modernization?

Transcription

modernization?

LO CAL 23
01
2301
Kitimat Smelter & Kemano
Power Operations Workers
www.caw2301.ca
WHAT
Rio-Tinto
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2009
MODERNIZATION?
HOPEFULLY
?
CAW Local 2301 HOTLINE
www.caw2301.ca
MAILBAG
Thank You’s
The
September / October 2009
CAW Local 2301
235 Enterprise Avenue
Kitimat B.C. V8C 2C8
250.632.4611
Canadian Cancer
Society
Thank you CAW Local 2301 for your generous support
to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Sincerely
Helen Owen
250.632.6308
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.caw2301.ca
Kitimat Dynamics
Gymnastics
Layout by:
Tanya Allen
Editorial Board:
Linda Connell
Luis Diaz
Sean O’Driscoll
Published bimonthly by:
The Executive of
CAW Local 2301
President:
Vice-President:
Financial Secretary:
Recording Secretary:
Trustees:
Sergeant-at-Arms:
Guide:
Retirees’ Chapter Rep:
Business Agent:
Union Safety Rep:
Gary Warren
Ed Abreu
Cam Wiebe
Jim Robertson
Karen Jonkman
Marty McIlwrath
Andrew McLaren
Willie Knox
Mike Szmata
Ron Fossl
Bill Garvin
Sean O’Driscoll
Mike Schmidt
Kitimat - Terrace
& District
Labour Council
Publication Copyright ©2009
Canadian Auto Workers Union Local #2301(CAW 2301)
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April Tam - Summer
Student
Thank you so much for hiring me to work on your
history project! I learned a lot during this work term
and I had a lot of fun conducting the interviews.
Also, I would like to say thank you very much to the
Executive and office staff for all of your help during this
project. I really appreciate it.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed
writing it. Have a great year and I’ll come by to say
“hi” at Christmas.
April Tam
www.caw2301.ca
MAILBAG
Scholarships Awarded
CAW Local 2301 Scholarships
I would like to thank you
very much for
presenting this scholarship
to me. I worked hard all year
and hoped to be presented
with an award and my
dreams came true. This is a
huge help in furthering me
with my education. I’m very
excited to be going off to
school and your scholarship made a huge difference.
Thank you so much,
Brandy Siepmann
It was an honour to have received a
scholarship from CAW Local 2301 this
year and I am truly grateful to have had
the opportunity to be considered a
successful applicant in what was to be a
very difficult decision making process.
With the kind generosity of CAW Local
2301, I have been provided with a
tremendous amount of assistance in
funding my soon-to-be post-secondary
endeavour, and for that I offer an endless
thank you to all.
I would like to end this letter with a thank-you to the
Union that is inexpressible. Your positive encouragement in
helping students with pursuing their post-secondary
educations will most certainly not be forgotten.
Sincerely yours,
Sheldon Silveira
Ross Slezak Memorial Scholarship
I wish to thank you for your
generous support of my postsecondary education. I am
honoured to have been chosen
to be the first recipient of the
Ross Slezak Memorial Scholarship of $2500.
My current plans for the
future are to study health
sciences, beginning at
Northwest Community College in September 2009 and then
transferring to UVIC or UNBC (where I’ve been accepted),
or UBC in my second year. I hope to study Medical Genetics,
a career I look forward to because I hope to help families
through my profession and the advocacy skills I have
developed over the years.
Once again, thank you for your generous contribution to
my post-secondary education.
Sincerely,
Grace Straw
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www.caw2301.ca
MAILBAG
Founder of Canadian
Unionism in Kitimat
Passes Away
Rest in Peace
It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of
several of our members in the recent months.
These brothers will be sadly missed by all who were
privileged to know them. Our condolences are expressed
on behalf of the membership, the Retiree Chapter, and
myself, Bill Garvin, to all the family circles who have
experienced loss these past few months.
Harvey Adolf
Owen Gallagher 1922 - 2009
It is with deep sadness that we learn of the
passing of Brother Owen Gallagher, on
June 23, 2009.
Brother Owen was one of the founders of
Canadian Unionism in Kitimat. He, along with
a dedicated group of plant workers, fought the
battle to rid us of the Steelworkers Union,
which was orientated more towards the
Company (all orders came from Pittsburgh)
than workers.
This tireless group of activists will forever be
remembered for their dedication and work on
our behalf, everything we have and enjoy now
is because of them.
Owen will be missed by all who knew him.
He was always quick with a story, ancedote or
joke and liked nothing better than to discuss
Union business. Owen retired in 1982 (27 years
to enjoy life). Our condolences go out to the
family circle.
Rest In Peace.
Brother Harvey was a long-time Toolcrib Attendant in
Lines 1&2. He was easily recognized by everyone by his
black cowboy hats. He will be sadly missed by all who
knew him.
Jose Almeida
Brother Jose was the father of active member Brother
Nelson Almeida. He was well liked by his co-workers. He
will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
Germano Carrita
Brother Germano lived in Terrace and was a long-time
retiree. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
Bob Perry
Brother Bob was an avid fisherman, who could be found
most of the time either at the marina, or down the channel on his Starcraft. He will be sadly missed by all who
knew him.
Tom Sandhu
Brother Tom was a friend who always had a big smile
and hello when you met him. He will be sadly missed by
all his friends and workmates in Ingot Finishing.
Employee Flu Vaccine Clinic
Dates:
October 26, 27, 28 & November 9 & 10
Time:
6:30 a.m - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Medical building #176
Drop-in clinic — no appointments taken
Contact the Occupational Health Dept, Kathie (8489) or Fiona (8629), for more information.
*You must remain in the medical bldg reception area for 15 minutes following the injection.
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www.caw2301.ca
MAILBAG
CAW Convention Inspirational
What an amazing experience! Thank you for the
workers are helping to improve things for the whole of
opportunity to take in all of the sights and activities, it
society and are lucky to have some protections afforded
was empowering and inspirational.
by being part of a union. All we gain has the effect of
Over 1,000 people attended the convention events
increasing standards for those outside of our
daily and there were professional photographers and a
organization. This should be global, that workers are
film crew there as well. By the third day we were all
treated fairly, can work safely, and retire in dignity. To
given a picture of the whole convention hall with all the
that end, the National is lobbying a government
delegates. That was quite a feat! When I look at the
universal pension plan for all. Only 40% of Canadians
picture now I can only find us in the photo because I
have a bargained pension plan, and that is not
know where we were when the picture was taken.
acceptable as a nation. This sentiment was unanimously
Everyday before the meeting
agreed upon by all the
came to order in the morning
speakers throughout the
“..we are the advocates for all workers
and after lunch, a live band
convention.
and the vulnerable in society..”
was playing union songs – very
There were many speakers
upbeat. There was a stage at
over the course of 3 days and
front for all the National
never a dull moment. I’m afraid
Executive and dignitaries. The room was so large that
to list them as I may miss some.
the speakers at the podium looked tiny, but the
The business of this convention was for the revision of
organizers had that under control with at least 6 large
the constitution, such as:
screens. No matter where a person sat there was no fear
of missing anything.
