Spring 2009 - Unifor Local 1524
Transcription
Spring 2009 - Unifor Local 1524
P ROTEC T OU R P ENS ION S PRESIDENT, KEN LEWENZA DELIVERS A POWERFUL SPEECH TO THOUSANDS OF DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED AT QUEEN’S PARK, THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2009 Retired workers protest to protect pensions Brian Luckasavitch, Bruce Martin, Ted Kolodziejczyk, Jack Boddy, Glen Heimbecker, Chuck Farrugia, Janis Turenne, Shirley Fletcher, also attending was Norm White, Richard Atkinson and his wife. In the upcoming months, the retired workers will be asked to attend rallies and protests in defense of protecting our pensions and benefits. I can't impress upon you enough the importance of attending these events. Your physical presence makes a big impact, especially for the media coverage. Our union would look foolish if they call upon our members to attend and then only a handful of people show up. I want to say a special thank you to the people who attended the rally held at Queen’s Park Toronto on April 23rd. Phoning everyone is hard to complete, sometimes the message has to go out by word of mouth. The idea is to phone a number of people and hope that the message is passed on. The April 23rd rally was about Protecting Our Pensions through the Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund. The governments allowed corporations a premium holiday and now the fund faces a serious shortfall. Working people have the right to retire from their job with dignity and security. Today, that right is under threat. Workers didn't create the economic mess we are in but are expected to take the brunt of the sacrifices. We must stand up and fight back. Governments must do everything in their power to protect all pensions. Since they set the funding rules for both public and private pension plans, they must also guarantee a safety net for those faced with insufficient funding. Workers need protection now! Let the provincial government know that pensions must be protected. Get involved! - be a part of the solution by: Janis Turenne, Recording Secretary, Retired Workers PLANT CLOSURES AND JOB LOSSES INCREASING would like welcome all the members from former CAW Local 1986. In the fall of 2008 Local 1986 ran into some financial difficulty due to decreased membership and were unable to sustain themselves. A merger agreement was conducted with our local which was then ratified by the members of 1986. The following 8 units joined or local on January 1st 2009, AGS Automotive, Bennett Chevrolet Cadillac, Canlyte, Crowe Foundry, Dennis Murphy Pontiac Buick GMC, Metokote, Northstar Aerospace and Von Weise. Local 1986 was a prominent and long standing local in the Cambridge area and I look forward to representing the members as well as working closely with the Bargaining Committees and management representatives. I TIM MITCHELL PRESIDENT Plant Closures WELCOME all former members of Local 1986 LOCAL 1524 In these difficult economic times we are finding that more and more plants simply cannot find enough operating capital to remain in business. No one can tell me that the credit crisis is not happening in Canada. In previous years when the industry was in a down turn, companies were able to get short term loans to allow them to pay the bills. Today financial institutions are simply saying no, thereby forcing companies into bankruptcy. Crowe Foundry closed in January due to lack of funds. Workers have received all wages and vacation pay but not severance monies to date. Bauer Industries closed in February due to the inability to renegotiate its credit line and has filed a notice of proposal to declare bankruptcy. In this case we were forced to picket the plant for several days to PAGE 4 gain outstanding wages and vacation pay as the bank was telling us to get any monies owed to the workers through the governments wage protection program. In our view, that was unacceptable, however severance is still outstanding. PJ Wallbank is slated to be purchased and then closed. Again they have been unable to negotiate the financing to remain operational. Northstar Aerospace closed in April. We negotiated a close out agreement with the parent company which provided severance and benefit continuation for the workers. Canlyte has announced closure in October of this year and we are currently trying to negotiate an agreement with them. In addition we have several plants on workshare operating 3-4 days per week with the remaining time being supplemented with E.I. benefits to the workers. Metokote and Ultra Metal have begun their programs; Von Weisse would like to, but does not qualify as they are only working 1-2 days per week. Ventra Plastics has made application and the Lear office unit is likely to do so. The remaining units all have experienced lay offs to varying degrees. Negotiations This year appears to be the year of perpetual negotiations as I am doing closure, renewal and survival agreements for workplaces in serious distress. KW Labour Association settled on a one year status quo renewal agreement in February. Bennett's members ratified a new 3 year deal in March, which included wage and benefit improvements