMaster Labour
importantly build
Studies please see
friendships.
Local 444 Education Committee members Richard St. Denis, Chris advertisement on
While under- Ropac, Sue McKinnon, Richard Paquette, Bruce Browning and page 25 of this shop
standing that the Gurbax Wahid seen above attending a Labour Education Conference paper.
sponsored by the C.A.W.
20
444 News
INNOVATECH
P
lant population is currently at
164 with no one on layoff
between Integram and Innovatech.
Production
Our current production level is
at 360 per day with a bench build
of approximately 80 units per day.
The 440 level did not last as we
thought it would from after shutdown to November. Daimler
Chrysler turned the switch on our
facilities again requiring less production from Innovatech and more
from Integram. Hopefully we can
maintain this level of production or
more. There are rumours that production could go to 5 and 1 or even
6 and 1 which would result in
another reduction of our memberCAW LOCAL 444
EXECUTIVE BOARD
KEN LEWENZA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President
GARY PARENT . . . . . . . . . Financial Secretary
TOM LESPERANCE . . . . . . 1st Vice President
RICK REAUME . . . . . . . . . 2nd Vice President
PAM LEACH . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd Vice President
PAT CUNNINGHAM . . . . Recording Secretary
BRUCE O’CALLAGHAN . . . . . . . . . . . . Trustee
JOHN KERR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trustee
PAT CUSHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trustee
GARY BERNARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Guide
JOHN GERARD . . . . . . . . . . Sergeant-At-Arms
DAVE FRENCH . . . . . . . . . Executive-At-Large
DANA DUNPHY . . . . . . . . . Executive-At-Large
DAVE LARUE . . . . . . . . . . . Executive-At Large
KEN LEWENZA Jr. . . Chair, Education Comm.
PETER PELLERITO Chair, Political Ed. Comm.
PERCY ROUNDING . . . . Chair, Skilled Trades
RICK LAPORTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chair, W.A.P.
CHARI VIRGA . . . . . . . Chair, Casino Windsor
PAUL JACQUES . . . . . Chair, Integram Seating
RICK LALONDE . . . . . . . . . . . Chair, TransAlta
KEN HOWARD . . . .Chair, Benteler Automotive
CRAIG McALORUM... Chair, Johnson Controls
GEORGE JOHNSON . . . . . . . . . Chair, Retirees
GORD GRAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public Relations
ship. Even at 5 and 1, the
Company would have to maintain a
two-shift operation as they could
not cover a 16 hour gap. That number would be approximately 145
per shift (290 daily).
Health & Safety
I would like to acknowledge the
Health & Safety Reps on doing an
excellent job in keeping our facility
as safe as possible. If there are any
issues that need to be addressed in
regards to health and safety, contact
your health and safety reps. or your
on shift rep.
By
KEN
SMITH
Chairperson,
Innovatech
Seating
Bargaining
It's been three short years since
our first collective agreement, and
now it is time to go back to the
table and negotiate our second
agreement. We as a committee
will strive to reach the best possible
agreement we can. With the support of the entire membership, I
strongly believe we can achieve
results in all or most areas of the
agreement.
Labour Day Repor t
Thanks to great weather and
the 7000 people who came out to
join us, the Labour Day Parade
this year was nothing less than
spectacular.
We, on the Labour Day committee have to thank the Local
444 volunteers who help make
the successful day. Dave
Holjevac, Tom Nahdee, Sandra
Dominato, Lindsey Boyle, Frank
Mosey, Phil Tsotsos, Ron
Bertram, Dave LaRue and each
person had their own cast of volunteers including most of the
Plant #3 Steward Body. To all of
you and those I may have missed
THANK YOU!
We must also mention the
volunteers from C.A.W. 1973,
L.I.U.N.A. 625, O.S.S.T.F.
District 9, and Windsor
Firefighters for their armies of
volunteers who ensured our children had a fun filled safe day.
By
JOHN
KERR
Trustee
There were companies within
the community that we need to
thank also. Jason Bray at
Pinnacle Chrysler was with us
every step of the way, as well as
Labatt’s Brewery, Rose City
Ford and we can’t thank Chuck
Fram at Performance Parts Plus
enough for the Car Show that
was provided to us.
You need to look no further
than these businesses when making your purchasing decisions, –
support them, they support us!
From the Windsor and
District Labour Council Labour
Day Parade Committee, we
thank you and your families for
coming out and making it a great
day and we’ll see you next year.
21
444 News
Casino Windsor - Local 444 Pay
Equity Plan heads to Tribunal
By KEN LEWENZA
PAY EQUITY is a complicated legislative requirement and to suggest anything differently would be misleading. In saying that, regardless of its controversies
(and it seems to be universal) and its misrepresentations that on occasion have divided workers in predominantly female job classes against male dominated classifications, Local 444 CAW was in fact supportive of
the legislation and its purpose. Putting that aside, I am
going to report in chronological order the circumstances evolving around the existing pay equity plan
and the challenges and rulings surrounding it.
Unfortunately, due to my lack of expertise or experience in this area, I have had to rely on the advice and
guidance of our legal department and their work on this
file has been invaluable and sincerely appreciated. Our
membership and our workplace representatives are not
expected to understand the pay equity legislation, but it
is important to at least be aware of the resolves and
consequences of whatever decision is made by the
Tribunal.
Chronological Order of Events
• Casino Windsor opened in May, 1994. As a new
employer, Casino Windsor was required to achieve
pay equity immediately. This legislative requirement
was not done.
• The Union - Local 444 was certified in Sept. 1994.
Happy Tenth Anniversary!
• In the April 1995 agreement and the April 1998
agreement, the parties negotiated into the Collective
Agreement that pay equity would be negotiated.
• June 1999, a process established by the parties was
agreed upon and began.
• February 2001 – Finally a pay equity plan was negotiated and established.
• February 2004 – The Pay Equity Commission
Review Services, after investigating a number of
appeals agreed with the applicants’ arguments that
specifically covered workers in three classifications.
Casino Cashiers, Resort Cashiers and Concierge
Attendants.
• Casino Windsor appeals the decision of the Pay
Equity Commission Review Services and the Union
decides to defend the plan.
• November 15, 2004 – the Pay Equity Hearing
Tribunal arranges a pre-hearing conference with the
parties involved.
22
Summary as Outlined by CAW Legal
Counsel in correspondence sent to
Ken Lewenza on 7-29-04
• My recommendation is that the work of our Joint Pay
Equity Committee ought to be defended by objecting
to the decision of the Review Officer. This means
that we would be responding to the employer’s
application by saying that we support their application.
1. Summary of the Review Officer’s Decision
• The Review Officer found that tips ought to be eliminated from all calculations of job rates for all job
classes in the pay equity plan because:
a) Tips at Casino Windsor are not “fixed or ascertainable” as those words are used in the definition
of “compensation” in the Act.
b) The methods used by the Employer and Union to
ascertain tips were unfair, unreasonable and arbitrary.
c) The newness of the casino industry in Ontario
means that “norms of etiquette” have not become
sufficiently established that the amount of tips
that employees will normally receive can reliably
be predicted.
d) The applicant job classes (i.e. casino cashiers,
resort cashiers and concierge attendants) do not in
fact receive any regular or significant tips.
