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 blittle@lear.com.
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
cambridgeactioncentre@bellnet.ca
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
ksieling@caw1524.com
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.