Armada union, management resolve to meet in new year

Armada union, management resolve to meet in new year

ARMADA LOCKOUT

Armada Toolworks locks out workers

 

Union disappointed with management’s actions just 10 days before Christmas

189 Armada lock out

Catherine Whitnall

Armada Toolworks Ltd. workers showed up for their shift Sunday (Dec. 15) evening but found the gates shut and themselves locked out by their employer. The employees have been working without a contract since Dec. 3 and cite wages and overtime as the big issues.

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Kawartha Lakes This Week

By Catherine Whitnall

(LINDSAY) Contract talks have ground to a halt at Armada Toolworks Ltd., resulting in workers hitting the picket line.

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The Lindsay-based, automotive industry supplier employs 320 full- and part-time people.

A press release issued by Unifor Local 222 on Monday (Dec. 16) morning, stated contract discussions with management had been ongoing to address the current contract that expired on Dec. 3.  At 9 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 15), the company’s management had refused to allow workers to enter the plant for their regular shift, essentially locking them out 10 days before Christmas, the release states.

“The 22,000 members of Unifor Local 222 are shocked and disappointed at this attack on the community of Lindsay just days prior to Christmas,” stated Local 222 President Ron Svajlenko.

According to the press release, 70 per cent of the company’s roughly 200 unionized workers are women; many of them single parents.

Company president Ross Chandler countered the union’s position, maintaining the company has not locked out its employees.

He explained that, on Saturday (Dec. 14) a water main in the building burst and the area was cleared. He did not refute the fact that employees were stopped at the gates and prevented from entering the building on Sunday evening, but affirmed the company “did not lock them out.”

The company did, however, know the union was in the process of making preparations for a strike; a legal position as of Dec. 5.

“They’re on strike,” said Mr. Chandler, adding he thought any action would be delayed until after Christmas.   

Nonetheless, the gates to the property remain locked as long as employees remain on strike.   

At this point, the union is calling on management “to immediately return to negotiations and responsibly bargain a fair, collective agreement that will allow the union members to celebrate the season with their families instead of facing the bleak future this corporation has chosen to give them.”

Steve Rose, skilled trades representative who has worked at Armada for three years, said the employees simply want to “be on par with employees at other companies with the same union.” The majority of the workforce currently earns $14.26 per hour and an additional 123 non-unionized temporary workers earn $10.25, or minimum wage.  

Mr. Chandler countered the company had tried to level the playing field, presenting a four-year offer in June, at a time when finances would have supported it, that included a $1.70 raise in total - or 9.61 per cent - for the majority of employees, as well as some changes to language and benefits. That offer was rejected, and while it is no longer on the table, Mr. Chandler said the company wants to return to negotiations. Management agreed to meet on numerous occasions this month, but the union claimed none of the dates would work. He hopes the two sides come back to the table Dec. 20, and recognizes “we can’t resolve anything in one day.”

“We need to get back to the table,” said Mr. Chandler.

Mr. Rose agrees.

“We were negotiating in good faith...The union was willing to negotiate,” said Mr. Rose, adding workload is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by the company.

He said the company has been “mandating overtime” since the end of August with employees working as many as 12 consecutive days.

Mr. Chandler explained the “stockpiling” that took place in recent months was done so the company would be able to continue to supply customers in the event of strike; something the union was in the position to do as of Dec. 5.

Injured Workers Treated Unfairly

Over the years the stories of injured

workers, both on the job

and off, continue to astonish me.

We as workers in Ontario are entitled

to WSIB benefits yet when

an injury occurs at work the company deliberately

tries to deter us from collecting

benefits by either incorrectly filing a claim

or threatening the injured worker, scaring

them into coming back to work on light duty

when their medical practitioner has already

advised them to stay off work.