in the 2nd and 3rd years. B & W Heat Treating ratified a survival agreement in March SPRING 2009 SAD DAY FOR KITCHENER FRAME EMPLOYEES AND DEVISTATION TO OUR COMMUNITY which provided for the plant to remain in operation with 21 employees. Language and benefit modifications were necessary. The remaining members were offered an opportunity to take severance or remain on the recall list. Northstar agreed to a closure agreement at the end of March as previously mentioned. The following sets of negotiations are on going at this time, AGS Automotive, Dennis Murphy and Canlyte with Metokote starting at the end of May and PJ Wallbank pending. Local Union Changes April 23 2009 was a sad day for the labour movement and for workers as it was the last day for a major employer in our community. Kitchener Frame, better known as Budd Automotive closed its doors forever. Our local 1524 and local 1451 have been joined at the hip for many years. Not only did we share the same location, but we supported each other. Whenever there was a call for picket line support, activism at rallies, charity work and promoting the labour movement in any fashion, brothers and sisters from local 1451 would always be there along side us. I have had the pleasure of working with their leadership over the years and particularly with their President Mike Devine. Mike is an outstanding labour leader and a credit to his membership, a true class act. Many of you know that our offices were owned by the Budd members and we have been tenants. The property and the building have reverted to the National Union as per the constitution effective May 1st. The location is for sale, but I have been assured by the National that we can remain as tenants for the time being. I have also had discussions with Local 1106 (healthcare) and Local 4304 (transit workers) to see if we can collaborate in an effort to make a go of the property. I will continue to update the progress at our monthly membership meetings. In light of our shrinking membership (1000 current, down from 2400 in 2003) and the possibility that we SPRING 2009 may have to relocate, the local union executive has consciously tried to reduce our operating costs and staffing levels. We have modified cell phone plans, reduced our donation levels and have proposed bylaw reductions to the per diem and millage levels that have yet to be approved at our membership meeting in May. Our Recording Secretary Kelly Sieling is now in the office one day per week as opposed to two. Our Financial Secretary Rob Pyne will be organizing in the 50/50 wage and expense cost share program offered by the National union effective June 1st. The executive as well as I believe we must try and organize in an effort to attract members and increase the unionized workforce density within the region. Elections I would like to commend all those that ran in the recent in-plant leadership elections. It takes courage to want to accept a position of leadership in today's economic climate. The true test of a leader is not when times are good but when they become difficult. Congratulations to those that won and I am looking forward to working with you. I wish the best for all members and their families in the coming months. PAGE 5 LOCAL 1524 FREE TRADE IMPACT, “AS PREDICTED” ere we are in one of the toughest economic times Canada has had to face in the last 50 years. Many things from greed with high oil prices, to banks and free trade, have all contributed to this recession. When free trade was signed over 20 years ago, organized labour predicted we would lose thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs. This recession we are now in, has increased job losses through free trade to horrendous levels, and our current government doesn't care. They are more interested in saving the high tech jobs and anything to do with our natural resource sector. Our government believes that their stimulus package will turn the economy around. The recovery this time around will be different than in the past, the jobs we are now losing won't be coming back. When the stimulus money hits the economy to build new H PAUL ROEDER 1ST VICE PRESIDENT schools, roads, and bridges it will create construction jobs but unfortunately that's where it will end. When the construction workers go out to buy their new clothes, shoes, electronics, and appliances they will find all these goods are manufactured over seas. The secondary spending money will then leave our country because we don't manufacture our own goods anymore. This is why the CAW is pushing various levels of government to adopt a buy Canadian policy. Some say this is protectionism, I say it is common sense. "Made In Canada Matters" We all need do our part, the next time you need a shovel, rake or anything at home try to buy Canadian. I want to congratulate all the winners in Local elections and I hope to see you at the general membership meetings. Have a safe and wonderful summer. NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING CEREMONY 25TH ANNIVERSARY April 28th is the day we mourn for those who have been injured or lost their lives in the work place. It is also a time to celebrate our hard-won rights. LOCAL 