The Union President had discussions with the Line 7 & 8 focus group which consisted of Mike Szmata, Cliff Cudmore, Allan Johnston, Shane Woods, Kevin Anderson and crews requesting that one rep step forward to work with the Union Transition committee. The Line 7 & 8 rep selected by the area is Shane Woods. The Union would like to thank the focus group for all the good work they achieved for our members in Lines 7 & 8.
As of 6 a.m. this morning the Company called an emergency meeting with your Union Executive where we were told that Line 7B will shut down effective 5:00 p.m. today and Line 8 will shut down no later than August 30th, 2010.
Even though the Company has put a heavy burden on our membership with their abrupt timeline, rest assured your Union Executive is already taking immediate action to ensure our members’ Health & Safety, and rights within the CLA are being adhered to.
1. The new wage rate shall be effective, plant wide, the date formal training, related to the operation of the new technology begins or July 24th, 2010, whichever comes first.
2. Job classifications listed in Appendix I shall be revised as follows:
a. Job classifications between 10 and 17 shall be moved to job class 17, (pension multiplier group 2).
b. Job classification between 18 and 24 shall be moved to job class 24, (pension multiplier group 3).
There will be a very important Shop Stewards Council meeting. All Shop Stewards are asked to please make every effort to attend this important meeting. If you require time off to attend please call Ada at the Union hall seven days prior to the meeting so that time off can be sent in for you.
The Union has approximately 50 one-way flight passes (25 round trips) available to the membership.
The passes are being made available on a first come, first serve basis through Elan Travel.
These passes cover western Canada and are good for travel from Terrace to Vancouver or as far as Manitoba, Vancouver Island or the Northwest Territories.
Travel using these passes must be COMPLETED by June 30, 2010
The cost of each flight pass is $235.15 (or $468.30 for a round trip) plus applicable administration fees.
The Union and Company met and started discussions on the potential of starting full capacity from Lines 1C to 5B and also to try and keep Line 7 & 8 operating. The Union’s position is simply that the Company should just hire full time positions. However, the Union is also prepared to discuss alternatives.
The Company approached the President and Business Agent April 20th, 2010 with a Company presentation. We listened and understood but did not agree with the Company. On April 22nd, 2010 Company representatives come back with another revised presentation at which time the Union still never agreed to but understood.