The company does this by telling the injured

worker that if they do not come back

to work and accept light duties then they

may not qualify for WSIB benefits. When an

injury occurs at work we are required to

have our doctors fill out a functional abilities

form (FAF). The key is to get this form

filled out correctly by your doctor. The WSIB

appeals specialist at CAW Local 222 advises

that doctors often support their patients in

the office but when the medical reports are

read, the doctor failed to put in writing the

necessary support to be off work. We are

only as strong as the doctor makes us in

these situations. When your FAF is filled out

and the doctor renders you only partially

disabled and you do not return to work your

claim may be denied.

Your claim may also be denied if there

is insufficient proof that the accident happened

at work. At this point the company

may refuse to accommodate you until you

can prove with a letter from your doctor that

you are 100 per cent capable of full duties.

Because your WSIB claim has been denied

the company will claim undue hardship

and say your injury didn’t happen at work

so they do not have to accommodate you.

Members have actually lost their jobs in the

past because of the above scenario and the

appeals procedure takes years, not months.

If you are out on an appeal for more than

two years you lose your seniority and no

longer work for Armada.

If you do injure yourself on the job be

sure to keep copies of all paperwork. Keep

copies for yourself and give copies to your

Union in case we have to fight on your behalf.

When you visit your doctor to have your

FAF filled out, be sure to mention that your

company has a history of using the system

against us to deny benefits and make sure

your doctor understands. If you feel you are

not capable and cannot immediately accept

light duties but after your condition changes

you will gladly accept light duties make

sure that the paperwork states this. It is not

advisable however to stay out longer than

necessary or against your doctor’s advice.

The reason for companies being so inconsiderate

and uncompassionate for injured

workers is strictly for one reason only.

Money! WSIB is an insurance much like

your home or auto insurance. The company

pays a premium each year in the hundreds

of thousands of dollars. The more claims

that go through, the higher the premiums

that the company pays.

Now this brings me to health and safety.

You would think that for this reason the

company would be

serious about health

and safety. But we

don’t even have a

full-time health and safety manager. Joint

health and safety meetings rarely happen on

a regular basis as per the Ministry of Labour

Employment Standards Act, even though we

have threatened with grievances and to call

the MOL to complain. For employees who

are injured outside work there are no disability

benefits available through work and

your only avenue is to file for employment

insurance disability benefits through the

government.

But be careful and remember that if your

injury or disability lasts longer than two

years you lose your seniority and will be out

of a job. When I first entered the workforce

there were numerous stories of workers

using the system to sit at home and collect

benefits for injuries that didn’t happen at

work or the person’s injuries were not as

severe as was documented. Or so-called

injured workers worked elsewhere on the

side under the table while collecting benefits

(WSIB fraud). It is because of this past

exploitation and abuse of the system that today’s

workers are now paying the price and

being denied benefits which they deserve

and need. If you are considering to attempt

to cheat the system somehow in order to

stay home and collect benefits I highly recommend

against doing so.

 

 

 

tom

worsley

ARMADA

TOOLWORKS

Unit Chairperson

 

 

Union Wants To Be Able To Fight For Rights Of All Armada Employees

At

 the time of writing this, tensions between the membership

and management appear to be on the rise due to increased

overtime and the membership being mandated for it. Let

me remind everyone that Ontario legislation states we can

be forced to work a maximum of 48 hours per week but

not more than eight hours per day. There is nothing we can do about

this short of changing the language in the Collective Agreement. But

it doesn’t mean we have to like it. Let’s hope management also understands

that we have lives outside Armada and when they force people

to work it hurts morale and in turn that hurts the company.

We are in the middle of a bit of a hiring spree as we begin to get ready

for more new business that will be arriving in September and in early

2013, with at least two larger 500 ton plastic machines which will have

arrived before you read this. Management has said they are having a

hard time finding temp agency employees who are qualified to be hired

on full time. I find this extremely hard to believe with over 140 temp

agency workers fully trained, some of whom worked here for years. In

recent weeks we have also witnessed several temps let go or laid off, as

they call it. Some of these people were actually full-timers at one time

who left and came back as temp agency employees yet they were let

go and do not qualify for full time re-employment. The exploitation of

temp agency workers or precarious workers is appalling. Unfortunately

it seems to be a sign of the times in Ontario manufacturing.