1524 PAGE 6 SPRING 2009 EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS UPDATE he Canadian Government's Economic Action Plan has passed legislation to increase the number of maximum weeks a claimant can receive Employment Insurance benefits. This was originally a pilot project in regions where unemployment rates were higher. Now the weeks have been extended to everyone in the country. This change took effect on March 1, 2009 and will apply to all regular claimants whose benefit period has not ended before March 1, 2009 or where the benefit period does not begin after September 11, 2010. In 1996, before the Liberals changed the Unemployment Insurance Act, the maximum weekly benefit was $604.00. Today's maximum is only $435.00 and the average benefit is just $335.00 per week. The government then changed the amount of hours to qualify for Unemployment Insurance. You need from 420 to 700 insurable hours to qualify depending on the region you live in. The higher the rate of unemployment, the less hours you need. In this tough economic time, changes are desperately needed. The CAW along with the Canadian Labour Congress are lobbying the government for changes to the Employment Insurance Act which are long over due. Their recommendations are as follows: *Provide regular benefits on the basis of 360 hours of work, no matter where workers live and work in Canada. *Raise benefits immediately to 60% of earnings calculated on a workers best 12 weeks. *Increase the period for which benefits can be collected to a maximum of 50 weeks. T SPRING 2009 *Support incomes by raising minimum wages and tax credits for low income workers. *Expand support and funding for worksharing arrangements under EI to reduce layoffs, and build links between worksharing and training programs. *Invest part of the EI surplus on better training and labour adjustment programs. *Make EI work for workers! They pay premiums believing they’ll be able to access benefits when they need it the most. Over 1.4 million people are out of work, yet only 43.09% of unemployed Canadians are receiving EI regular benefits. That is lover than December 2008 when 44.35% of unemployed workers were receiving EI benefits. In the recession in the early 90's on average, 80% of unemployed Canadians received regular benefits. In 2006-2007 only four in ten unemployed workers, and even fewer women, qualified for EI. Those who do qualify are eligible, on average, for just 32 weeks of benefits. Some who do qualify are only eligible for a maximum of 14 weeks of benefits. Employment Insurance benefits are paid by workers and the employer, not the government. Ottawa collects premiums and has built up an enormous surplus of $54 billion in the fund because of deep cuts stemming from the changes in 1996 at the workers expenses. It's time to change the Act to help workers not punish them. PAGE 7 ROB PYNE FINANCIAL SECRETARY CHANGES TO E. I. ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED LOCAL 1524 “THANKS” to all the brothers and sisters for their overwhelming support in the election and “CONGRATULATIONS” to all the elected reps! ow the work begins. As a Committee we have taken some time every morning to discuss all the outstanding issues. We have multiple grievances that we as a Committee must work our way through, so that we can find a starting point from which to work from. I look forward to working with the newly formed Committee and will work to make this a well functioning team with the goal of doing the best possible job for our membership. Lear Kitchener had a visit from President/CEO Bob Rossiter. He appeared pleased with the way the facility looked, and with the feedback from the members who approached him on the shop floor. However, he was a little disheartened with the amount of people working and would have liked to see that number higher. I explained to him that he could help us by bringing in more work. Secondly, we also passed a very critical T.S. 16949 audit. These are wins for the Kitchener facility and we want positive talks in Southfield about our plant. With finally some good news to share with the membership, Keith Rathwell and myself thought it would be a very good idea to have a presentation with the membership to help answer any questions about the tour and to share the outcome of his visit. I would also like to see the communication with the membership and management improve in our facility; as this would be a great way to start and grow positively in the right direction. As a final note about communication, I would like to request everyones E-mail addresses, so that regardless of your working status, I will be able to N BRIAN LITTLE LEAR CHAIRPERSON For better COMMUNICATION Please submit your E-mails Addresses LOCAL 1524 PAGE 8 communicate more frequently with all the members. My E-mail address is [email protected]. The sooner that I receive your E-mail address, the sooner I will be able to communicate to all of you. If you don't have E-mail, I will also need that information if possible. If you haven't already noticed, there is a prototype part of the rollover work for the GMX program hanging by the main employee entrance (across from posting