• Article 9 section 1 will change to read
All the presidents were there, Bob White, Buzz
“constitutional and collective bargaining
Hargrove and Ken Lewenza. Ken is an amazing speaker
convention” in “2012”. It used to be two different
and his message was very clear - Yes we are in tough
conventions, but now will be held at the same time,
times but that is when and where unions shine. Instead
saving money.
of all bad news, he gave examples of how CAW is
• Article 12 sections 1 and 2 will see a change to the
making gains, such as buses built in Canada, and
following salaries of National Officers (all are listed
Canada Post buying minivans that are made in Canada.
as annually):
He spoke of sit-ins and rallies that have had some
• President from $147,662.58 to $155,260.80.
results in getting government to listen and take up the
• Secretary-Treasurer from $135,550.74 to
cause for working people.
$143,149.07.
Another uplifting story was of the Newfoundland
• Quebec Director from $127,551.58 to $135,149.69.
government giving a union $40,000,000 to take care of
it’s members after the company the closed its doors and
• National Representatives from $112,827.26 to
refused to pay severance owed to the workers. They are
$120,425.49
taking the company to court and if they win then the
• Article 17 – Initiation fees and dues section 13 –
government will be reimbursed, but if they lose in court
Local unions will now keep 46% of members dues
the government will forgive the loan – cool!
and send the National 54% (it used to be locals kept
We were also shown a DVD called Working in Peril,
41% and sent the National 59%).
Union in Action. Very good. We were all given a copy. I
recommend everyone take a look at it.
The National strike fund, as of June 2009, was at $81
I really liked the idea Brother Lewenza highlighted for
million, and has been since 1992. I found it interesting as
the whole convention, that we are the advocates for all
well as impressive that the financial presentation was
workers and the vulnerable in society. We the unionized
in the millions of dollars.
continues on next page...
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www.caw2301.ca
...continued from the previous page
There were a number of other resolutions dealt with,
but one that really sticks out in my mind was the
“mobilizing young workers through CAW local union
youth committees.” Youth includes people up to the age
of 35 years. There were many impressive young people
at the convention including a young woman who at 29
years old is the president of her local.
At the convention the election of the National
Executive Board is held. The results were:
President – Ken Lewenza, Local 444
Secretary-Treasurer – Peter Kennedy, Local 27
Quebec Director – Jean-Pierre Fortin
Trustee – Christine Connor, Local 414
Trustee – Roland Kiehne, Local 112
Trustee – Jean Van Vliet, Local 3000
Member-At-Large – Nancy
McMurphy, Local 302
I’m sure that there is the question in
some of your minds as there was in
mine about the language barriers. I do
not speak French and wondered how I
would manage. This too was a great
experience and made me want to make
an extra effort for the future. During
the convention the majority of things
were in English and each delegate was
able to sign out a translator unit with
headphones. Never once, during the
convention or in my free time, did I feel
like I was lost in a land where I
couldn’t communicate.
The people of Quebec City are
extremely friendly, and so many of
them have both languages and
sometimes more. That is impressive to
me as I have a hard time with English
sometimes and it’s the only language I have! I am very
grateful for the generosity that was shown to me during
my stay.
As for Quebec City itself, what a great place to visit!
Having never been past the eastern Alberta border and
only on vacation to Mexico, the experience of Quebec
was wonderful.
The history of Canada is so rich in Quebec City. Being
able to walk the cliffs above the St. Lawrence River and
stand on the Plains of Abraham was a trip. I was able to
go into the citadel and witness the changing of the
guard. I took a tour of the museums and the Governor
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Generals’ home, which is located inside the walls of the
citadel. I also took the time to go through the Parliament
Building.
The city is so clean and has lots of plant and trees
everywhere. Many, many hills as the city is built in and
around the cliffs of the St. Lawrence River. I was told
during one tour that some of the streets are closed
during the winter months as they are too steep to
navigate.
All in all, a very good experience. It’s nice to see that
we are a part of an organization that is proactive and
affecting some change. This gives me hope that
perhaps we can make a difference. I
encourage everyone to try something
new, and try to find a way in which to
become involved in the union or the
community to help improve our quality
of life. The power is within us and if we
choose to use it we will succeed. We, the
people, are the most powerful group as
we have the numbers, we don’t have the
money, but we have each other. So come
forward and help be part of the solution.
Thanks again for the opportunity. I
appreciate the support of the
membership over the years. It’s been an
honour to serve this membership.
I have recently resigned from the
Contracting out Committee, but have
retained my Shop Steward badge. I
really need a rest, a chance to recharge so
I can be on top of my game for the rest of
my endeavours.
I would like to thank all those activists
who helped me along the way, people
like Jim Nyland, Alex Lowrie, Ross
Slezak, Cliff Madsen, Ron Ledevehat, Lyle
D’hondt, Klaus Mueller, Brian Connell,
Jose Pires, Sean O’Driscoll, Steve Saunders, Jim Peers,
Brent Morrison and Rick Belmont. Without these people
and many more, I would not have felt welcome or
become knowledgeable to be an effective representative.
A special thanks to Andrew McLaren and his wife
Kerie for allowing him to be as dedicated as his is. My
life partner, Gord Klassen has stood by me. Thanks I
really needed you and you came through. The office staff
in the hall have been instrumental in all of the things I
have accomplished – thank you.
In solidarity,
Elizabeth Cloakey
www.caw2301.ca
PRESIDENT
President’s Report
by gary warren
Not Everyone Can Enjoy Retirement
I
hope every member had a wonderful and safe summer
vacation. My summer vacation was great, as I spent
quality time with immediate family.
I did notice a fair amount of people
that weren’t enjoying their retirement – they have been forced back
to work because of poor pension
plans and lack of benefits.
One elderly couple was camped in
a tent close by the RV park we
stayed in. I asked the elderly couple
if they were ok, and they said yes.
After a couple of days I asked them
again if they were ok and they told
me they were waiting for their
Canada Pension cheques to come in
and when I asked what they were
drinking, they replied “river water
with sugar,” as they were both
diabetics.
I reached into my pocket and gave
them some money to get some food
and perhaps some fuel for their old
truck. They said no thank you and
that they weren’t looking for handouts. I said it wasn’t a hand out, just
something I would like to give them
just until their pension cheques
came in, which was two weeks
away.
I walked away thinking how lucky
I am and I hope that doesn’t happen
to my spouse and I once I retire,
which is in a few years.
Kemano Issues Need Attention
Since vacation I have been to
Kemano three times to find out our
members need help on Safety,
Grievances and Camp issues. I have
sat with the Grievance Committee
and Labour Relations and requested
the Grievance Committee go to
Kemano to help straighten out some
issues and grievances.
Our Full-Time Safety Rep Mike
Schmidt was also in to help with a
Tap Root on the last major oil spill in
Kemano. Quite a few of our
members spent a whole shift on this
Tap Root and hopefully some
positive long lasting corrective
actions have been put in place.
Unusually Hot Summer Caused
Some Problems
The extreme heat we have experienced this past summer has also
caused a fair amount of problems.
The pot rooms ran out of potable
water, including the loss of showers
and toilet facilities.
Bottled water was brought in
from town and one of our members
from stores used their own personal
charge card to purchase water for
our members in the potrooms.
I thank our members for working through this difficult time.
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www.caw2301.ca
Retirement Security for Everyone!