• The Review Officer found that including tips in the
job rates for the applicants job classes but not in
some of the male comparator job classes creates
unfairness.
2. Summary of the Casino’s Application
• The Casino asks the Pay Equity Tribunal to do the
following things:
a) Set aside the decision of the Review Officer.
b) Confirm that the negotiated pay equity plan meets
the requirements of the Pay Equity Act.
c) Confirm that the Casino and the Union were not
required to set the Union’s certification date as the
effective date of their pay equity plan.
d) Confirm that the Casino and the Union were free
to negotiate a phase-in period for pay equity
. . . cont’d on next page
adjustments.
444 News
PAY EQUITY . . . cont’d
3. Issues that CAW must address.
Issue #1 – Did the Review Officer correctly determine that tips should not have been included in
any of the job rates for pay equity purposes?
Issue #2 – Was the method used by the Employer
and the Union to identify the amount of tips
received by employees unfair, unreasonable or
arbitrary?
Issue #3 – Did the Union and the Employer correctly calculate the amount of tips to be included
in the job rate for the Cashier, Concierge
Attendant and Resort Cashier job classes?
•
•
•
As you can appreciate, the summary above were
selectively taken out of a 54-page document supplemented by a 12-page order document presented by the
Pay Equity Commission Review Services. The contents of this file are significant because if the Tribunal
upholds the decision of the Pay Equity Review officer
and tips (gratuities) are excluded, you have to believe
the Casino and every other comparable employer under
similar circumstances will pursue the case through the
courts.
It is extremely important that our members do not
pre-occupy themselves on what could or could not happen as a result of this dispute. At this particular time,
the resolves are out of our hands. Either way, our
Union will work in the best interest of our membership
regardless of what cards are dealt our way.
Casino Chairperson Charie Virga and committeepersons Dana Dunphy and Lisa Dunn have repeatedly
asked whether a negotiated settlement can be arrived at
versus the existing process of the Tribunal and possibly
the courts. To date the Casino has opposed such a suggestion reiterating its full intention of defending their
position. Obviously, Local 444 CAW would prefer a
bargained settlement versus dealing with the anxieties
and divisions that have arisen as a result of the deliberations that have taken place to date. At this particular
time in the dispute process there does not seem to be
too many options available to the Union to consider but
closing the door to future ideas and suggestions would
be irresponsible.
The troublesome aspect of this process is that the
Union did seek out the advice of the Pay Equity Officer
during the entire review. Each of her recommendations
were in fact pursued, so we were surprised in the depth
of her order and the consequences her position will
have within the gaming environment.
The process is time consuming but we are
extremely satisfied that the legislative process in place
allows our members to disagree with the decision of
the Joint Committee made up of representatives from
both sides. Local 444 CAW will abide by the ultimate
decision and we respect the right of the members
involved to fight their case, argue their point and pursue justice when they sense an injustice. Surely, that
respect should apply on either side of the argument.
I have included in this report the CAW statement
and policy on Pay Equity that was endorsed and supported by the elected delegates attending our
Bargaining and Political Action Conferences.
Local 444 CAW is mandated to fight for equality
and when one looks at our representation, on balance,
you would be pretty hard pressed to suggest we are not
leaders in this field.
The president’s office will keep our membership
up to date recognizing that the decision made could in
fact affect every member one way or another. Stay
tuned!
PAY EQUITY
Pay equity or equal pay for work of equal value,
recognizes that systemic discrimination based on
sex, is a fact of life in this country, and that job segregation and job ghettos do exist. Those pay rates that
are established for female dominated jobs are reflective of the fact that the incumbents are women and
women’s traditional roles are undervalued in our society and the economy.
It is not easy to come to grips with the concept of
systemic discrimination based upon sex. We need to
examine ill conceived views that have been passed
down generation to generation. It is a concept that is
so firmly entrenched into every fibre of our existence,
that without analysis we can not even see it. When
we do realize discrimination exists, we can recognize
it as a divisive measure to separate working people,
in the same way as racism or homophobia. However,
we must ensure that our agreements guarantee equal
pay for work of equal value.
Pay Equity legislation was passed in Ontario
in1987. We must look at our record of bargaining pay
equity plans in our work places, and where we have
failed to achieve this, we must make sure that we do
so.
Economic independence is a step towards equality. It is also a step towards reality – the reality of
women being accepted as equal and valued participants in our union, and in society as a whole.
23
444 News
Benteler
Automotive
FAMILY PICNIC
By
KEN
HOWARD
Plant
Chairperson
JOBS VS OVERTIME
As you know, our production
levels have changed from 1 in 3 to
1 in 4. We currently have 116
employees working and 32 on layoff. This change in production
could have possibly increased our
number of employees on layoff by
17. The Benteler Steward Body,
along with the 1st Vice-President,
Tom Lesperance, went to the
Company with a plan that would
save those 17 employees. We
asked the Company not to lay off
any additional employees; we as a
membership would build 240 vehicle sets a day to cover the required
production, bank the rest to cover
the Saturday schedule, not work
scheduled Saturdays unless needed,
and ultimately save 17 jobs. The
Company agreed to this proposal if
we can maintain cost and productivity levels.
It is very important that we all
work as a team to achieve this goal.
By doing this we will show not
only the Company, but ourselves,
that every one of us is important.
We will work together to save 17
jobs from layoff because that is
what this Union is all about and
that is what makes this membership
so strong and united.
As this goes to print, the
Saturday's
schedule
after
September is in question. I will
keep everyone informed as the production schedule changes and manpower fluctuates.
HEALTH & SAFETY
We have just finished our
Corporate Health and Safety Audit
and we received a score of 87%,
the highest in the Corporation.
They only suggested that what is in
24
need of improvement is our housekeeping. Please remember to put
all garbage in the proper recycling
containers and try to continue to
keep our Plant on top. As we are
now running a two-shift full operation, it was necessary to make some
adjustments to the Health and
Safety Committee to better serve
our membership. The Red Shift's
Health & Safety Rep. is Dave
Berthiaume. The White Shift's
Health and Safety Rep. is Stacey
MacLean. The two alternates are
Gerry Beaulieu, steady days, and
Mike Dupuis, steady afternoons.
Please do not hesitate to bring any
concerns to the attention of your
representatives.
QUALITY
The Windsor Plant also completed a quality process audit where
our score was 88.5% second highest in the Corporation. The membership would like to welcome the
new Quality Manager, Chris
Kotevich to the Benteler Windsor
Plant. We look forward to working
with Chris in his new position.
In July, Local 444 held it's
Annual Family Picnic. The event
was by far the biggest picnic to
date. We would like to thank the
Rec. Committee and all the volunteers, especially those from
Benteler. Again the Union asked
for your help and the response from
this membership was overwhelming. Local 444 and the Benteler
Steward Body thank all of you for
your continued support.