board). This program is slated to begin in October 09. Unfortunately, it only increases our numbers in the plant slightly in the 014 class. It will just maintain the number of people currently running the 240 class of the program. Secondly, there are two stampings also hanging on the board. This part is 70,000 units for the Ford St.Thomas plant. The numbers may be low, but at this point we will take any work that comes our way, especially Ford. On Friday April 24/09, we received news that General Motors will be stopping production in all of its North American plants for a period of nine weeks starting in May and running through until mid July. This will impact our membership greatly; as we could potentially drop down as low as 50 people in our plant. As a Committee we will stay on top of the manpower numbers to make sure we keep the maximum number of people required to run the volumes. This became a very late add to my report, but communicating to the members isn't always good news, sometimes it's just the ugly truth of the terrible economy that were in. SPRING 2009 KITCHENER - HIT HARD WITH JOB LOSSES e have 37 members working at this time and 156 who still have recall rights. The warehouse has been up and down with not as many sales as last year but we are hoping that it will still pick up. This has resulted in some members being recalled, then laid off and recalled again which makes it a hard situation for them. The service department has seen its manpower pretty steady and if previous years are anything to go by, the months of May and June should be really busy which hopefully will absorb any layoffs in the warehouse. We have collective bargaining this year and I am sending both Lena Thomas and Mike Bester up to Port Elgin for a week course on collective bargaining, in the next few weeks. When they get back we will put out something to you as to what you would like to see bargained this year. I would like to thank everyone who voted in the recent local wide elections and will continue to work hard for you as Plant Chairperson and 2nd Vice President at the local. I know both Mike and Lena want to thank everyone for there support as well. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the members of Local 1986, who recently joined our local and look forward to working with them I recently spent 4 days at CAW Council in Port Elgin where we covered a large range of subjects. One thing is for sure, from coast to coast to coast, we are los- W SPRING 2009 ing jobs in every sector from pulp and paper mills, mining, aerospace and of course we are being hit extremely hard in the auto sector, especially in Ontario where we have become a have not Province. Its time the Governments Provincially and Federally got off there ass and started doing something to protect our jobs from leaving. We have lost thousands of good jobs all ready and many more job losses to come. Kitchener is at 10.1% unemployed now and that figure will continue to rise if nothing is done. While they have created a few jobs, they are all in the 10 to 12 dollar range which does nothing for us. We have lost good paying jobs at M.T.D, Lear and of course we can forget Kitchener Frame (formly Budds). What a sad month it was as they shut their doors completely down. Another huge Kitchener employer gone for good and all those tax dollars gone from our city. We also lost 3 other Units from our local, Bauer, Crowe Foundry and Northstar. We are sorry to see them go. Lena and I went to a rally recently in Queens Park, part of an ongoing campaign to get the Government to protect our pensions. We had 2 buses go from our local, plus many more from across the province. This is one of many campaigns the CAW has going on right now to try to get the Governments to do the right thing and protect its people. MIKE CAMBLIN MTD CHAIRPERSON Unemployment rate in Kitchener is at 10.1% Your Bargaining Committee PAGE 9 LOCAL 1524 HEMI MITIC’S RETIREMENT CELEBRATION March 20, 2009 BEST WISHES FROM LOCAL 1524 FOR A LONG AND HAPPY RETIREMENT TAMMY HELLER’S RETIREMENT CELEBRATION OCTOBER 3, 2008 BEST WISHES FROM LOCAL 1524 FOR A LONG AND HAPPY RETIREMENT “GOOD NEWS” ALL EMPLOYEES CALLED BACKED TO WORK here is a new face in Union representation at Hauser Ind. We welcome and wish Jamie Cisneros good luck in his new position I would also like to give a special thanks to our former committee person, Steve Becker for all his hard work during his four years as a union representative. Ralph and Kyle will remain as our Health and Safety Reps. I would like to say thank you to them as well for their support on our committee. Keep up the good job guys. Spring is in the air and with the nice weather comes patio furniture. Hauser is getting busier once again with new orders which is good news for all Hauser employees. We now have all of our Hauser workers back on the job. The company is also hiring a few student workers for our busy season. There will also be overtime in certain departments over the summer months. T COSTAS PATSAIOUROS HAUSER CHAIRPERSON We still have a few things to finish yet, such as the Skills Cross Reference List. The Production manager has reassured us that the company is working