O
ver the past year, Canada has been hit hard by the
deepest economic downturn the world has seen
since the 1930s. Hundreds of thousands of good-paying
jobs have been lost and the
retirement savings of countless
Canadians put at risk by the financial
meltdown and corporate
bankruptcies.
Many today, even those with jobs
are wondering if and when they can
ever retire. They have good reason for
concern.
Recent events have exposed major
faults in our pension system. Our
public pensions – Old Age Security
(OAS) and the Guaranteed Income
Supplement (GIS) plus the Canada
Pension Plan - provide a secure income in retirement.
But even the maximum value of those pensions falls far
short of what people need to maintain a decent standard
of living after retirement.
The private portion of our
pension system is in deep trouble
About one in five private sector
workers belong to a private pension
plan. Very few non-unionized
workers, with the noted exception of
managers and professionals, are
covered by plans. Many of the plans
which do exist are on shaky financial
ground because of low interest rates
and the recent collapse of stock
markets. Some workers have
discovered that when their plans get into financial
trouble, there is little help available.
The union requested a root tree to be done on the plant
water situation with a contingency plan put into place.
We were down to one A/C Mechanic for the whole
plant, which was unacceptable. The company approached myself and one of our contracting out members to state they had done everything they could and
now they were looking at a contractor to do this work.
We gave the managers involved from maintenance
and Labour Relations possible avenues to address
immediate concerns and long-term solutions. I requested they call an emergency Skilled Trades meetings,
which didn’t take place.
One week later the A/C crew was contacted by the
Maintenance Manager, Supervisor and told the company
was going to contract out their work.
The A/C Mechanics felt the company showed total
disrespect at this meeting. After the meeting, which was
one week after the fact, the manager called the garage
and tried to set up an emergency meeting.
And behold, I just happened to be in the garage as the
manager called the supervisor in the garage and asked
Bento Pedro, of the Skilled Trades Committee if he could
have an emergency meeting at 12:30 pm that day.
Talk about lack of respect to the union and our members as a whole.
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What’s really happening?
• Pots out and power sales
• Lines 1a & 1b shut down permanently
• 57 + 57 pots = 114 pots out permanently
• 1c to 8b another 130 pots out
• Plant total = 244 pots out
This equates to a lot of metal profits loss, with the
increase in power sales. How many mega watts are sold
on a daily basis for 244 pots out?
In June of 2002 we had approximately 1,390 members,
and in June of 2009 we had approximately 1,228 members. The union has lost 160 hourly jobs in the last 7
years (August 25, 1390 – 1216 = 174 jobs lost).
Going back to January 1978 we have lost over 800 hourly
jobs. How many full time staff jobs have been lost?
Jobs lost and profits lost because of how Alcan, and
now Rio Tinto Alcan have chosen to manage Kitimat
and Kemano.
These cuts have affected the union and the communities in the Northwest. Down sizing affects municipal
taxes, hospital size, schools closing and the list goes on.
I want to believe that KMP is still a go ahead. With Rio
Tinto announcing its Cameroon expansion of smelter
and hydro it really makes me wonder what their
intentions are?
N
www.caw2301.ca
RRSPs have failed to deliver
RRSPs are often billed as the solution to our pension
woes. They are supposed to fill the gap left for those not
covered by private pension plans – but RRSPs have
failed us. The average worker approaching retirement
today has saved only enough to buy a monthly pension
of about $250 per month.
RRSPs have not worked because many Canadians
cannot save enough to overcome the built-in hurdles of
high administrative fees (which in Canada are among
the highest in the world) and highly variable and
uncertain financial returns.
It’s time for change
Decision-makers can hear the growing calls for pension
reform in Canada, despite the strong and loud
opposition from vested interests in the financial
industry. Employers who sponsor pension plans also
recognize that supporting decent pensions through
public rather than private arrangements would lower
their costs and help level the competitive playing field
between them and businesses who have offered no
pension plans for their workers.
People should not be left to fend for themselves in
retirement. It’s time for a change in emphasis toward
public pensions and toward greater security for people
who belong to existing employer plans.
That’s why the Canadian Labour Congress is
proposing three key reforms that would benefit all
workers, improve retirement income security, and gear
Canada’s pension system to better fit the needs of a
changing economy.
• The CPP is highly risk tolerant because of its size
and it has the lowest administration fees of any
pension plan in the country.
• The CPP is highly portable – no matter how many
times they change jobs, workers will still be
covered. Why shouldn’t we build on this
successful model?
Increase low-income (GIS) pensions by 15%. This
would give low-income seniors up to an additional $110
per month, enough to move virtually all seniors above
the poverty line.
Introduce a national system of pension insurance. An
insurance floor should be set for defined pension plan
benefits through a system funded by contributions from
pension plan sponsors. This would be a federal initiative
covering federally-regulated pensions but Ottawa
should enter into negotiations with the provinces to
create a national system.
The Choice: “Move Forward Together” or “Fend
For Yourself”
In making these proposals, we are championing the
same progressive values which changed our health care
system with the advent of Medicare more than forty
years ago. We can make a similar choice for pensions
today and create a system where no Canadian is left
behind.
www.canadianlabour.ca
The CLC Plan: Retirement
Security for Everyone
Double benefits for the Canada Pension Plan
(CPP). We propose to phase-in a doubling of
the proportion of average earnings replaced
by CPP from 25% to 50% over seven to ten
years, to $1,635 per month. This would be
financed by a modest increase in worker and
employer premiums (3% spread over several
years).
The benefits of investing in a stronger
Canada Pension Plan are clear:
• The CPP already covers 93% of working
Canadians and offers an accurate sense
of the income they can expect in
retirement.
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www.caw2301.ca
BUSINESS AGENT
Business Agent’s
Report
by sean o’driscoll
The Insanity Continues
B
y the time you read this summer vacations will be at
an end and kids will be back in school. I hope everyone
had a safe, sunny and enjoyable summer.
In this article I will touch on just a
few of the issues which have come
forward over the summer months.
The Labour Day picnic was a huge
success and I would like to thank
everyone that helped out over the
course of the day for making the day
fun for all.
Union Remains Vigilant On
Health & Safety In The Plant
“...insanity - doing the same
thing over and over and
expecting different results.”
Health and Safety has always been a
top Union priority since the time
workplaces were first organized.
The company refuses to come to
terms with what it will actually
take to make a significant difference
in improving safety in the plant eliminating hazards at their source
and having appropriate workforce
levels to allow work to be done safely.
Albert Einstein is reported to have
said that the definition of insanity is
doing the same thing over and over
and expecting different results.
In sports terms, for the Canucks
this means no big signings over yet
another summer and expecting to
win the Cup, for the BC Lions it
means going with the same two
useless quarterbacks and expecting
to have a potent offence.
For the company their insanity is
patently obvious in its pathological
insistence on rolling out numerous
behaviour-based safety initiatives,
ad nauseum (LIA, HSI, Take 5, Lean
whatever, MEI, watch out for the
pothole, etc., etc...) and expecting
safety in the plant to improve as the
place falls apart. More work is being
done with fewer people. The company’s conditioned response: “We’re
just following RTA’s orders”.