Congratulations to Dave Raffoul
and Rachel D'Agnolo who both
won bikes that were raffled off.
FUTURE BUSINESS
Benteler Automotive and the
Union continue to try to attract new
business for the Windsor Plant.
We've had corporate visitors and
potential customers tour our plant,
so we need to continue to prove
that the Windsor Plant can do whatever is asked of us. Our quality and
production is second to none, let's
make our attendance and housekeeping a priority. By focusing on
these goals, we will let our future
customers know that Benteler
Automotive can accomplish any
requirement placed on us.
Thank you again for all of your
support. Please feel free to contact
me or come into the office if you
have any questions or concerns.
Global Auto Production
Companies that produce the most vehicles
`
Vehicles produced, 2003
1. General Motors
2. Toyota
3. Ford
4. Volkswagen
5. DaimlerChrysler
6. Peugeot-Citroen
7. Hyundai
8. Honda
9. Nissan
10. Renault
8.24 million
6.83 million
6.72 million
5.02 million
4.26 million
3.30 million
3.09 million
2.97 million
2.96 million
2.39 million
Change from 2002
Loss
Gain
-0.4%
8.1%
-3.6%
-0.4%
-4.6%
1.4%
6.9%
2.3%
9.7%
1.7%
444 News
Human Rights Committee
By
KATHY McKAY
Chairperson
“THESE CHALLENGING
TIMES”, is a phrase I would like to
have the chance never to utter again.
In dealing with issues as an activist,
it has become a cliche. The summer
break from committee meetings has
quite honestly left me nearly overwhelmed with the number of things
that bear talking about, but I will
pick only a few topics here which
have been nagging at me through the
past while.
The Sudan is a large country just
south of Ethiopia and is the source
of the Nile. It is a region earmarked
for oil exploration and is a country
that contains the border of the
Sahara to the grasslands of eastern
Africa. And due to drought conditions in the past few years, there
have been unprecedented attacks on
the people of a region known as
Darfur by a militia known as the
Janjaweed. Open raids on villages
since 2003 have left over a million
Darfur residents homeless. Crops
have been unplanted for two years
now and they exist on food relief
packages and what can be collected
in the dead of night by the women of
the camps. The men fear they will be
killed by the Janjaweed. The women
are sent out for firewood to use and
sell, and water. If caught, they face
“only” beatings and rape. The
national government of Sudan in
Khartoum denies charges that they
armed the militias, but even the
United States and the United Nations
are having trouble believing that.
The UN has fallen short of calling the situation genocide, but just
short. No one is sure how many have
been killed in the past 18 months, or
even of how many have died in the
camps of starvation and disease.
Hepatitis E and cholera are starting
to take their toll on the people. Many
NGO’s are helping, but it is nearly
impossible to keep the people isolated from the ill, or the sewage from
the camp itself. Donations have been
coming in from many places, including our own Social Justice Fund. But
what is really needed is for the government of Sudan to step up and
actually enforce the cease-fire the
UN is calling for. The history of the
crisis itself as well as an overview of
the country’s recent history will be
discussed at the next Human Rights
Committee meeting.
Also in the news is the sad story
of a great organization leaving service in Afghanistan after five of its
members were killed by Taliban
members. The group known as
Doctors Without Borders (translated
as I am typing with an English language keyboard) has pulled out of
Afghanistan after service since the
invasion of that country by the
Soviet Union. Until this year, there
had been no direct danger to them.
They offer medical services to anyone in a region of conflict, without
regard to who is on which side. They
prevent disease from spreading,
lessen the effects of famine and treat
casualties wherever they find it in
any country they are in. So what
made them targets and more vulnerable than they were in open conflict
during two invasions? The coalition
forces in Afghanistan passed out
leaflets in May stating that to receive
medical aid, Afghan citizens would
have to begin turning in suspected
members of the Taliban. The troops
put a target on the back of every aid
group worker by doing that, and five
members of MSF were killed by
July, bringing the total deaths of
members of that group to 30 since
March of 2003. The NATO troops
apologized in July.
Lastly, I’d like to take a minute
now to thank the members and
activists of this committee for the
hard work done in April of this year
when we held our annual Cultural
Diversity Day. Due to circumstances
beyond my control, I missed the
deadline for the last 444 News and I
wanted to make sure that the members who gave up a day off to help
us hold what I think was one of our
best. We had groups of very talented
dancers to entertain the people who
came out, musical groups and free
refreshments. And we were able to
show again how the diversity in our
communities make us a very rich
people indeed.
One thing that we recognize is
that our country was formed by its
immigrants and their descendants.
And our strength comes from not
only respecting the countries they
come from, but their maintaining
their culture and adding it to our
own. It adds a vitality that is
unmatched anywhere. Also in attendance were the Multicultural
Council of Windsor, the United Way
and the Regional LGBT Caucus.
And I want to comment here that
apparently the inclusion of this last
group has apparently been the subject of some disapproval. To anyone
who does not believe that members
of this community do not make up a
part of our community, you are not
facing reality. To question their
inclusion in the day celebrating cultural diversity is not only discriminatory, it is also showing a lack of
understanding of our very Charter of
Rights and Freedoms. And our
union’s own anti-harassment policy.
So, hopefully when we hold our next
Cultural Diversity Day, it can be
understood not only why our policies are what they are, but why all
cultures are welcome in our union.
Our next meeting will be held at
the Local the last Sunday of
September at 9 a.m.
25
444 News
Political
Education
Hoy that these services must remain
a key part of our public health care
system.
By
PETER
PELLERITO
•
Political Education
Chairperson
uring the federal election campaign, those of us concerned
about social programs, equality,
environmental issues, peace and
democracy feared an outcome that
would produce a Conservative party
government. Even a minority government led by Stephen Harper
would have been disastrous. Some
of us heaved a sigh of relief when
we dodged that bullet. But the
prospect of a minority Liberal government led by Paul Martin is far
from reassuring.
As Liberals always do, they “ran”
from the left in the recent election,
and would again be governing from
the right, as they invariably do, had
they gained another majority.
Reduced to minority status, they
may well implement some of their
constructive election promises,
thanks to pressure from the left by
the NDP and the Bloc. We hope to
see some improvements in health
care and child care, perhaps some
effort to reduce pollution and alleviate poverty. But don’t discount the
possibility, even the likelihood of
Martin and Harper collaborating on
some right-wing policies (more economic integration with the U.S. and
more involvement in the U.S. missile defense program). Even more
corporate tax cuts may be pushed
through by a joint Liberal-Tory vote.
The Liberals, in short, could
swing to the left with the NDP and
the Bloc, but just as easily swing to
the right with the Conservatives. I
guess the situation is still better than
would have occurred had the Tories
won. As this session of Parliament
gets ready to start working for
Recording Sec.
26
Canadians, we must keep the pressure on the Liberals to live up to the
promises made.