In my 25 years on the shop floor I have

never seen such disrespect for a group of people with no protection

from a union and very few rights that they know of. This constant

attack on workers not only at Armada but all across Canada is precisely

why the Canadian Auto Workers Union and the Communications,

Energy and Paperworkers unions want to join forces.

On a brighter note, the company has told the committee in a

meeting that there are way too many temps, which is why they have

cleared a few out and are about to hire more full time. I have said

this in the past and I will say it again. I’m not against the temp workers.

But when management discriminates based on one’s disability I

want to be able to fight for them and not have my hands tied behind

my back.

There have been rumours lately that die cast could be contracted

out as early as September or early October with all die cast workers

bumping into other departments. On Aug. 10/12 the committee was

told in a meeting that this is not true and that we have the die cast

business for at least two more years and that they cannot find anyone

to take the business. We were also told that if a customer were to

come to Armada with more die cast business and it was viable they

would gladly accept it and bring in more die cast machines. Let’s

hope the latter is true.

In Solidarity.
W

armada uupdated web site

armada has updated thier web site check it out. http://www.armadatoolworks.com/ be patient its slow.

exploitation of temp agency workers or precarious workers

At the time of writing this tensions between the membership and management appear to be on the rise due to increased overtime and the membership being mandated for it. Let me remind everyone that the law states we can be forced to work a maximum of 48 hours per week but not more than 8 hours per day. There is nothing we can do about this short of changing the language in the collective agreement. But it doesn’t mean we have to like it. Let’s hope management also understands that we have lives outside Armada and when they force people to work it hurts moral and intern huts the company.

We are in the middle of a bit of a hiring spree as we begin to get ready for more new business that will be arriving in September and early 2013 with at least 2 larger 500 ton plastic machines which will have arrived before you read this. Management has said they are having a hard time finding temp agency employees who are qualified to be hired on full time. I find this extremely hard to believe with over 140 temp agency workers fully trained some of whom worked here for years. In recent weeks we have also witnessed several temps let go or laid off so they call it. Some of these people were actually full timers at one time who left and came back as temp agency employees yet they were let go and do not qualify for full time re employment. The exploitation of temp agency workers or precarious workers is appalling unfortunately it seems to be a sign of the times in Ontario manufacturing. Even GM has issues with the way their temp workers are being used. In my 25 years on the shop floor I have never seen such dis respect for a group of people with no protection from a union and very few rights that they know of. This constant attack on workers not only at Armada but all across Canada is precisely why the Canadian Auto Workers Union and the Communications Energy and Paper unions want to join forces. On a brighter note the company has told the committee in a meeting that there are way too many temps which is why they have cleared a few out and are about to hire more full time. I have said this in the past and I will say it again. I’m not against the temp workers. But when management discriminates based on one’s disability I want to be able to fight for them and not have my hands tied behind my back. There have been rumours lately that die cast could be contracted out as early as September or early October with all die cast workers bumping into other departments. On August 10 the committee was told in a meeting that this was not true and that they have the die cast business for at least 2 more years and that they cannot find anyone to take the business. We were also told that if a customer were to come to Armada with more die cast business and it was viable they would gladly except it and bring in more die cast machines. Let’s hope the latter is true.

In solidarity

Unions turn to new ideas to stay afloat | CTVNews

Unions turn to new ideas to stay afloat | CTVNews

New Union Project | CAW and CEP are exploring the possibility of building a new union together.

New Union Project | CAW and CEP are exploring the possibility of building a new union together.