To save them from themselves the
Union has had to remain vigilant,
by whatever means, in holding the
company accountable to provide its
workforce with a safe and healthy
workplace; all too often this has
meant calling in WSBC officers or
work refusals. Ultimately, the onus
of responsibility is theirs, not ours,
to maintain a safe and healthy
workplace.
D.I.P. Benefits Not Automatic
As for a Member’s responsibility, it
has come to the Union’s attention
that some Members who have been
off work for non-industrial reasons
expect D.I.P. benefits to be paid out
automatically. This is not the case
and Members must remember to
apply for D.I.P. benefits as per Article
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www.caw2301.ca
37.02 (page 224) of the CLA. This means submitting
both an application form and a physician’s report to the
occupational health department as soon as possible
after going off work due to sickness or injury in order to
avoid a delay in receiving benefits. If you have any
questions about how the benefit program works talk to
your shop steward or supervisor.
Rewards For Union’s Cost Savings Plan?
The Union has approached the company with a significant cost savings plan initiated by the Union about a
year ago. As you may be aware, the Union has a fund
which allows it to pre-pay for medical flight
travel saving Members from having to pay for flight
tickets up front and then having to submit for reimbursement later. This is a company-paid benefit.
The Union purchased a block of 300 reduced rate flight
passes from Air Canada which has resulted in a cost
savings to the company of approximately $30k. The
Union is currently finishing a second 300-ticket block,
which when complete, will likely result in a similar
savings to the company.
The Union has asked that in lieu of a Bravo award that
the savings be returned to the Members! This could be
in the form of an improved benefit or the covering of
administration costs incurred by the Union. Since it
wasn’t their idea they have tried to minimize the actual
savings and we are awaiting their “final answer”.
Refusal of Light Duty Could Be Costly
This leads me to another “answer” we recently received,
an answer to a recent WSBC claim case, which was won
at WCAT, the final appeals level, underscores the importance of Members’ co-operation in accepting light duty
work, offered by the company, which falls within their
work restrictions. Simply put, if you refuse light duty
work or to participate in a rehabilitation program any
WSBC benefits you may be receiving could be cut off.
Policy item #33.11 - Selective/Light Employment
(Adjudication) - of the Rehabilitation Services and
Claims Manual Vol. II states:
“Where a worker refuses to accept the offer, the Board will
consider the reasons for the refusal and determine if they are
reasonable....Should the Board determine that the worker’s
refusal is unreasonable, benefit entitlement is determined
under section 30 of the [Workers’ Compensation] Act”
which is a round-about way of saying wage-loss benefits may be discontinued leaving you with health care
costs only. This is also an important consideration for
Members who are being placed back into the workplace
through our medical placement committee - Members
cannot “pick and choose” preferable placements.
In the particular case I am referring to the Member’s
refusal to accept light duty was not seen as
unreasonable; however, the Review Division did not see
it that way which is why the case was appealed at
WCAT.
Summer Student History Project Well Worth It
This summer the Union hired a summer student, April
Tam, to work on a project chronicling the history of our
Local. We are currently putting the final touches on
what has turned out to be spectacular document.
April spent many hours interviewing active and
retired members in order to capture an oral history of
our Local. As well, April sifted through our archives
here in the Hall and at the Kitimat Museum. We will be
posting the history project on the CAW 2301 website
and hope to make a printed version available in the
near future.
It was well worth it for our Union to invest in this
project and the quality of April’s work was top
notch. April’s wages were partially funded through a
grant we received from Service Canada.
Slogan for 9th Constitutional Convention Fitting
I had the pleasure of attending the 9th Constitutional
Convention, along with Brothers Ed Abreu and Gary
Warren and Sister Elizabeth Cloakey. Sister Cloakey has
submitted an excellent article for this Hotline, so I’ll keep
my comments brief.
The slogan for the Convention was “challenges, resistance, opportunity and renewal” which was very fitting
given the current economic climate. Unions can, and
must, be an active social force even during the darkest of
times. Today is no exception as the Union movement
continues its struggle for the betterment of all working
people.
Both policy papers which were adopted at the Convention, “We will fight this crisis: The economics (and
politics) of the global financial meltdown” and “Building
the Union in hard times” speak to the importance of
seizing opportunities to strengthen our Union, and as a
Social Union and an inclusive Union, to improve the
quality of life of all Canadians.
Fighting Back Makes a Difference!
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Vice President’s
Report
by ed abreu
Workforce Crisis Not Going Away!
I
had the privilege of attending the 9th CAW Constitutional
Convention held in Quebec City on August 18 – 21 of
this year. The main focus at the conference was the impact
of the financial crisis in Canada, and around the world.
No doubt you are all aware of the
impact to the auto sector where
25,000 CAW members lost their jobs
due to the economic crisis. CAW
members came to the conference and
told their stories of being displaced
and having to leave towns where
they had raised their families and
called home. Many locals simply
disappeared and the ones that kept
their jobs had to enter into concessions in order to keep their plants
open. This crisis was created by the
rich and greedy, but in the end it
was the working class that suffered
drastically.
Here at Rio Tinto we were told
that this plant was given a mandate
to save $40 million dollars in spending. We were told that for now there
would be no lay-offs and hopefully
things would turn around. The
Kitimat Modernization Project was
shut down before it even got started
– levelling the “B” parking lot and
clearing some trees before notice to
proceed from the shareholders can
hardly be considered the start of the
project. This was nothing more than
an overrated 5s project.
This summer we hit a very serious
crisis with metal overflowing from
the pots, process problems, excessive workloads and emissions
hitting the roof – literally! In August, Rio Tinto was found to be in
non-compliance by the Ministry of
Environment due to roof emissions.
No doubt the hot weather played a
part in this, but I seriously doubt
that this was the only factor.
The workforce crisis that we have
plant wide is very real and must be
addressed. The expectation of Rio
Tinto for our members to continue
to do more work with less workers
must come to an end! This summer
was a prime example of the problems being caused by this lack of
workers.
I spent a lot of time in Lines 3-5
and I must say what a hellhole! My
hats off to our members who did a
fantastic job despite such horrible
conditions which included pots
failing everyday and lights that
were taking up to ½ hour to kill.
The company had this plan for
pots to fail in sequence but in the
end they lost control and pots were
failing much faster than anticipated.
Metal was overflowing from the
pots as they weren’t being tapped
daily and every time there was an
anode effect our members were
getting splashed every time they
would stick a pole in the pot.
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President and VP Take the Plunge!
During the Canada Day Celebrations at Riverlodge this year, CAW 2301 President Gary Warren and
Vice-President Ed Abreu took part in the debut of a dunk tank, enduring 30 minutes each in the “cold”
seat. Also taking turns were Rio-Tinto’s Paul Henning, Vice-President BC Operations and Tino Pereira,
Operations Manager.
Over $750 was raised for the Kyle Robertson Trust Fund. Thank you to everyone who contributed for
a chance to throw a ball and dunk their favorite (or not) participants! And thank you especially to Gary,
Ed, Paul and Tino for bravely volunteering for this very worthy cause!
In Casting if they didn’t have
enough operators to run a furnace
they would simply shut down the
DC Furnace, and surely that didn’t
help in reducing the amount of
metal that was sitting in the pots.
I could spend hours going on
about everything that happened
during the summer, but it all comes
down to the major factor which was
clearly “not enough workers”!