•
•
For-Profit Hospitals
RAY HACHEY
Federal Election - Social Commitment
D
•
•
•
Provincial Liberals –
Health Premium
Since the election of the Liberals
in Ontario, some nine months ago,
all the promises made (238), none
kept. With the promise of money
from their federal cousins for health
care, the McGuinty government
announced in its maiden budget the
plans to de-list chiropractic care,
some optometry and physiotherapy
services. At the same time introduce
legislation - Health Care Premium,
nothing more than a tax.
You would think the McGuinty
government would enhance and support more initiatives to strengthen
our health care. Most of us have
used these services and many still
need them. When I walk into those
clinics that offer these services, the
majority of the clients are workers
and the elderly. Those who can
afford these services will pay, but
what about someone on a fixed
income? Some may think that those
of us who belong to unions can
negotiate these services at the bargaining table, and some have, but
this will be a cost to the company
and what cost to workers for that
benefit? It’s now more important
than ever that chiropractic patients,
health care advocates and all
Ontarians continue to raise their
voices and tell our elected representatives Dwight Duncan, Sandra
Pupatello, Bruce Crozier and Pat
Privately run hospitals drive up
the cost of health care by as much as
$7.2 billion a year and put patients’
lives at serious risk, according to
recent two-year study headed by
researchers at McMaster University
in Hamilton. The lead author of the
study, cardiologist Philip Devereaux,
said Canadians should be aware of
substantially higher costs of privatization. “Investor-owned, for-profit
health care facilities are the cigarettes of health policy,” he declared.
“That is, they result in the higher
likelihood of your dying prematurely and you pay too much money for
them. The for-profits have more
costly health care and they have
worse outcomes.”
The study published in the
Canadian Medical Association
Journal, analyzed eight previously
published studies comparing costs at
for-profit and not-for-profit facilities
in the U.S. over a 10-year period.
The studies involved about 350,000
patients at 300 or more hospitals.
They found that costs in the for-profit hospitals averaged 19% more than
those at the not-for-profit hospitals.
The for-profits cut corners in the
quality of care to maintain shareholders’ return on their investment.
Dr. Devereaux noted that, in Canada,
32% of health care funding, around
$38.4 billion goes to hospitals. “If
we were to switch to for-profit hospitals,” he said, “that cost would
increase by 19% or $7.2 billion
annually. A cost that could have a
large impact on the actual results of
the care that could be delivered.
There are problems within our current Canadian health care system.
But the solution some people are
putting forward, that is, for-profit
health care facilities, would simply
make it worse.”
444 News
ENVIRONMENT
COMMITTEE
By
RICHARD LABONTE
Environment Committee Chairperson
Greetings:
During the 1990s, the public came
to the realization that, if humans are
to survive for generations to come,
we must begin to reverse the degradation of our planet, NOW! The three
R’s have recently been upgraded to
the four R’s – Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle and Recover. Your Local 444
Environment Committee feels that
there should be a fifth R,
–(REPLACE).
Reduce is our best option to prevent unnecessary use of existing
landfill space and to slow the reduction of non-renewable resources.
Reuse material whenever possible
to prolong their usefulness, thus
reducing the need to replace.
Recycle materials of no further
use.
Replace existing products and
technology with environment friendly
alternatives.
Recover useful materials that
have been cast off in the past.
Dr. David Suzuki has referred to
Canada as the “Home of the wasteful”. Statistics Canada reports that we
are polluting 4 times faster than our
planet can handle. On average, each
of us produce nearly one ton of waste
annually. Much of this is readily
recyclable if we just take the time to
put trash in its place.
Many countries, as well as cities
in Ontario are realizing that we must
take our environmental plight seriously and accept responsibility for
stewardship of our resources.
Upcoming in Windsor
CAW-McMaster Labour
Studies Certificate
Program – Fall 2004
Labour and the Internet
Sat., Oct. 23rd - 9 am-4pm
History of the CAW
Wed., Oct. 6th & Nov. 3rd
6:30-9:30 pm
Sat., Oct. 16th, 9 am - 4 pm
Challenges to the Labour
Movement
Wednesdays at 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Oct. 20th, 27th, and
Nov. 17th, 24th
Globalization and Democracy
Tuesdays at 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Oct. 26th, Nov. 16, 23rd, and
Dec. 14th
Labour in Documentary Film
Thursdays at 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Sept. 23, 30 & Oct. 21, 28
Government, Labour
Regulations and the Workplace
Tuesdays at 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Nov. 2nd, 9th, 30th & Dec. 7th
TO REGISTER FOR A COURSE
Apply at Local 444, 1855 Turner Rd.
or Contact Richard Labonte,519-985 -5579
NOTE: During World War II,
North Americans saved cooking fat,
old rubber tires and every sort of
product that could be reused. The
Americans even allowed the farming
of Hemp in order to produce military
goods. So, both of our governments
have proven more than 60 years ago,
that we can do it, all it takes is political will and the will of the people.
Are you willing?
Actions Speak Volumes
It may not save the ecosystem, but
the simple fact that CAW Locals 200
and 444 provided Transit Windsor
bus service on the night of the fireworks reduced the number of vehicles using fossil fuels. This one
action sure let the crowd breathe easier.
If more businesses and individuals
were just a bit more environmentally
responsible, we would make a huge
difference.
Remember, there is strength in
numbers.
Responsible Use of
Natural Resources
It’s encouraging to see our provincial government seeking green energy. If government provides the incentive, the technology will eventually
be developed.
Please call your MPPs and tell
them that government controlled,
green energy is the way to go.
Environment Committee
Meetings
All 444 members are welcome
and encouraged to participate in our
meetings.
We meet at 9:00 am on the first
Sunday of each month at 444 Hall.
27
444 News
W o r k i n g To w a r d W e l l n e s s
REPORT
T
his has been a very busy year
for the Retirees and WAP
Wellness Committees. Starting with
our Retirees’ Committee, here are a
few monthly events that were held
at the Local:
• Quit smoking information
• Healthy Eating Presentation by a
Registered Dietitian
• Detective Wayne Halpert from
Senior Moments on Protecting
Yourself
In May, retirees and their spouses signed up for a 12 week pilot
program “Losing Weight the
Healthy Weigh” under the guidance
of Chris Wellington, who is a
Registered Dietitian.
In June, we held our Annual
Retirees’ Health and Wellness Fair
in partnership with the Local 200
Retirees’ Committee. We had over
30 agencies at our hall setting up
their booths downstairs with the
upper level being used for group
presentations. The first presentation, “Med Check: Staying Safe
with Medications”, was delivered
by Dorothy Pardalis, a Community
Pharmacist.
Allyssyn Girard-Lippman, a
Registered Dietitian, then led a
health cooking demonstration that
featured a great tasting chili recipe.
At the end of the presentation each
retiree was able to enjoy a sample
of the chili.
The Wellness Committee from
WAP had their hands full with a
great lineup of Wellness activities.
To start the year, they held a Quit
Smoking Contest. The contest
encouraged employees and members of their families to quit smoking from March 1st until April 11th.