Canadian taxpayers left holding the bag in London plant shutdown: Georgetti says Caterpillar should be forced to seek Canadian buyer | Canadian Labour Congress

Canadian taxpayers left holding the bag in London plant shutdown: Georgetti says Caterpillar should be forced to seek Canadian buyer Canadian Labour Congress

Wages And Jobs Going South.

Allot of grumbling has gone on over the past year about the miniscule wage increases that we managed to squeeze out of Armada management at our last round of negotiations. In fact the only good thing that can be said is that we actually got wage increases and gave up nothing. Yes we are at the lower end of the totem pole when it comes to wages but in my opinion our low wages are the only thing keeping us going right now. Take a look at the lock out in London for example between Electro-Motive and the CAW. They were given an ultimatum take a 55% wage reduction or we close the plant and move it the united states were wages are 50% lower. These people were making $35/hr which would bring them down to approximately $16/hr if they accepted the companies demands. Corporations are using us pitting worker against worker saying to us that if you won't work for $16/hr someone else will. When I look back at all the new work we have secured in the last year I can't help but wonder how many unionized plastics plants we out bid to get the contracts because we are working for less than $16/hr and they couldn't compete with Armada's offer. We are almost guaranteed employment for the next 2 years unless something extreme transpires. How many more unions this year are going to have to make the tough choice between wage cuts or walking the picket line. Remember this before you complain about increases that we did get when others around us are being forced to take wage cuts or walk the picket line with the threat of loosing their jobs altogether to employees in the United States who will work for less. The only thing giving us a competitive edge against our brothers and sisters in the United States for the last 20 years was our low Canadian dollar. Now that we are at par with the US dollar it is no longer as profitable For large corporations to do business in Canada paying Canadian workers more than workers in the USA. They don't care that we cannot afford to put gas in our vehicles. They don't care that we cannot pay our bills and they do not care that we have little to no savings for retirement. The only thing they care about is the bottom line. Only time will tell how bad things really get but if the first week of this new year is a preview of whats to come 2012 is not looking good for manufacturing jobs here in Ontario. We should feel fortunate that we have 2 years before we head back to the bargaining table.

Check out CAW Outraged at Closure Announcement at Electro-Motive in London | Canadian Auto Workers | CAW

Check out CAW Outraged at Closure Announcement at Electro-Motive in London | Canadian Auto Workers | CAW

Electro-Motive plant shut by U.S. owner

The company that owns the locked-out Electro-Motive plant in London, Ont., has decided to close the plant permanently.
Progress Rail Services Corp., a subsidiary of U.S. construction equipment conglomerate Caterpillar, announced "it is regrettable that it has become necessary to close production operations at the London facility," in a release on Friday.
The company locked out 450 workers from the facility on Jan. 1. Costs were the main factor in the dispute, with the company pushing certain employees to take a 50 per cent pay cut.
"The cost structure of the operation was not sustainable and efforts to negotiate a new, competitive collective agreement were not successful," the release said.

Acrimonious dispute

The company said it is in the process of notifying employees of the decision.
Politicians in Ottawa were quick to react to the move, with high-profile Liberal MP Ralph Goodale suggesting Ottawa needs to "get the best out of what is now a very bad situation."
"The government owes the workers here a substantial amount because … there were particular incentives and advantages offered to this company and the net result is that 450 jobs have been lost," Goodale said.
On the governing Conservative side, Shelly Glover, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, said, "We do sympathize with those who have lost their jobs, but we are creating jobs."
The closure has sent shockwaves through the organized labour movement across Canada.
Rick Laporte is the president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 444, which represents nearly 5,000 unionized Chrysler employees in Windsor, Ont., about a 90-minute drive west of London.
"This is something that is certainly new to us in the labour movement. Here's a company that just made billions of dollars in profits — record profits," Laporte said.
"There is no reason to do what they did. They just arbitrarily decided, 'That's it, we're going to do what we're going to do,' which is crazy. Even more disturbing that the government sits on the sidelines and absolutely does nothing."
CAW President Ken Lewenza called the decision a "callous move," and blamed the federal government for failing to require that companies commit to Canadian jobs when making corporate takeovers.

