Work From Home
Monday, 6 August 2012
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Sunday, 5 February 2012
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.
Saturday, 4 February 2012
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.
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.
"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.
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.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
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 23rd 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.
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)