A Wellness Fair was held in the
plant that featured the Heart and
Stroke Foundation, the Windsor-
28
Essex County YMCA, Canadian
Cancer Society, Canadian Diabetes
Association, and the in-plant
Physiotherapist. The participation
in the Wellness Contest has also
been excellent with lots of great
prizes going to many winners.
On August 8th, a Family Day
was held at the Children’s Safety
Village. Working hand in hand with
the Windsor-Essex County Health
Unit and DaimlerChrysler, our
members did a great job organizing
this event.
I wish to express my sincere
thanks to the planning committee,
their spouses, volunteers, and all
those who showed up to pitch in.
Special thanks to Bonnie Pacuta
and her staff from the Safety
Village for their help in co-ordinating many of the activities and making our day a great success. We had
over 1600 employees and their
families enjoying the activities,
BBQ, refreshments, and health
information. You could tell by the
smiles on the children’s faces that
they were having a great time !
By
ROLLY
BEAULIEU
CAW Wellness
Co-ordinator
On a different topic, in
September of last year, our members received a Wellness Survey to
be completed by October 1/03. All
results of this survey will be posted
on Dashboard Anywhere by
October 1/04.
On August 17/04 the National
Quality Institute announced that
they were awarding Daimler
Chrysler Canada Incorporated
(DCCI) and the Canadian Auto
Workers (CAW) the prestigious
Healthy Workplace Award.
Congratulations are in order to all
Hourly and Salary employees who
took part in the Focus and
Assessment Groups. Their input
was extremely valuable in winning
this award.
The CAW/DaimlerChrysler
partnership on health, safety, wellness and the environment shows
our collective commitment to the
health and safety of CAW members, their families and their communities.
RETIRING MEMBERS
The following members retired from the Plants recently. The Executive and
Membership of Local 444 wish these members the very best in their new life.
THIS LIST OF RETIREES INCLUDES INACTIVE MEMBERS (S&A AND EDB)
JUNE 1, 2004
Ron Greven . . . . . . . . . . . . 9350
Duain Imeson . . . . . . . .Integram
Theresa Jamieson . . . . . . . 9370
Charles Robinson . . . . . . . 9742
AUGUST 1, 2004
Dimitar Basevski . . . . . . . . 9350
Roger Chiasson . . . . . . . . . 9330
Salvatore Fardella . . . . . . . .9773
David MacRae . . . . . . . . . . 9371
Randy McMillan . . . . . . . . 9023
Juanito Pangilinan . . . . . . . 9740
Gary Ross . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9020
Cobie M. Simonis . . . . . . Casino
George Wheelton . . . . . . . . 9078
SEPTEMBER 1, 2004
James Bernard . . . . . . . . . . 9021
Richard Brett . . . . . . . . . . . 9350
Keith Deardurff . . . . . . . . . 9040
Marcel Gagne . . . . . . . . . . 9040
Dusko Iloski . . . . . . . . . . . 9740
Louis Lamb . . . . . . . . . . . . 9020
Randall Reiss . . . . . . . . . . . 9330
Robert Ritchie . . . . . . . . . . 9310
Abram Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . 9310
444 News
Retirees’
Chapter
By
GEORGE
JOHNSON
Chairperson,
Retirees’
Chapter
Dilemma at Bridlewood
H
ousing co-operatives are a
method by which members
live together in an affordable housing climate. The establishment of
co-operatives assured that low
income people would have a decent
place to live at affordale rents. Coop housing is in part subsidized by
the government. This allows low
income people, physically handicapped, and single parents to rent
units there.
The co-operative corporation,
however, is the legal owner of the
property and is responsible for
meeting the financial obligations of
the co-op, however the residents
are the governing body.
The Problem
There are 131 units in
Bridlewood Essex. At this time
Bridlewood is seriously considering
whether to sell the co-op housing
units to its members. According to
the Co-Operative Housing
Federation of Canada (CHFC) this
move is contrary to the Ontario CoOperative Corporations Act.
The attempted sale of these
units goes against the whole purpose of the government program
that funded the co-op with taxpayers dollars, also it is contrary to the
goals of community leaders, i.e.
Charles Brooks, et al, who was
responsible for founding the co-op.
Not an easy task back then. Nonprofit affordable housing like
Bridlewood is designed to help
Canadians who need a place to live
like Bridlewood.The board of
directors proceeding with this
action are depriving the community
of valuable affordable housing in
the future that Canadian taxpayers
and the original members paid for.
The proposed sale of the units to its
members contravenes the CoOperative Corporations Act; sec.
171.2. When this came to the attention of the Financial Services
Commission of Ontario that the
members did not have a "life interest" in their units, they have a right
to occupy the units subject to a
number of terms and conditions.
Violations result in termination of
their occupancy.
Contrary to obligations under
FSCO (see above), the co-operative
board of directors prepaid its long
term mortgage to CHMC, with substantial penalties, and took out a
new mortgage with a new lender.
The terms of the mortgage agreement demonstrate an intention to
help the co-operative sell its units
to the members. Members of housing co-operative units are not
expected to own their units.
Bridlewood members should not
expect that either.
Legal action has been commenced against the co-op which
affects its property. The hearing is
in November. Bridlewood is in
Essex, Ontario. The co-op was first
established by CAW Local 444 and
its leadership.
Obituaries
We are sorry to report the passing of the following members since the last issue.
The Executive and Membership of CAW Local 444 extend their heartfelt
condolences to the bereaved families.
Thomas Beckett................. Retired
Rashid Eltousse ................. Retired
George Carruthers ............. Retired
Manuel Santos....................... 9330
Robert Pare........................ Retired
Pasquale Caravaggi ........... Retired
William Peters ................... Retired
Henry N. Hickey ............... Retired
Dave Rawlins .................... Retired
H. J. LaFrance ................... Retired
James Woltz....................... Retired
Norman Deschaine ........... Retired
James Paul......................... Retired
Gerald J. McCarthy ........... Retired
Robert Bell ........................ Retired
Kenneth Bailey.................. Retired
Youssef Helou ....................... 9020
John Stasso ........................ Retired
Fred D. Strange ................. Retired
Nikolaus Geml .................. Retired
Jason Culos ........................... 9003
David Ferguson ................. Retired
William Campbell ................. 9074
Wasyl Stupnykyj ............... Retired
Wajih Nohra ...................... Retired
Gerald McNorton .............. Retired
Ronald Degrace................. Retired
Edgar Rivait ...................... Retired
Helmut Benkendorf........... Retired
Istvan Mesaros .................. Retired
Fredrick Arsenault............. Retired
George Dufour ...................... 8370
Peter Vucenovic ................ Retired
Virya Nhek...................... Integram
Harry Ladouceur ............... Retired
David Malott ......................... 9040
Stanley Tranter .................. Retired
Roger J. Bondy.................. Retired
Ramon Fernandez.............. Retired
Rose Toze .......................... Retired
Cecil Sinasac ..................... Retired
Gordon McNorton............. Retired
Jean Gauvin....................... Retired
Terrance O’Connor............ Retired
Edmond Russette............... Retired
Duncan MacPhee .............. Retired
29
444 News
Benefits Report
By
PAT
CUSHING
Windsor Assembly Plant
Government Changes
to Health Care
Green Shield
It did not take the Provincial
Liberal government very long to
flip-flop on their election promises
– "no tax increases" and to "maintain health care coverage".