on it and will be presenting it to the committee within the next few weeks. The company has also agreeded to provide us with an office, to conduct our union duties. This should be completed by the fall. Last month, our friend and co-worker Dominic Maika retired. Dominic has been with Hauser for 10 years. We wish you good luck and enjoyment during your retirement days. I would like to welcome all new employees to Hauser and look forward to answering any questions or concerns you may have. In closing I would like to congratulate Mike Camblin on his new position in the union as 2nd Vice President. Good luck Mike. MORE POSSIBLE LAY OFFS LEO DINEEN AGS AUTOMOTIVE CHAIRPERSON LOCAL 1524 ust to up-date you of the goings on here in the AGS Automotive Cambridge facility. At the time of writing we have 16 production employees and 7 trades active, with another 45 on layoff. We are vigorously trying to acquire new work. In our hay day, we had 600 active employees. Most of the work we do here is for G.M. with a little bit of Chrysler as well. If, as it seems that G.M. will be closing for nine weeks, J PAGE 12 then this will have a negative outlook on this facility going into the early fall. SPRING 2009 CORPORATION RECOGNIZES EMPLOYEES FOR GOOD QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY would like to congratulate all workplace representatives elected by their Units this past election. Our Unit saw our Bargaining Committee re-elected: Stephanie Gunn - Day shift Committee person, Gary Payton - Afternoon shift Committee person and myself. Our Health & Safety Co-Chair - Jean Reeves and Women's Advocate - Lisa Gunn were also re-elected. Our afternoon shift elected a new, but experienced, Health & Safety Rep - Virginia Swindlehurst. We were all sworn in on April 21st at the General Membership Meeting. I am pleased that we have a good team of experienced Reps in place and it's my pleasure to work with them again. I would also like to thank those at the Local and National Union who continue to help and support us; I appreciate it. Our orders continue to be light as customer demand for our products has yet to pick up. Our customers assembly plants have shutdown weeks scheduled, which are impacting our work force negatively. We are suffering intermittent layoffs and temporary suspensions of our afternoon shift. Our numbers are bouncing between 62 & 123 active members, as management adjusts our work force accordingly. This year's summer shutdown will also be altered to compensate for the lack of work caused by these shutdown times. Some of our members have been taking voluntary layoffs to allow other members to work. Others are at the mercy of our flawed EI system and dismal job market awaiting recall. They are worried, scared and unhappy; I really wish I had some good news to pass on to them. We've had some new equipment arrive recently at our plant, which is good to I SPRING 2009 see. However, it isn't up and running yet but we're looking forward to when this new line is running full production. Some other equipment from Dana Mississauga has recently come to our plant that we will be launching soon. Dana has made the decision to close the Mississauga operation by the end of June. I'm glad that we're getting more work for our members but am not happy how we obtained it. I offer my condolences to the Dana Mississauga members of Local 1285. Our plant will be featured in the upcoming issue of "Dana Dimensions" newsletter to highlight benchmark-manufacturing sites. We have good quality and productivity up here in Mount Forest. Our members deserve credit for all the good work they do and it's great to see some recognition. Currently, our employer Dana is surviving this economic downturn. They aren't seeking any federal assistance and are still listed on the NYSE. Looking towards the future, I hope the auto industry rebounds, to some degree, and we can get some of our members back to work supporting themselves, their families, community and economy. PAGE 13 RANDY PARSONS DANA CHAIRPERSON LOCAL 1524 “THANKS” LOCAL 1524 FOR SUPPORTING THE MERGER WITH LOCAL 1986 irst of all I would like to thank Local 1524 for taking in our unit and allowing the merger of Local 1986 and Local 1524. Back in November 2008, when we where discussing the merger, Metokotes unit employed approximately 70 brothers and sisters. At this time, we are down to 35 members in our unit, with 9 more lay offs slated for May 4th, due to GM’s 9 week closure. We have been told that we are in the approval stage for work share and this should start May 3rd. Here at Metokote traditionally, we are a coater for the automotive sector. Fortunately, in the past couple of years, we have brought in jobs other than automotive that will help us survive in these tough economical times. Also, I would like to thank Randy Parsons and all the brothers and sisters at Dana. In February, Metokote started to coat rads F PAUL BUTCHER METOKOTE CHAIRPERSON for Dana, which accounts for approximately 40% of our work at this time. This work came in just as we lost Budd. (Budd was a very unfortunate loss for the whole community.) Our collective agreement with metokote will be up in September 