'The cost structure of the operation was not sustainable.'—Progress Rail's press statement

"The Stephen Harper government is entirely in the pocket of the corporate elite and has shown absolute disregard for Canadian workers and their families," said Lewenza.
"I am disgusted at this government and its indifference towards the suffering of workers and the unemployed. The Harper government was elected by Canadians, but only seems able to represent multinational corporations."
Caterpillar revealed Jan. 26 it had record-high sales and a profit of nearly $5 billion US last year, up 83 per cent from $2.7 billion US in 2010. Profit per share was $7.40 US, up 78 per cent.
The move comes as Electro-Motive is preparing to host a jobs fair in Muncie, Ind., this weekend. Progress's website is advertising several open positions at the Indiana facility.
"The jobs will require specific skills/experience in welding, mechanical, electrical and/or general parts assembly for locomotives, as well as painting of locomotives," the website says.
Union locals in the London area had long feared Progress intended to move the locomotive manufacturing to a facility in the United States.
On Wednesday, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a bill into law enacting so-called right-to-work legislation that effectively bans mandatory union membership.

Armada ToolWorks Grievance Procedure Must Be Followed Correctly

The grievances regarding the production assistants have been resolved without going to arbitration but the fight is not over. It has been agreed upon by both the union and management that any current line leaders and or production assistants will remain in their current positions. The company argued that it was always past practice to not post leadership positions. The committee argued that it was wrong for the company to be allowed to do this in the first place. On November 23^rd an estoppel letter was served to management stating that 3 months from the date of this letter the union will be exercising our contractual rights under article 12 of our collective agreement and all future line leader and or production assistant positions will be posted and the job posting procedure to be followed.
Recently 2 of our shop stewards received a threatening letter from their supervisor regarding doing union business on the shop floor during company time. The letter for those of you who didn't see it went on to say that if we were caught doing any union business or talking union on the shop floor that we were to be put on notice for discipline and that the committee had already been spoken to about this and that it was unacceptable and will not be tolerated. In the very first meeting with the new committee and management we were told that management wanted to have a fresh start and attempt to have good relations with the union. This letter is a contradiction to that first meeting. I have been told by management that the letter was a mistake and was not meant for our eyes. It was only meant for the supervisors to read and not for distribution to the shop stewards. In the end we agreed to put our differences behind us and continue working together and not against one another in the best interest of all employees at Armada ToolWorks.

The first step in any grievance should be to talk to your supervisor first. If you need the assistance of a rep request it from your supervisor. Your supervisor must then set up a meeting during company time. This is step 1 of our grievance procedure as per article 7.03 of the collective agreement. If we follow the collective agreement correctly there should be no reason for management to send out such a threatening letter ever again whether it is for our eyes or not.

In Solidarity

Tom Worsley

Union Representation Guidelines

This letter is in response to a letter received from management on November 28 suggesting that we can no longer speak to one another on the shop floor regarding the union, any union issues or union grievances. The management is threatening us with discipline if we continue and are caught doing any type of union business on the floor. Article 7,01 says that any research or preparation for a grievance must be done on our own time but the processing of a grievance to management by the employee and union rep will be done during working hours.

If we are to comply with managements orders we will need to make some changes in the way we handle and process grievances and how our membership receives union representation. First off there will be no more discussions with any management and any committee member including myself on any topic regarding the union, discipline of an employee etc.. etc.. If they wish to speak with us they will need to call a committee meeting with all 3 of us to be done off the floor.