Their first budget brought a
new "Health Tax Premium"; and
along with this new tax came cuts
to coverage for eye exams, chiropractic care and physiotherapy.
Effective January 1, 2004,
Green Shield Canada established a
Participating Provider Network for
Orthotics. Only those providers
who have agreed to join this network are eligible to dispense custom-made foot Orthotics to
employees, retirees, and their eligible dependents. Therefore, you
must purchase your orthotics from
a provider who is a member of the
network to be eligible for reimbursement. There are a number of
ways to find an eligible provider in
your area:
1. Call the Green Shield customer
service center at 1-888-7111119.
2. Ask your current provider
3. View the current list of eligible
providers on the Green Shield
website: www.greenshield.ca
Eye Exams
If you are between the age of 20
years and 64 years, OHIP will no
longer cover routine eye exams.
Our Green Shield Plan does not
have a provision to cover these
exams yet. This change is effective November 1, 2004.
Chiropractic Care
Effective December 1, 2004,
OHIP will no longer cover any visits to a chiropractor. We will
maintain our current Green Shield
coverage for this benefit.
Physiotherapy
This coverage will be cut March
31, 2005. Our Green Shield plan
does not have a provision to cover
physiotherapy yet. The effective
dates for these cuts are subject to
change just like the Liberal government's promises. The CAW, along
with other unions in Ontario, Local
Labour Councils, and representatives from chiropractic and physiotherapy associations are still lobbying this Liberal government to cancel these changes. Any inquiries
can be directed to the Ministry of
Health at 1-800-268-1154.
30
– Orthotic
Preferred Provider Network
funds are considered insurable
earnings and CPP and EI premiums
will be deducted).
Tuition and Dependent
Scholarship Refunds
*Reminder -- Members taking
courses, or who have dependents
taking courses, should contact
Green Shield at 1-888-711-1119
prior to enrolment to verify that the
courses taken will be reimbursed.
Also, our members should be
reminded that your dependent children can remain on your Green
Shield coverage until the end of the
calendar year in which they turn 21
years old if they are a full time student. You should call Benefits Link
at 1-877-854-5465 to be sure they
remain on your Green Shield coverage.
E.I.
Dependent Scholarship
and Child Care Refunds
DaimlerChrysler is now paying
out the Dependent Scholarship and
Child Care refunds. Members who
are on layoff, maternity, parental
and adoption leave and are receiving EI benefits can request that
these reimbursements be paid. If
you have submitted the proper
paperwork to Green Shield, you
must call Chrysler payroll to
request payment; and then call E.I.
at 1-800-206-7218 and speak with
an agent to explain that you
received either the scholarship or
child refund. E.I. will then allocate
these funds so they do not affect
your E.I. payments. *(Note: these
Applications and reports can
now be done on the Internet. If you
are laid off, you now have the
choice to use either the TELEDEC
system by calling 1-800-531-7555
or the INTERDEC system at
hrsdc.gc.ca/ei to report EI. You
will need your four digit Access
Code and your Social Insurance
Number to report. The Interdec
system confirms your call-in, and it
also allows you to review the
answers to the questions before
submitting. This is a much better
system and it is advised to be used
if you have access to the Internet.
If you need to speak to an EI agent
or get information on your claim,
you can call 1-800-206-7218.
444 News
SKILLED
TRADES
REPORT
Vacations
All the trades were recalled for the
vacation period except the Layout
Inspectors. In the major trade groups
there were 258 people on vacation
and 41 not approved for the first
week of shutdown and 236 people
approved and 61 not approved for the
second week. As you can see there
still were a lot of people not getting a
vacation during the shutdown and
will not get a vacation during the
summer period as all the other weeks
are full with people who have more
seniority.
We try to spread out vacations
during the year to keep as many people working as long as possible. As
usual there has been some controversy about too many people on vacation
and the company using outside contractors to do shutdown work, mostly
construction versus our trades doing
the work. This scenario is a two edge
sword. We argue for 50 weeks a year,
that all the work belongs to us but the
two weeks of shutdown we work
with the company to get as many
people their vacation as possible.
These are people who work at least 6
days a week, 50 weeks a year and
with their seniority can only get this
period of time to enjoy a well
deserved vacation with their family.
If there is anyone who has a different idea how to manage the vacations so we can get people out in the
summer months and keep contractors
to a minimum your input would be
appreciated. Remember we all have
to take two weeks vacation before the
end of the year.
Manpower
Now that the vacations are slowing up and the plant to start a five day
By
PERCY
ROUNDING
Skilled Trades
Chairperson
production schedule in October, the
Company will be looking to run the
plant with the bare number of trades
to achieve their HPV. The Plant has
been given a task to reduce the total
number of workers to 4910. We
believe they cannot reduce anymore
jobs that are directly tied to the line
and will be looking at indirect labour
for the reductions. All of our jobs
will be monitored under a microscope
so do your job safely and professionally.
We will have layoffs in every
trade group. In some of the trade
groups we were successful in implementing alternative layoffs offered to
the senior people which in turn helps
the junior people the opportunity to
not only work but build up their vacation and SUB credits. So far this
alternative layoff is working well and
we will monitor it to make sure it is a
success.
A problem that will occur as it has
in the past with the low number of
trades during the week some weekends we will not have enough people
to complete the regular assignments.
Ownership
On Labour Day Weekend there
were no outside contractors in doing
our traditional work, with plant
forces doing numerous jobs which
the Company was contemplating contracting out. Along with the normal
P.M. assignments, MEB 6 work, we
were also successful in completing
the demolition and reinstallation on
the CN3 parts feed tooling transfer
conveyor in RS Engine Box Line
consisting of rerouting of air and
mastic sealer lines, removal of con-
veyor and catwalk structure, along
with the decommissioning and installation of robot arm, controller and
robot riser into line position, also the
lowering of the platform and drive
relocation on P16. These are a few of
the projects that were done by our
trades in a timely fashion if not ahead
of schedule with the Company giving
our trades lots of compliments and
praise for doing our work.
Training
At present time we have a new
robot area (228M) in the new body
shop designated for training along
with a classroom. Training is being
conducted by our TTT (Train The
Trainers). Courses include Nachi AR
as well as Nachi AW.
Vendor training is conducted on
systems such as Nachi tub cell insertion, various frequency drives and
unique systems where only a core
group of trades are to be trained.
TSSA equipment specific (Natural
Gas) is presently being conducted
along with RS logic, Dominion multiple fill equipment systems, Kinney
pumps and Bories vin marking system etc.
WAP Skilled Trades training
schedule reflects numerous courses
that are available upon request such
as ABB Tralfa, Fanuc System,
Hayden Mechanical, backflow prevention devices, Sick pls laser scanners, Atlas Copco Power Max,
Nordson primer and urethane, Beta
cert/ Stanley Tools, Kuka gantry load
and Easom Robot transfers.