2009. The employer approached us and asked if we would consider early bargaining in order to attract new business. We the union accepted and bargaining will start the last week in May. April 23rd, I had the opportunity to go to the rally at Queen’s Park to support our seniors and demand they get the pension and dignity that they so much deserve. That we all deserve one day. Thanks again from all the brothers and sisters at Metokote. In solidarity we stand together so we will stand strong. P.S. BUY CANADIAN and get all our sisters and brothers back to work. CAMBRIDGE ACTION CENTRE Phone 519-621-6777 1001 Langs Dr. Unit 1 Cambridge, On N1R 7K7 [email protected] Fax 519-621-5677 After a few problems with renting space, electrical and cleaning, we are finally open. The Cambridge Action Centre officially opened on April 20th. Our hours of operation are, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Wednesday 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The Wednesday hours are subject to change depending on usage. Committee members from Northstar Aerospace, Canlyte and Crowe Foundry wish to thank Local 1524, President Tim Mitchell and Financial Secretary Rob Pyne for their assistance in getting the Cambridge Action Centre up and going. The Cambridge Action Centre wishes to extend an open invitation to all the Sisters and Brothers of Local 1524 to visit at any time. LOCAL 1524 PAGE 14 SPRING 2009 MARK THESE IMPORTANT DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR RETIRED WORKERS PICNIC Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. CAW Hall, $5.00 per person JANIS TURENNE Sign Up! Be a part of the Labour Day Parade in Port Elgin. We'll have a sign-up sheet at the retired workers picnic in June. A bus will take us to Port Elgin in the morning. Rides on wagons at the parade are available for those who don't walk very well. We then go back to the center for a wonderful lunch, hear a few words from our leaders, tour the center and spend some time at the delegates accommodation. RETIREES RECORDING SECRETARY SWEARING IN CEREMONY OF ALL NEWLY ELECTED UNION REPS CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL! SPRING 2009 PAGE 15 LOCAL 1524 MANY GREAT FESTIVALS ARE UPCOMING uring this pass year, many Human Rights issues were happening throughout Canada. Like the Lesbian couple who were attacked physically while picking there kids up from school last fall. There are also so many slave workshops happening in the Toronto and GTA area. These workshops have no respect for Human Rights issues at all. Another concern is the Temp Agencies, where there are well over thousands in Ontario alone. We need to put pressure on our Government to stop these Agencies once and for all. These agencies make huge profits on the workers behalf and don't really care about Human Rights issues at all, shame. Looks like another great summer of fun. Many great Festivals are happening throughout our area and more. The Multi-Cultural festival with great food is taking over Victoria Park the last weekend in June. During the same weekend in Toronto is Gay Pride and CAW Pride. The last few years we participated in the parade by marching proudly for the LGBT Sisters and Brothers within our great union. This year we are planning to participated in our own Tri-City Pride at Victoria Park in Kitchener. This years D TOD SPIEGELBERG HUMAN RIGHTS CHAIRPERSON LOCAL 1524 PAGE 16 date is Saturday, June 6th from 12 pm to 6 pm. We are in planing to have an information table set up about CAW issues concerning our LGBT Sisters, Brothers, Allies and families in our union today. This will be first for our local to participated in this event. A special thanks go out to Sister Colleen Soehner, a great Women's Advocate from the Lear unit. She works very hard in educating herself, by participating in Workshops that are given for Women's issues throughout our workplaces and within our community. We are so blessed in Local 1524 to have a great person like Colleen around. Once again, I'll be going to Port Elgin for 2009 Pride Conference. This great conference is held every other year. We learn about new Human Rights issues concerning LGBT. A huge thanks to our local for sending us to this Conference. It’s very important for us all to keep educated on LGBT issues. Now the question is what does LGBT mean. It is a term used by us all now, in the LGBT community. LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS AND TRANSGENDERS. A great movie for us all to rent and see is “MILK”. Sean Penn won an Oscar for his performance in this movie. It is about the first open Gay person that was elected to public office in the City of San Fransisco Cal. Harvey Milk really started the LGBT community to start fighting for the rights and to be treated equal and to stop the discrimination that is still happening today. I also welcome all the new Sisters and Brothers from the Local 1986 who have joined Local 1524 this past winter. We look forward to hearing from you, with any concerns that you may have. SPRING 2009 AMENDMENT TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY ACT WITH RESPECT TO VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE or many years