We now have 135 pots out and
when I brought up that the re-org in
the lines was a failure I was told by
upper management that with all
these pots down there was less
work for our members in the Lines.
The reality is management needs to
wake-up! Stud pulling in Lines 3-5
alone fell behind by over 500 studs!
Why? NOT ENOUGH WORKERS!
The company has failed horribly in
this area! Our members are not
being replaced or properly trained
to fill in absences resulting from
attrition or transfers. Back in February it became such a crisis that the
company started asking our retirees
to come back as there was nobody to
replace these crane operators.
Focusing on KMP is nothing more
than a distraction from where the
focus must be - on this existing
plant. If and when KMP does get off
the ground, we will deal with and
focus on it. In the meantime we have
many issues and challenges that we
are forced to work with daily. Our
members have no control over the
future of KMP and we cannot continue to work in the deplorable
conditions of today based on some
future endeavour that may or may
not happen. Upper management has
no choice but to make some major
decisions to solve our “crisis” and it
will take some money to do it!
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Grievance Committee
Report
by ed abreu
And the List Goes On
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he committee is now meeting with Labour Relations
on a weekly basis. These meetings are no longer
focused solely on reviewing outstanding grievances and
scheduled hearings, but instead include discussion on
problems throughout the plant as well.
Grievance Committee
Ed Abreu
Rick Belmont
Lucas Oke
250-632-4611 or
250-639-6039 (cell)
250-639-8212
250-632-1295 (cell)
And believe me, there is a neverending list of issues, which keeps
growing daily. Some of these issues
being tackled are:
Crew Sizes –the workforce levels
were already an issue prior to the
summer students arriving and now
that the students have left levels are
at a critical and dangerous low. Your
president and I have brought this
topic up at numerous meetings
between Paul Henning and Tino
Pereira. This is affecting not only the
production workers, but the trades
as well – for example some trades
we are short on are Welders,
Millwrights, AC Operators, and
Mechanics.
Denial of Transfers – the company
has been denying our members the
right to transfer based on their
discipline records. On more than one
occasion our members have been
denied a transfer with one single
incident of discipline. The company
refers to a case that went to arbitration back in the ‘90’s, in which the
arbitrator found the company had
the right to deny a transfer based on
“multiple” disciplines. The company
seems to be disregarding the word
“multiple” but we are not and this is
being challenged.
Transfer Board – as stated earlier
we have a shortage of workers plant
wide, yet we are lucky if we see four
transfers a month being posted. We
know for a fact that there are more
openings then are being posted.
Calling in Sick – we’ve approached the company as to what it
is they want from our members in
respect to calling in sick. Our members are told that if they can’t see
their doctor to go to emergency.
We’ve notified the company that
first of all, emergency staff workers
and doctors on duty will not sign a
doctors note. This request is totally
unrealistic and is being challenged.
These are just a few of the many
issues that the committee is dealing
with. Along with all of these there
are currently twenty-four
grievances at 1st stage, forty-three at
2nd, and twenty-six advanced to
Arbitration.
Pre-arbitration discussions held in
the beginning of August resulted in
a number of grievances being
resolved successfully, which meant
the members affected had less wait
time to hear the final outcome than
would normally be the case.
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Sexy Or Safe?
Labor Notes/CALM
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Flight attendants at Northwest
Airlines in the U.S. have filed a
grievance decrying parent
company Delta’s refusal to
provide flight attendant uniforms in larger sizes.
The uniform’s designer went
on record saying he intended
the new red dress to make workers “look sexy and great.” Attendants said the failure to offer them
uniforms larger than a size 18 sent a
message about how the company sees plus-size
workers.
Management said the dispute was hype ahead of
a big union vote at the merged company. Flight
attendants countered that emphasizing sexiness
over safety in the air showed management’s
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Beer maker Molson is turning off the tap and cutting off the
supply of free suds to its retirees.
Molson, a division of Molson Coors, said it was looking to
“standardize” its complimentary beer policy.
There are 2,400 Molson retirees in Canada and their free
beer costs the company about $1 million a year.
Molson retirees in Newfoundland will see their monthly
allotment of beer fall from six-dozen a month to zero over the
next five years.
Current workers will see their allotment drop from 72
dozen bottles a year to 52 dozen.
“There was no consultation, we just received a letter that
this is a done deal, which is totally unfair,” Bill Bavis, who
retired six years ago after 32 years at Molson’s in St. John’s,
Newfoundland, told the Toronto Star. “I think with the
economic downturn they’re trying to take advantage of us, as
a way to cut retirees’ benefits and justify it.”
Food, Fish and Allied Workers have launched grievances in
Montreal and Vancouver, where the allotment is less.
A spokesman for Molson said the company feels it still has a
very generous benefits package.
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Free Beer Benefit Axed:
Union Files Grievance
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IN THE NEWS:
We have two cases scheduled to go in front of Arbitrator
Steeves in November. The first involves a termination of one
of our temporary brothers. The second case, which has two
grievances attached to it, is whether the company had the
right to change the testing process for the power station
operator position. More specifically, was the company
estopped (impeded by a legal bar to alleging or denying a fact
because of one’s own previous actions or words to the contrary) from making any changes to the testing process? Back
in the 2007 negotiations the company had a demand on the
table to do this very change. The demand was dropped and
then a short time after negotiations, the company went ahead
and changed the testing process anyway.
Now that the summer months are behind us, the committee has assurance from management that their intent is to
continue reducing the number of outstanding
grievances throughout the winter, and once the
current backlog is caught up, to maintain a consistent pace of dealing with grievances thereafter.
The obvious outcome of this plan should result
in an overall reduction in the lifespan of a grievance – from it’s initial inception at 1st stage to
whatever step within the procedure it requires to
achieve an acceptable resolve.
Hope you all had a great summer and if you have
any questions pertaining to a grievance, don’t
hesitate to call the union hall.
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TRADES ISSUES
Skilled Trades
Council Report
by ken hewson
Contracting Out Issues Continue
S
ince summer is just over and everyone is just getting
back from vacation the skilled trades report will be brief
this time.
Skilled Trades Council
Ken Hewson - Chairperson
Bento Pedro - Vice Chairperson
Darrin Stamper - Recording Secratary
Rory Brown - Sergeant-At-Arms
Cam Wiebe - Guide
I shall start by saying that there is
no word yet on the Contacting Out
bundle arbitration that was presented before the summer by
Brother McLaren and myself. We did
not expect that this award would be
back for quite some time as it was a
lengthy arbitration that took 11
days over a two-month period to
complete. No doubt the arbitrator
has a lot of information to go
through.
The skilled trades are hoping that
this award will give some clear
guidelines to both parties on what
is considered maintenance work and
what is not.
The company is still contracting
out far too much work, whether it is
trades or non-trades work. It seems
some local companies can even
write their own ticket on how much
work they get to do - case in point is
the floors in lines 7&8. Everyone
knows that the floors are in terrible
shape and need a major upgrade.
One local company even decided
how much floor work had to be
done, as they were the ones who did
the inspection of the floors and then
came up with a number of how
many hours it would take to do that
work. Now if that is not, as they say,
letting the wolf loose in the hen
house. This company has been
working in the plant so long, I don’t
see why RTA just doesn’t hire them
as it would have to be cheaper.