If any union member requires union representation regarding a grievance they must first request a step 1 oral discussion meeting with their supervisor as per article 7.03 of the collective agreement. This article says the grievance shall be discussed with the employees immediate supervisor. In the past this was always done on the fly on the shop floor. But since we are no longer able to do union business on the floor the supervisors must arrange for a meeting in the board room for all oral step 1 grievances. If the supervisor fails to provide for such meetings then a grievance will be filed for failing to recognize us as a union article 1 and failing to provide union representation article 6. Moving forward if a member approaches a steward or union rep on the floor without first talking to their supervisor they will be instructed to do so first by the union rep. Keep in mind we are being threatened with discipline if we are caught doing any type of union business on the shop floor other than the processing of a grievance to management as per article 7.01.

Also all disciplines including PQRA's and all councils require union representation at the employees request under article 9 of the collective agreement. If the company refuses your right to union representation it is recommended that you leave the office, board room or were ever it is management is meeting with you until representation is given. Do not let management tell you they don't have to supply representation for councils. This is not true. A council is discipline and it does remain on your record. Always demand a union rep be present for all meetings with management.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask after working hours.

In Solidarity

Tom Worsley

Jimbo Stanford At Occupy Toronto

http://youtu.be/QoOKY5kH9cc

Precarious Work At Armada Still A big Issue

Christmas is fast approaching and I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. It seems like just yesterday that we were in bargaining a year ago this December.

Armada has hired 28 full time employees since negotiations including 2 maintenance employees and a midnight tool room. Early Nov I asked about hiring more and the answer I recieved from management was yes most likely, probably before Chrismas we will be hiring more. Although this is good for our union there still seems to be a total disregard for the exploitation of precarious workers from the temp agency. At the time of writing this article we still have approximately 105 temp agency workers vs 166 full time unionized members for a total of 271 employees excluding salaried workers.

The problem we have is the ratio in the collective agreement article 11.02.4. for those of you who do not know how this ratio works it’s a 3 month average which forces management to hire every 3 months depending on how many agency employees are utilized each month. For simplicity sake lets say the 3 month average is 100. you would then subtract 20 and multiply by .10 which would mean they would only owe us 8 full time employees for those 3 months. We must continue to put pressure on management to have article 11.02.4 of our collective agreement changed in the next set of negotiations. Again let me make it clear that we are not against the people who work for the temp agency. We only wish that they could enjoy the same wages and benefits the membership receives.

As of Nov 14 we are still awaiting a step 3 meeting regarding the production assistants jobs (PA's). Although i think management is on the right track in creating these jobs i think the way they are going about it is completely wrong. Seniority employees are being discriminated against while the company favours lower seniority employees for the positions without posting the job as per article 12.01 of our collective agreement. The company says they need to do this in order to get the best of the best.. the collective agreement says in article 12.07 that all jobs postings are subject to a probationary period of 20 days. This means all seniority employees should have the opportunity for the job based on their seniority and if it is deemed they cannot perform the job management may move on to the next candidate within the 20 day probationary period based on seniority.

Another major issue we have with the creation of these positions is that they were created by management to support people in higher classifications of pay. For example instead of hiring more full time material handlers the production assistants are to pick up the slack. This is fine but material handlers get paid over $1 an hr more than a PA will get and a material handler set up in assembly almost $2 an our more than a PA. If the PA's are to to the same work then they should be paid for it.

Last but not least i would like to thank all those who took part in the November training sessions held at local 222 in Oshawa. These sessions are free to all members of local 222 and are a great way to increase your knowledge on union activism along with workplace health and safety and human rights.

In solidarity

Tom Worsley

WORKING TOGEATHER IS KEY TO FUTURE SUCCESS

Since this is my first article in the OshaWorker I would again like to thank the membership for their support and overwhelmingly electing me as your new chairperson at Armada Tool Works. I will do my very best to represent every single member without prejudice.

Let me first start out by reminding each and every one of you that you are the union and you have a voice. The union doesn’t just consist of a chairperson, 2committee people, and 6 shop stewards. We are all in this together and we areall members of local 222 unit 34 at Armada Tool Works in Lindsay On. The more people that understand this the better off and stronger we will be as a union.We must stick together and fight management on important issues. On a side note the arguing amongst brothers and sisters must stop. I know brothers and sisters do fight but as I am your leader I am asking you to stop the bickering amongst each other and save it for management.