Continuous training is our future
focus relative to Skilled Trades
Training. Hard copies of training
materials from our Library are available and yours to keep upon request
at 44 Q second floor or by calling
#4359. At the present time the Skilled
Trades Committee is in the process of
identifying new technology relative
to RT Launch possible New Paint
Shop at the Tech Centre platform
level.
31
444 News
SUBSTANCE
ABUSE
By
PATRICK
KEENAN
ACAD, EAP
Substance
Abuse
Representative
Seasons change and so do I
Submitted by:
ROBERT LANGAN
Alt. EFAP Rep/Substance Abuse
Y
es, it’s that time of year again
where my full time rep. allows
me to address my peers with another
installment of what the E.F.A.P.
(Employee Family Assistance
Program) can do, and how exactly it
can do it. Like the title implies,
“Seasons change and so do I”,– now
I know it sounds like the verse from
the Guess Who’s famous song, but it
doesn’t change the realities that
change is good as well as a necessary
part of the evolution of humankind.
For far too long, people seemed
content to just sit back and allow life
to happen. Whether they felt incapable of motivating themselves or
whether they simply didn’t realize
their options. The truth is that change
is not only necessary, but also good
for our whole well being, body, mind
and spirit. Now most of you have had
the union awareness training and will
remember, (especially if you had Pat’s
class) that there are four life domains,
the mental, the physical, the spiritual
and the social. We all need to exercise
our brains in direct proportion to our
bodies, as well, we need to recognize
and enhance our own spirituality in
whatever form it takes and work at
how we interact with each other
socially.
By allowing ourselves the time for
self-evaluation and through our interactions with others, we are offered a
unique opportunity to not only ask for
help when our life is out of balance,
but also a means of getting the help
we need. I am not trying to imply that
there are none amongst us, who have
32
achieved homeostasis (balance) in
their lives and in the lives of their
families.
Again the reality is that some of us
haven’t and haven’t reached out for
some time, to allow us to address a
myriad of issues that keep arising in
our own lives and in the lives of our
family members. Anyone including
yourself who has coverage under your
Green Shield would be wise to take
advantage of the contracted benefits
that have been bargained on their
behalf. I would even go so far as to
say, that if a person close to you who
may not be covered under our collective agreement finds themselves in
need of our service, your E.F.A.P. rep.
would still be able to provide a host
of agencies willing to work out some
type of arrangement with them, to aid
them getting the help they need. We
don’t have to go this alone, there are
those who have been where we have
been, and further, and at the end of
the day have found hope.
The reason I chose the season’s
metaphor is to try and paint a picture
of how nature was intended to operate
before mankind squeezed its own values on it. It seems that the Winter
season brought us to the conclusion
that we had better be prepared for the
weather, for the lack of food and for
the isolation that usually accompanies
this season. Now while it’s true that
we have gotten around a lot of the
issues that use to hinder our ability to
cope in this season, our psyche still
goes into shut down mode and tends
to fatten up, hibernate (isolate) and
conserve energy. The problem lies in
our unwillingness or our ignorance
that as Spring approaches our psyche
should be shedding a few pounds,
raising the metabolism and getting
ready to spring into action, a spring
cleaning if you will.
There is a lot of work ahead and
again we needn’t do it alone, but do it
we must! By Summer we would hope
that the seeds which were planted in
the spring, like better physical health,
improved mental skills such as reading or writing or budgeting, maybe a
game plan to allow our spiritual connection with each other to flourish,
and the means socially to implement
that plan. So that as the Fall blows
around we’ll be ready to take stock of
not only what we reap but also of
what we sow, we can be proud of our
own individual harvest and in the
pride of our community as a whole.
You see, no man is an island, nor
is any woman, we need each other
and I am not alone in this philosophy.
I would like nothing better than to
have Pat inundated with requests for
self improvement and I am confident
that he too would welcome our membership becoming ready to address
areas that they could use a little help
in. This will allow them to enjoy their
lives to the fullest and to remain a
healthy well-balanced and productive
workforce, and family member. Open
communication is the cornerstone to
any successful relationship, be it
spouse, children, co-workers, or individuals in the community
It is easy to feel trapped, like there
is no logical way out. I’m reminded
by Pat all the time, that just because I
can’t think of a solution to a problem
does not mean that one does not exist.
The ability to ask for help, and pick
up that 500 lb phone is the first step
to freedom. I have made that call and
would encourage all who can relate to
do the same. Together we can accomplish plenty, let the resources available, free you and/or your loved ones
from the bonds that have kept them
feeling helpless. Remember the call is
always confidential and that while
pain is inevitable, misery is optional.
Call 258-3481 and get back on
track regardless of what season you
may be going through.
444 News
August 11, 2004
From THE
MAIL BAG
August 4, 2004
CAW Local 1996
203 Park Street North
Peterborough, ON K9J 3P7
Attention: Brother Stephen Madill
Dear Brother Madill:
Local 444 of the Canadian Auto Workers Union, representing members employed at DaimlerChrysler, Casino
Windsor, TransAlta Energy, Integram Seating, Innovatech
Seating, Benteler Automotive, Johnson Controls, Etna and
Presteve Foods, has decided to donate $10,000 in support of
the community of Peterborough and the members of CAW
who experienced flooding as a result of the storm in midJuly.
We would very much appreciate you presenting this donation on our behalf, recognizing the CAW in the community of
Peterborough has a large and respected presence that goes
beyond workplaces and collective bargaining initiatives.
Our hearts and best thoughts are with the community of
Peterborough and with the members and families of our
Union who may have lost material items but did not lose
sight of the importance of coming together in a time of crisis.
Good luck my friends and colleagues within our CAW
family.
In solidarity,
KEN LEWENZA
PRESIDENT, Local 444 C.A.W.
Dear Ken
We would like to thank you and CAW Local 444 for
arranging for transportation for our wedding party on May
29, 2004. The Dodge Maxi Van did the job nicely, carting
around the groom and all of the gentlemen who stood for
him. We thought it was fitting to have a vehicle that we
both may have had a hand in making be a part of our special day. I think you wanted us to provide a brief account
of how we met, so here it goes:
Kelly and Chris met in November 2001 at the Pillette
Road Plant in the Body In White department. Kelly owned
CAW Local 444
1855 Turner Road
Windsor, Ont. N8W-3K2
Dear Brother Lewenza
It is impossible to describe the emotion I felt when presenting your $10,000.00 cheque to the Peterborough Red
Cross Flood Relief on your behalf. This generous donation
will go a long way to help CAW members and others in this
community. It can be said, that it affected two out of three of
our 530 members in this Local, as well as members in CAW
Local 524 and 1987.
I presented the cheque on your behalf to David Webster,
District Manager for this region and Robin Bondy, recovery
manager for this operation. Robin is from Windsor and was
quick to point out the generosity of Local 444 in donating a
van for the Windsor Personal Disaster Assistance Branch.