New Rules for Apprentices
Concern Council
On another front that is a very
grave concern for the Skilled Trades
Executive and Apprenticeship
Committee is the fact that the
company has allowed for the first
time the graduating apprentices to
apply for job postings in their
respective trades before their term is
completed. They are allowing them
to apply 2 weeks before they actually finish their last term.
Now on the surface this may not
seem like a big deal, but to the skilled
trades it is for several reasons:
All the apprentices before these
ones of this year have never been
able to do this. We believe it gives
this year’s graduating apprentices
an advantage over other short-term
tradespeople.
An example would be you have a
millwright who was hired 2 years
ago by the company, he/she sees a
job posting that they wish to apply
for in another area of the plant and
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2009 LABOUR DAY PICNIC
The Labour Day Picnic was once again a huge success! We had a
great turn out despite the weather being a little less than cooperative!
Thank you to everybody who volunteered their time and efforts to
make the day a huge hit.
Pictured on left: MP Nathan Cullen, Mary Murphy from CEP
Local 298, Kitimat Mayor Joanne Monahhan, CAW 2301
President Gary Warren, and MLA Robin Austin. Photos
courtesy of Walter McFarlane, Kitimat Daily
since he/she is a tradesperson the relevant seniority is
trades seniority; thus, this millwright has 2 years trades
seniority. But wait, an apprentice millwright graduating this year applies for the same job posting while he/
she is still an apprentice. Let’s say these are the only 2
who apply for the job. Well, in years past the 2-year
trades seniority millwright would get the position
because apprentices were not allowed to apply for jobs
until they had completely finished their apprenticeship.
But not this year. This year the apprentice would get the
job, why? Because the company is giving him/her 4
years trades seniority 2 weeks early. That is why the
Skilled Trades Executive opposes this move by the
company; it puts some tradespeople at a disadvantage
as the playing field has been altered.
Also there wasn’t any discussion with the trade’s
executive by anyone from the company prior to this
being done by the company.
The company must discuss matters dealing with the
trades before they make decisions like this that effect a
great many of our tradespersons. I am sure that the
company did not just come up with this idea, the question is why were we as the skilled trades not informed
or even told about this until the decision was already done.
As always if any tradesperson has an issue they
would like to be addressed please contact me or any of
the other skilled trade executive members.
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HEALTH & SAFETY
Safety Rep’s
Report
by mike schmidt
Workforce Levels Cause Safety Issues
F
irst off I would like to welcome everybody back from
holidays. I hope all had a fun and safe summer. I would
like to send my appreciation to all the Brothers and Sisters
for your efforts this summer, as it was very challenging.
Not only did we experience a
summer like we’ve not seen in years
but we’re also being asked to work
in a smelter that is in a condition
like we’ve never seen before.
In Rio Tinto’s rush to save 40
million dollars they have put our
membership in very precarious
positions. We are being forced to run
crews and whole departments with
workforce levels so low that there is
no way to address safety
concerns or do the jobs
“KMP may be somewhere off in the according to standard practice.
Workers are being forced to
future but the problem is that we are
take short cuts in order to
all working in the here and now.”
complete their tasks for the day.
KMP may be somewhere off
in the future but the problem is
that we are all working in the here
and now. All KMP is at this point is
a pipe dream that everybody hopes
comes to fruition.
The Company will say that crew
size is a Labour Relations issue, not
a safety issue but I strongly
disagree. If we do not have the
proper staffing levels in the service
and maintenance departments, then
things just do not get fixed. Not only
can these departments not cope
with the amount of work tickets
they receive daily but also PM
schedules start getting missed and
the general upkeep of this plant
suffers greatly.
The frustration level in the plant
has reached a point that it has also
become a safety issue as workers
become unfocused and have a hard
time just worrying about the task at
hand. It becomes hard to do your job
when the tools and equipment are
not readily available and stocking
levels are so low that it often takes
weeks to get the supplies needed to
do the repairs.
Rio Tinto is throwing so many
new initiatives at us that workers
are getting bombarded and this is
causing a lot of stress which is also a
concern. The Company has publicly
stated that it does not want to hire
new workers as KMP will not
require the same numbers we have
now. My problem with this is that
we do not know how long it will be
until the modernization starts and
in the meantime our membership is
being forced to work in these
present conditions.
What Rio Tinto needs to do is start
staffing this plant adequately so that
when the shut down begins we will
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E.F.A.P.
Employee & Family
Assistance Program
by ralanda doniak
Feeling Stressed? We Can Help
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us every day. It is very important
during this time that we use the
resources available to ease some of
this anxiety and fear. It is unhealthy
both mentally and physically to feel
so vulnerable and out of control of
our own destiny.
Please take the time to look
Addictions in our workplace are
around you. See through the strong
not the only reality we are facing.
faces we are all wearing these days.
There is so much more going on out
There is pain, worry, suffering and
there.
animosity among us. Your coTo avoid a mentally unhealthy
workers, your family members,
work environment, dealing with
even your supervisors. We are all in
feelings of uncertainty is a must. In
this together.
these tough
If you or
economic
someone you
“Addictions in the workplace are
times it is not
know needs
not the only reality we are facing.”
uncommon
to shed some
to see an
of this burincrease in
den, there is someone who is willing
depression and anxiety. We are very
to listen –we can help. We have the
much aware that this is happening
means necessary to connect you
here in our workplace and within
with the right people. Please don’t be
our personal lives. We see more
hesitant to call. You are not alone
anger, frustration, lashing out at one
and your confidentiality is assured.
another and various other types of
Together, we WILL make it through.
coping mechanisms going on around
he EFAP committee has been experiencing an
unusually long quiet period. We are very much aware
of the effects the recession is having on our members and
want to take this opportunity to encourage anyone in need
to contact one of our reps.
E.F.A.P. Committee
Mike Szmata
Ralanda Doniak
Tina Slanina
Ed Abreu
778-876-9556
250-639-8553
250-632-1317
250-639-8372
778-876-9666
250-639-8462
250-632-1013
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(plant)
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plant
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indeed be shutting down a “world class facility” and
not the one that is in front of us now. Rio Tinto needs to
look at this seriously as the environment of our plant
and community is being affected as well as the health
and safety of our membership. Lastly, remember that no
task is so urgent or so important that you can’t take the
time to do it safely. If your machine or tools are in
disrepair do not use them. If you can’t do your job safely
STOP until it can be done safely.
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HUMAN RIGHTS
Human Rights
Report
by karen jonkman
LGBT? - What Kind of Sandwich is That?
G
uess what? It’s not a sandwich. First time I heard it,
however, that’s what I thought……..
LGBT is an acronym, which
stands for:
LESBIAN
GAY
BISEXUAL
TRANSGENDER
Now you know!
Some of you may be surprised to
learn that ten percent of the general
population is gay. Gay is defined as
having same-sex relationships.
What I mean by general population
is male or female, rich, poor, every
country, race, religion and culture.
Prominent studies in North
America show that up to 15% of the
population is actively bisexual,
meaning that they have relationships with both sexes. The same
study showed that up to one third of
the men revealed that they have had
a sexual experience with another
man at some point in their lives.