So far the company has showed signs that they would like to work with us and not against us. While throwing us a barbecue in recognition of our hard work and then mandating Saturday overtime it shows unfortunately that we are not totally on the same page. But I assure you they are trying and I believe there could be some more positive changes down the road. The company says the mandated overtime was necessary due to increased customer demand. As I write this we are being mandated for our 5th Saturday after management assured us it would only be for 3 weeks.

The management has decided that they could create new positions in plastics called production assistants which would replace the line leader position. This job would not be a posted position according to management. This means that they would be able to pick and choose whom every they wish without any regard for the job posting procedure or seniority. In the committees view this is a clear and direct violation of article 12 of our collective agreement. I have evidence of past arbitration cases that are similar to ours that management was wrong by not posting the jobs and the arbitrator awarded the decision to the union. We have filed a policy grievance on this issue but I urge all employees with seniority to file a personnel individual grievance as well if you feel you have been passed up for this position.

In the mean time we must ensure that we all continue to follow all orders of management regardless of whether we agree with them or not. The only time we can refuse a direct order is when it clearly endangers ones self or someone else. Keep this in mind before you tell your supervisor NO! I will not do this or that. The only thing we can legally refuse is unsafe work. If it is aviolation of the collective agreement do it first and contact your steward to file a grievance after.

In Solidarity

Tom Worsley

New Chairperson

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support during the past elections and voting me in as your new union chairperson at Armada Toolworks.

It has been a very different environment in auto parts manufacturing than it was just 10 years ago. As some of you may be aware I was an employee at Libbey Owens Ford (LOF) beginning in 1987. Since then being a big 3 auto supplier has changed drastically both on the union side and on the management side. It is more important now than it ever was to stick together and all work together in order to be more economically productive. This does not mean we all start working unsafely in order to be more productive or skip our breaks because we don't have time to take them. The company I believe is trying to work leaner than what is possible of us the workers in order to survive in one of the worst economies since the 1930's. We must continue to work to the best of our abilities to be able to compete with China , Mexico and now USA workers. But keep in mind that we are all doing more than our share already and the company must begin to realize this. We must not work at such a pace that we injure ourselves. If we do we need to report it both to the supervisor and the on shift health and safety rep. We must then demand that a written accident report is done and copies given to the injured worker. Too many of our members are being denied benefits because the government is claiming that there is no proof their injury is work related. At this point the company is refusing to accommodate light duties for these people because the injury was not work related.

There are approximately 130-140 Temporary agency workers working at Armada. On the afternoon shift in plastics we have 75% temp workers to only 25% full time unionized employees. As full time employees we must treat these people as our own, and I was once a temp agency worker myself before being hired full time. We do not hate or dislike the people who work for the temp agency we only dislike the temp agency that hires them. It is our goal to get as many of these people off the Global payroll and onto Armada's payroll and into our union. The company has been hiring full time employees but the ratio between temp agency workers and full time Armada employees is still way too high in my opinion. The company has assured me that they will be hiring more in the very neer future and I plan on keeping a very close eye on the numbers. 15 years ago temp agency workers on a C.A.W. Shop floor were unheard of. But today G.M. in Oshawa recruits workers from a temp agency, along with several other top auto parts suppliers. There is not much we can do about this ongoing trend except for lobbying the government for change and ensuring that the company abides by article 11.02.4 of our collective agreement.

Your union chair person is allowed 20 hrs per month to do union business as per article 6.02. I will be making arrangements with the company to be off the floor every Thursday between 11:00am-3:30pm to do union business. During this time I will be available to everyone. Do not hesitate to get in touch with me during this time if you need help or have any issues.

In solidarity

Tom Worsley