Billie Ann Hudson and Doreen O’Brien are also here from
the Windsor Red Cross.
While this flood is a disaster for the community it brings
to mind the disaster the Automobile Industry is facing with
jobs moving out of the province. It will be the initiative of
our Executive to remind this community of the generosity of
the CAW Automotive Plants and Suppliers, when purchasing
a new vehicle.
Please thank the Brothers and Sisters of Local 444 on our
behalf.
In Solidarity,
STEVE MADILL,
PRESIDENT
CAW Local 1996
a job in Left Apertures and Chris was working as a floater
on the Metal Line. They eventually crossed paths after
Kelly decided to eat lunch in Chris’ department. Chris
finally worked up the nerve to ask Kelly out and it didn’t
take them long to figure out that they were meant to be
together. They both met some nice people and have a lot
of nice memories of their time at Plant 6 but the one that
stands out the most for them was the day they met.
Thanks again Ken, for taking time out of your busy
schedule to accommodate us on our wedding day!
Chris and Kelly Bondy
33
444 News
Thursday, July 29, 2004
e
Mor
MAIL BAG
CAW Local 444,
1855 Turner Rd. Windsor, ON N8W 3K2
ATTN: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
RE: CAW FAMILY PICNIC
To Whom It May Concern:
I am an employee at Windsor Casino. On
Sunday, July 25th, 2004, I attended the CAW Family
Picnic with my family.
I purchased tickets for my daughters and each of
their children. My nine-year-old grandson has
Autism. We were a little nervous about bringing him
to the picnic because of his special circumstances.
He does not like crowds of people and has a very
difficult time with waiting.
We should not have worried. Everyone at that
picnic was compassionate, understanding, and very,
very compromising when it came to my grandson.
The volunteers at the rides took their time and
explained things to him so he would understand. The
volunteers at each of the food/drink stations as well
as the gift station allowed him to go to the front of
the line to avoid unpleasant behaviours that may
have arose because of the crowds of people and the
amount of noise.
I am honoured to belong to such a humanitarian
organization that treats Autistic children with respect
and courtesy. I am told that our Local gives very
generously to Autism Society Ontario, WindsorEssex Chapter and I applaud you.
I just wanted to take the time to properly thank
the Executive and Social Committees of CAW Local
444. From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of
my grandson, my sincere gratitude for your outstanding compassion. I look forward to attending next
year.
Sincerely,
Jo-Ann Coulter
34
July 30, 2004
CAW Local 444
1855 Turner Road, Windsor, ON
Dear Mr. Lewenza:
Last year my family and I had the privilege of
attending the Local 444 family picnic at Mic- Mac
park. I knew I was going to attend this year, because
of the marvelous time we had the previous summer.
So I am writing to tell you how grateful I am to
you and the people who organize such a magnificent
event.
When we pulled into the parking lot, I knew this
event wasn’t just thrown together. You saw first
hand, the organizing it took to prepare for such a
spectacular day. I also knew that everyone wearing a
yellow CAW shirt was VOLUNTEERING their personal time. These individuals were happy to see
everyone and more than willing to help you park,
give the kids balloons, cook, clean up, hand out gifts,
etc. I must mention that I have never attended a picnic and received a $25+ gift for my children, – once
again another added bonus, thank you.
Hats off to all the gentlemen at the barbeque!
The cuisine was hot and delicious.
We thank you for the great entertainment, the
pony rides and Beebo the clown, he was a hit with
the little ones and let’s not forget Mad Science for
the older kids. No one or anything was forgotten
from food, the disc jockey, the water slide, wading
pool, milk products, door prizes the list is ENDLESS.
I would personally like to thank you all but that
would be impossible. I know this picnic is not a marketing ploy or an advertising chance to sell a product. I came to the conclusion that the CAW, truly and
sincerely CARES about the member and its family.
THANK-YOU Local 444 for your tremendous
hard work and time, to provide us with such a superb
day. May God bless each and every one of you and
your families with excellent health and happiness.
Yours truly,
Rachel Jordan
444 News
Women’s Committee
T
his year Women’s Conference
“Women’s Health in Women’s
Hands” brought together 191 delegates from across Canada. It was
held at the CAW Education Centre
in Port Elgin. There never has been
a more urgent time to bring
Women’s Health into the spotlight,
as the troubling times we are going
through with our current government.
We have been lobbying for a
National Child Care program for
years, with no reply. When you do
not have reliable childcare you cannot work. Funding for elderly care
has been decreased. Funding to
help women who have been in abusive relationships leave with their
children, has been eroded. All these
stressors plus the everyday stressors we encounter are bad for our
health. With the election of a
minority government we hope they
take notice, and finally make positive changes to improve the quality
of our lives. Two of our delegates
from the Local wrote about their
experiences at the conference.
•
•
By
SANDRA
DOMINATO
Pill”, its history and eventual
impact on women’s health worldwide. Access to good health care
and government programs dealing
with child poverty and foster care
were also discussed. A special presentation on Mozambique and the
11 million children who are
orphaned due to the “AIDS” epidemic was especially troubling to
most of us. These are only some
examples of what was offered at
this year’s conference.
We came away feeling
refreshed, bonded to our sisters and
wanting to share what we have
learned. We want other members to
come and experience what we have
been privileged as members of the
CAW to be part of: – an enlightening and truly rewarding experience.
•
•
•
By Susan McKinnon
Sisters from across Canada
gathered recently to discuss issues
regarding women’s health. Julie
White, CAW Director of Women’s
Programs and a dedicated team of
the sisters managed to do it again
with little surprise to the 191
women delegates, enjoyed informative workshops on negotiating
women’s health, organizing for
healthier women and the link
between personal and collective
action.
Four days of fascinating speakers beginning Sunday night with
our CAW President Buzz Hargrove.
The delegates as well as 75 children and 24 teens rejoiced in beautiful weather for a corn roast and
great movies. The teens worked
hard all week learning about health
issues and putting together a wonderful closing presentation. The
conference closed with Assistant to
the President Sister Peggy Nash.
I would like to thank the
Women’s Committee and Executive
Board for electing me as a delegate
to the Women’s Conference. It was
a great honour to represent Local
444.
•
By Theresa Corra
Women’s Conference on Health
in Port Elgin held from August 23
to 25, 2004 was attended by five
women from Integram Seating. A
very smart three-year-old son and
grandson of one of our families
also came.
Women from all over Canada,
from all walks of life, colour, race,
young and old, joined together by a
common thread – proud members
of the CAW Sisterhood. These
women gathered at the lovely,
peaceful and comfortable facility to
learn from one another, to dialogue
and listen to guest speakers
empowering them through education awareness and support.
Seminars were conducted daily,
dealing with issues such as “The
The following members of Local 444 CAW-Casino participated in the Big
Bike Ride in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation: Karen
McGladdery, Pierette Wallis, Rick Wilkinson Nick Selmeci, Susan
McKinnon, Cash Weatherinall and Lee Ann Renaud
35
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