Surprising? Shocking? Not the usual
topic over cards in the lunchroom.
You may also be surprised to learn
that one person in a thousand lives
with transgender issues. “Trans” is
an umbrella term that describes a
wide range of identities, including
pre/post operative transgender, as
well as male and female crossdressers (drag queens and drag kings).
Intersex is defined as persons who
have the typical characteristics of
male and female in one body. One in
two thousand babies are considered
intersex.
So face it people, we all know
someone who fits under the LGBT
umbrella. You may know someone
who is actively living an alternate
lifestyle. It’s more likely, however,
that you know someone who is
LGBT and YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
Not everyone chooses to share this
personal information.
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Pregnant Women Targeted for Layoffs
Once upon a time, employers in Ontario were able to fire making life at work more difficult, such as making
women who became pregnant. But that was in a dark
arbitrary changes in shifts, refusing time off for doctors’
and distant past—a time before the Ontario Human
appointments, or cutting hours or redirecting work. A
Rights Code made such
similar discriminatory trend in
discrimination illegal and
firings and layoffs has also
ended it forever.
been seen for new mothers,
Wrong. In fact, the
injured workers and people
Toronto Star reported that
with disabilities.
the Ontario Human
The costs of these human
Rights Legal Support
rights violations are significant.
Centre has noted an
Not only is there the immedi“alarming surge in cases
ate loss of income, there is the
of pregnant women being
reality of trying to find new
fired...” This includes
employment and getting rewomen right across the
established, often starting
job spectrum, from senior
again at the bottom with no
managers to minimum
seniority. This is difficult at any
wage workers.
time, but especially so in the
“It’s only one tiny little contraction, Ms. Buckley....
The centre says the
midst of an economic downcan’t you take next Thursday off instead?”
trend began last fall but
turn. Losing a job also means a
increased dramatically as the economic recession deeppregnant woman loses access to benefits such as pregened through the winter. While some employers are
nancy and parental leave, sick leave and health benefits.
upfront telling a woman straight out that she is being
If she doesn’t have enough hours before giving birth, she
let go because of her pregnancy, others are using layoffs,
may also lose access to maternity and parental Employrestructuring, and job performance to cover their tracks. ment Insurance.
Some try to provoke pregnant women into quitting by
More often than not it is unsafe for them to do so.
Members of the LGBT community are often harassed,
and ridiculed. Violence can be a reality. We have all seen
news stories about people being attacked or even murdered because of their sexuality or the perception of
their sexual orientation. The rate of suicide among
LGBT’s is also very high.
Here in the workplace we know that everyone must be
treated with dignity and respect. This includes our
LGBT members. This group is protected by Human
Rights law both federally and provincially.
We all have personal feelings and opinions. I understand that some of the topics and information in this
article may be a bit out of your comfort zone. We are all
workers, and CAW members and we are all entitled to a
workplace free of harassment, regardless of your sexual
orientation or appearance.
Our union takes a strong position on this issue, as one
can see from the following statement by Ken Lewenza,
CAW National President:
“Our union fights for dignity, safety, fairness and equality.
We join with our lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans members in
demanding true equality and stronger human rights in
society.”
The CAW has a Pride department which promotes
respect, education, and support for our LGBT members
and their allies. The website: www.caw.ca/pride
What is an ally?
An ally is someone who is supportive and nonjudgmental of the LGBT community.
Our local union is dedicated to promoting acceptance,
understanding and support to all of our members. If you
or someone you know is dealing with LGBT issues, do
not hesitate to reach out. We are here for you in confidence.
Take care of yourselves and each other.
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WOMEN’S COMMITTEE
Women’s Committee
Report
by ralanda doniak
Gender-Based Violence a Real Issue
H
ere we are again ready to face another Kitimat fall
season and the start of another school year. As we
settle back in after a lovely summer its time to get back to
our routines both at home and at work.
Women’s Committee
Ralanda Doniak - Chairperson
Karen Jonkman - Vice-Chairperson
Lori Walker - Recording Secretary
I want to start off by noting the
elections for the Women’s Committee positions were held June 2nd at
the hall. The elected positions are as
listed on the side of this article.
These are all three-year term
positions and we all look forward to
serving our membership in any way
possible.
I am pleased to mention that
Karen and I recently attended the
2009 Women’s Conference held Aug
30 through Sept 2. The theme of the
conference this year was “20 Years
Later – Examining the link between
Violence against Women and Women’s Inequality”. December 6th this
year marks the 20th anniversary of
the brutal gender based murders
that took the lives of 14 women at
L’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal.
That day back in 1989, a gunman
entered the school, released the men
and started shooting the women one
at a time, calling them feminists.
This horrendous crime, also known
as the Montreal Massacre, is to date
There are also important social
and personal costs as these situations frequently leave the person
feeling degraded, helpless and angry.
Ontario New Democratic Party
leader Andrea Horwath has called
on the government to enforce employment standards protection and
the Ontario Human Rights Code,
saying, “It is unconscionable that in
Ontario today, women are getting
pink slips for having children with
the economic crisis being used as an
excuse.”
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The NDP argues the need for
proactive steps such as hiring more
employment standards officers to
conduct audits, look for patterns
and follow through on complaints
as well as reaching out aggressively
to employers to ensure they know
their obligations.
Labour minister Peter Fonseca has
responded to the reports saying that
employment standards officers have
been told that pregnancy-related
labour complaints must go to the top
of the list and the employers who
break the law will be prosecuted.
It took a long time for women and
human rights activists to win even
the current limited protections
provided under the Employment
Standards Act and human rights
codes. Hard economic times should
not be the excuse for us to go back in
time to when those rights did not
exist.
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the worst recorded act of gender-based violence in
Canadian history.
Through various workshops, creative activities, and
discussion sessions delegates attending the conference
from across Canada looked deep into the root causes of
violence. We worked on building skills to take action to
work towards ending the violence against women. This
is an issue not only to our communities both nationally
and globally, but also right here in our workplace.
It is a fact that in Canada alone, approximately $1.1
billion per year in medical costs are a direct result of
violence. Up to $4 billion when you factor in criminal
justice, social services and lost productivity. That in
itself is a crime.
To get a better understanding about what we can do to
combat the violence against women we had the amazing
opportunity at the conference to listen to guest speaker
Peggy Nash, currently assistant to our CAW National
President Ken Lewenza. Peggy is a former MP and well
known as a fighter for equality and human rights both
nationally and within the labor movement. Peggy has
recently been elected President of the New Democratic
Party in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her experience and dedication to the cause is second to none. She was both
informative and inspirational. She left everyone wondering what we can do next to join her in the fight.
Julie White, Director of Women’s Programs from our
own CAW National was also in attendance to facilitate
as well as educate. She is a remarkable woman with
dedication and education that raised the bar in terms of
challenging us to get involved. Many other guest
speakers as well as discussion leaders are very much to
thank for the successful and memorable conference.
Thank you to all who were involved in making it
possible for Karen and I to attend. The conference reenergized us to get out there and do what we know is
right for our co-workers, mothers, daughters and the
like. That, combined with the women’s advocate
training we took last fall has us fully equipped to start
using our new found skills to make our community and
workplace a safer place for all women.