our union has made ending violence against women a priority at the bargaining table. To support this commitment it is critical that activists work with community partners to bring greater attention to the ongoing issue of ending violence against women. CAW activists have been lobbying our Members of Parliament in Ontario with an objective to seek long overdue changes to the Occupational Health & Safety Act, that will protect all workers from Harassment and violence in the workplace. The lack of adequate protection for Ontario workers was highlighted by the tragic workplace murder of Lori Dupont, a nurse at the Hotel dieu hospital in F Windsor in 2005. The recommendation from the coroner’s inquest has prompted the CAW to call on the Ontario Government to make workplace harassment and violence a hazard under the Occupational Health & Safety Act. Therefore, the first reading of this Bill was passed on April 20th, 2009. Changes to the law will ensure that all workers exposed to workplace harassment or violence would have a mechanism under the law to address this hazard. Thanks to Tim Mitchell and Lisa Stephens for their participation in addressing this important issue to our local MPP, John Milloy. COLLEEN SOEHNER LEAR WOMEN’S ADVOCATE CAW SOCIAL JUSTICE FUND DONATES $100,000 TO 50 WOMENS SHELTERS ACROSS CANADA Colleen Soehner and Kelly Sieling presenting 2 cheques each for $2,000.00 to Jane Ryan from the Anselma House and Haven House SPRING 2009 PAGE 17 LOCAL 1524 COPING STRATEGIES DEALING WITH JOB LOSS STRESS ince October, Canadian workers have been hammered with 295,000 job losses. Losing a job ranks high on the list of lifes most stressful events. It can unleash a wide range of emotions, like shock, denial, anger, devastation or frustration. Unfortunately, many of our members have been faced with this reality. As overwhelming as it may seem, here are some tips that may help to eliminate some of this stress. Take Care of Yourself 1. Make sure you are getting proper rest. 2. Stay active, go for a walk. 3, Eat nutritious, balanced meals. 4. Visit with friends. 5. Talk to a health care professional. 6. Seek counselling if needed. 7.Keep your thinking positive. Remember, the economy will bounce S SPRING 2009 back - your health may not. Other Tips 1. Reassess your skills and abilities. 2. Gain more experience by volunteering. 3. Join a job support program. 4. Take a course. 5. Read the newspaper, watch the news and stay connected. 6. Set small goals daily. Rather than looking at a job loss as a horrible thing, it might be better to consider the positive implications of this situation. Take the time to make some changes — switch careers or industries, learn some new skills and improve upon the ones you already have, or perhaps consider relocating. Look forward to your next opportunity. You never know what doors this turn of events may open for you. PAGE 19 KELLY SIELING EDITOR LOCAL 1524 SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS The third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm (Except for July and Aug) EXECUTIVE BOARD President - Tim Mitchell 1st Vice President - Paul Roeder 2nd Vice President - Mike Camblin Financial Secretary - Rob Pyne Recording Secretary - Kelly Sieling Trustee Chairperson - John Hawkins Trustee - Tod Spiegelberg Trustee - Mike Kempinski Sergeant-At-Arms - Karl De Forest Guide - Dave Blum Retirees Chairperson - Shorty Wismer Election Chairperson - Sharon Graf UNIT CHAIRPERSONS E-MAIL [email protected] VISIT OUR WEB PAGE AT www.caw1524.com LOCAL UNION SOCIAL SERVICES AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE COMMITTEE If you need help, call: Wayne Zettler, MTD - Cell - 519-503-1210 Rob Pyne, CAW Office - 519-893-7484 John Willcocks, Lear - 519-895-1600 Ext 3340 WOMEN’S ADVOCATES Colleen Soehner, Lear - 519-895-1600 Ext 3505 Lisa Gunn, Dana - 519-323-9494 HEALTH & SAFETY CHAIR John Hawkins - 519-584-7536 STANDING COMMITTEES Lear Corporation - Brian Little MTD Products - Mike Camblin B & W Heat Treating - Darryl Micall Ventra Plastics - Dayle Steadman Lear (Office) - Brian Schneider PJ Wallbank - Bruce Winter Ornamental Moulding - Shayne White BFI - Terry Swiech Hauser Industries - Costas Patsaiouros Jackson Skate - No One Ultra Metal - Bob Swartz K-W Labour Assn - Larry Engel CLIS - Mary Ellen Dance Dana - Randy Parsons AGS Automotive - Leo Dineen Bennett Chevrolet - Julio Gomez Canlyte - Kim Hawkins Dennis Murphy - Pat Browne Metokote - Paul Butcher Von Weise - Ines Amaral Constitution & Bi-Laws - Rob Pyne Education - John Hawkins Recreation - Sherry Landry Goodwill & Welfare - Kelly Sieling Human Rights - Tod Spiegelberg Social Services - Paul Roeder Editor - Kelly Sieling Organizing - Karl De Forest Women’s - Lena Thomas Health & Safety - John Hawkins Skilled Trades - Don Robins The Amalgamated is an official publication of CAW Local 1524. All opinions expressed here-in are those of the author only. We encourage discussions of any nature, but reserve the right to refuse those letters that we judge abusive, sexist or racist. All submissions must be signed. Please include your phone number and e-mail address.
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