There are several campaigns going on this year to
raise awareness to the issue of gender-based violence.
One in particular that I would like to mention is known
as the “Handkerchief Project”. Started by sister Denise
Hampden from Local 4003 in Toronto, this project
officially kicked off on March 6th. 2009. She is collecting
swatches of fabric, handkerchiefs, or bandanas to
commemorate women or girls who have experienced
gender-based violence. She is asking anyone who would
like to participate to please send a piece of fabric along
with a card or note to recount your stories, feelings, or
messages of support. Both men and women are strongly
encouraged to participate. Even if you have never been
directly affected by gender-based violence your participation is valued as you show your support for the issue.
To participate, please mail your handkerchief and
message to:
THP - c/o Denise Hampden
CAW Local 4003
65 Front Street W. Suite 290
Toronto, Ontario M5J 1E6
Or drop off at the hall c/o CAW Women’s Committee
and I will be happy to submit a bulk shipment on behalf
of Local 2301 members. You can also send your contribution to me directly at MDP 31. Your confidentiality is
assured.
Stay tuned for many more exciting campaigns as we
near the Dec.6th memorial. If any of us on the women’s
committee can be of any assistance or if you have any
questions as to what role we play in our union, please
feel free to contact us at any time.
N
Women’s Committee T-shirts
The Women’s Committee T-shirts have arrived. These t-shirts
come in black or light blue and can be added to your wardrobe
for just $15. Come into the Union hall and get yours today!
29
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RETIREE’S CORNER
Retirees’ Chapter
Report
by bill garvin
W
ell, here we are almost through summer once again.
I hope those of you that were on vacation had a
great time. I know my wife and I did. We did a circular
tour of BC and Alberta.
Unfortunately, things have been
pretty hectic at the hall since our
last Hotline, so we are a bit late with
this one.
Welcome New Retirees
The following brothers opted to take
retirement; Tom Shannon, John
Ribeiro, Robin Cloutier, Sam Sahota,
David Wells, Roger Alves and John
Nunes. Have a great one guys!
Greetings
I bring greetings from Brothers Jim
Humphrey (Prince George), John
Roberts (Quesnel) and Jim Boilard
(Hope).
Rest In Peace
The following Brothers have passed
away since our last issue J. Costa, G.
Carritta, H. Adolf, J. Almeida, J.
DaCosta, and R. Perry as well as
Tom Sandhu.
We have also lost another of
CASAW Local 1’s founders, Brother
Owen Gallagher. Owen always
fought for the worker. No item was
too small if it meant the chance of
someone being hurt or killed. He
was front and centre in the fight to
bring Canadian Unionism to
Kitimat and send the Steelworkers
back to Pittsburgh. We will be
forever grateful to Owen and the
rest of the founders for the struggle
to give us what we enjoy today. Rest
in Peace.
APP Election Results In
I have received the APP Election
results and as expected, I did not
win. I have requested that in 2012
your executive of the day contact the
FSSA in Quebec for their support of
an hourly retiree. For some reason
they threw their support behind
senior Alcan staff retirees, which
means with the retiring of Brother
30
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Kirk Ives, minimal information will get back to the
hourly retirees. The results of the election were:
Henning has already stated to the union when questions
(because of all of the pots out: 244 = 4 buildings) it is
more profitable to sell power than to make aluminum.
In my opinion they would like nothing better than a
strike in 2012. We can only hope and pray that I am
wrong. Kitimat / Terrace residents need this
modernization to preserve our communities into the
distant future.
Yvonne Flavelle – 970
Michel Fortin – 1558 (Voting member)
William Garvin – 683
Richard Yank – 1325 (non-voting)
Benefits and Modernization
Lately I have had a number of calls with regards to
Dental and Vision. Unfortunately, R.T.A. believes that
when you reach 70 years of age (C.L.A.) you may as well
be dead. Our union fought hard in 2007 to get this raised
from 65, and will be going after “Benefits for Life” in 2012.
This of course is if the modernization goes ahead. This
is already two years behind and I firmly believe that it
is R.T.A.’s intention to not go ahead with this project. Mr.
John Riberio
Sammy Sahota
Christmas Social
As of this writing I am starting the process of organizing
the Christmas social, so when the invitation arrives in
the mail mark your calendar and come and enjoy an
afternoon of great food and fantastic socializing.
Our next social is set for October 12, 2009 at 2:00 pm at
the union hall. Please plan to attend.
N
Robin Cloutier
John Ricardo
Roger Alves
Tom Shannon
John Nunes
31
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HUMOUR
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Weighing The Costs
Internet/CALM
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A man waited all day in traffic court
for his case to be heard. At long last, it
was his turn to stand before the judge.
But the judge told him that he would have to come
back the next day, as court was being adjourned for
the day.
In exasperation, the man snapped, “What the hell!”
The judge snapped back, “Twenty dollars for contempt of court!”
Then man pulled out his wallet. The judge says,
“You don’t have to pay right now.”
The man replied, “I’m just checking to see if I have
enough for two more words.”
A family of five had a hectic schedule.
Parents and children were always
dashing off to work, school and extra
curricular activities.
Household chores were being neglected and they
always seemed to be running out of groceries and
supplies.
Finally, the mother said that when anyone used the
last of any item they had to write it down on a sheet of
paper she stuck to the refrigerator door.
For emphasis, she wrote across the top of the page,
“If we’re out of it—write it down.”
When she checked the list a few days later, she found
the following message:
“Mom, you may be a bit old-fashioned, but you’re
definitely not ‘Out of it.”’
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Fridge Notes
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A shepherd was tending his flock in a
remote pasture when suddenly a dust
cloud approached at high speed, out of
which emerged a shiny silver BMW. The
driver, a young man in an Armani suit,
Ferragamo shoes, the latest Polarized sunglasses and a
tightly knotted power tie, poked his head out the window
and asked the shepherd, “Hey! If I can tell you how many
sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?”
The shepherd looked at the man, then glanced at his
peacefully grazing flock and answered, “Sure.”
The driver parked his car, plugged his microscopic cell
phone into a laptop and briskly surfed to a GPS satellite
navigation system on the Internet and initiated a remote
body-heat scan of the area. While the computer was
occupied, he sent some e-mail via his Blackberry and after
a few minutes, nodded solemnly at the responses. Finally,
he printed a 150-page report on the little laser printer in
his glove compartment, turned to the shepherd, waving
the sheaves of paper and pronounced “You have exactly
1,586 sheep.”
“Impressive. One of my sheep is yours,” said the
shepherd.
He watched the young man select an animal and bundle
it into his car. Then the shepherd said: “If I can tell you
exactly what your business is, will you give me back my
sheep?”
Pleased to meet a fellow sportsman, the young man
replied, “You’re on.”
“You are a consultant,” said the shepherd without
hesitation.
“That’s correct,” said the young man, impressed. “How
ever did you guess?”
“It was not a guess,” replied the shepherd. “You drive
into my field uninvited. You ask me to pay you for information I already know, answer questions I have not asked,
and you know nothing about my business. Now give me
back my dog.”
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Mistaken Identity
32
The HOTLINE
CAW Local 2301
235 Enterprise Ave.
Kitimat B.C.
V8C 2C8
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Internet
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modernization?

Transcription

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