May 2, 2012

Amidst all the different thoughts on the economy, the state of the business and negotiations and what ever else you might throw in, there is some good news here at our work place.

That would be the opening of the cafeteria for breakfast and lunch. I say this not to trivialize the above but I think it is important. 

A good deal of money has been spent in cleaning up the kitchen, purchasing new equipment, painting the lunch room and today we received new chairs. The Health Department has been in. 

It's been a long time. The vending machines are convenient,  but they are no substitute for a freshly made cup of coffee or tea, not to mention the food.

I am hoping people will support Diane in making this a success.

Everyone knows I walk in with two cups of tea each morning, I was supporting some millionaire each day. I will now support her. I came into work this morning empty handed, and I got the same tea for a cheaper price. Had a breakfast sandwich and lunch as well, awesome.

I know we have coffee clubs in the mill, and you should continue to support them, but in the morning hours why not support the people who went through a great effort to bring back this service to us?

They can do a full breakfast in the time it takes to make toast, order ahead and it will be done even sooner. 

Watching your diet? They have salads and if you are particular to a certain type, let them know, they will have it for you.

No I am not getting a cut of the profits for promoting them but I would like to have her make a profit and feel a need to stay here. 

Working nights? Why not grab that cup of tea for the ride home.

Let's support our own. It's what we do.

April 29, 2012

If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear?  It doesn't matter because we are safe in the  knowledge that another tree is growing to take its place.

If we lose experience within the union or the workplace does anyone care? Perhaps not, but we should. 

We have seen what happened after we lost 47 people to early retirement in 2006. We lost a lot of knowledge, and there was no one trained up to take the place of some very important people to this mill. We still have no one who can repair the stander/stabilizer like Bentley. We have no one who has the knowledge of the temperaments of the oil temper furnaces like Butler. We have no one who can repair a cleaning line hook like Marten.  

The loss of these and others has cost this mill greatly, and it continues to this day.

I feel better with the knowledge that when people leave we have those who have grown into a position so as to be ready when the tree falls. While the union tries to push training to the forefront within the mill, it is a management decision on which jobs they will post training for. They do so at the peril of the operation.

As for the union, we recognize the need to educate, to train new people to be ready to take over when someone retires. We are always looking for volunteers to step up to the plate. For that to happen there has to be a willingness to allow people greater autonomy in making decisions, to spend the money necessary, to believe in the people who are in positions of representation or otherwise acting on someones behalf and let them make the mistakes that lead to growth. 

I do believe in that.

We have spent a considerable amount of money on WSIB training for G. Oberfrank and E. Bratetictch to be able to file appeals and act on injured workers behalf. We had a Local 5328 Stewards school for 6 people to enable those present to be able to handle a first step grievance and to handle problems in the mill. We have four people, Whalen, Oberfrank, Hnatjuk and Caruso taking the Union Councilor course put on by the United Way so that they are able to assist our members and direct people in times of crisis. ( I would point out that this type of info helps with friends and relatives as well as our coworkers)

We have put our Health and Safety Chair on the District 6 Health and Safety Committee so that he may learn the many ways other Locals and the District handle workplace problems, we want him to assume a leadership role on this committee.

We will continue to do whatever we have to do to make sure that when the older folks retire there is a tree growing to take their place.

We have no real news on the job front other than we seem to be remaining at a steady level. With sickness and vacations we still have six people laid off. I know that EI is running out, If anyone is looking for a job, including Addeco guys or retirees, contact the Steelworker Adjustment Center (see Our Links), there are several companies who are looking for workers and paying our wages, including US Steel - Lake Erie Works. The folks at the adjustment Center  will point you in the right direction.

I will leave you with this on this day, remember, we are together what we can not be alone!

 Group photo outside of the Legion in Dunnville where we gathered to celebrate Mike Wolf. Missing are another 10 plus people who drove on their own.

April 16, 2012

There have been many occasions where as President of this Local I have been so very proud of my membership, yesterday probably topped them all. 

I want to share something that I posted on the memorial site on Facebook for Mike. Have a read, it is so true.

"It never even dawned on me the similarities of today until a few minutes ago.

Dallas and Jodi my father passed away a few years ago and like Mike he lived in a small town in the Ottawa Valley, Almonte...population 6,600. My brothers and I along with our Step Mom had a very similar memorial for my dad at the local Legion on the second floor.

Like Wolfie he was well known and liked in the town...I was so proud of my dad that so many people had been touched by him and that he had made a difference in their lives. 

On the bus back to Hamilton today I was listening to the different conversations and two retirees were teasing each other when one said "there are two classes of people at work...co-worker or friend". He continued to say "you were just a co-worker". I had a laugh but thought about that for a minute.

It's true, we work beside people every day, some we say hello to every day and really nothing more. That would be a co-worker.

Your dad was a friend, we talked a whole lot more than just saying hi. Everyone from work who was there today and many more who could not make it considered him in the same way.

You should be proud and I know you are, carry on his legacy, be happy with who you are and every time you smile think that dad tought me to do that.

Most of all, take care of Mom. 

If there is anything we can help you with please let us know.``

The turnout yesterday was awesome with both retirees and active members and I know that the Wolf family appreciated everything we have done. The collection of $1,418.00, the card and the bus trip have all helped them to get through this. They asked me to express their thanks, so Thank You.

April 12, 2012

Vacations

Many areas have concluded their bookings with only a few descriptions left to book. The remaining descriptions being booked are not done because of some confusion, I hope I can clear that up here.

The company is obligated to give two weeks of prime time vacation to anyone with five years or more of service. We have two partial shutdowns in prime time which provides a week of prime time vacation for all. There is an opportunity to pick another week in prime time on top of this. If a person picks outside of prime time on their first pick then they give up that obligation, it was offered to them and they chose not to take it.  

Now if weeks are available on the second round then those who chose outside of prime time can grab them, but on the first round they have taken a chance by choosing outside first. 

In many job descriptions the company has offered to allow three weeks of prime time because of the number of people in the description. These jobs include, Rod & Bar, Die Room, Shipping, Cleaning, Inspection, Janitor, Strand and Straighten and Cut. In other jobs because the numbers of people working in those descriptions, they have had to limit the number of people who can get the three weeks of prime time choice. These jobs would include, Oil Temper, Driving, Wire Drawing, and The Surface Furnace.

Due to the fact that we are in a contract year, budgeting pressures, and business levels, they feel it is necessary. There is not likely to be any VR people beyond those left on lay-off.

The vacation booking process will start over in the OT and Furnace areas. The reason is we have agreed that when a senior person chooses to pick outside of prime time those opportunities to capture three weeks should be passed onto the junior people. 

It may seem discriminatory to allow a senior person three weeks and a junior person has to be limited to two, well yeah it is. 

The Union is based on a seniority system, and we will always fight for the senior person. In this case we have negotiated a benefit for the majority of the people in the mill which improves on the Basic Agreement. I say good on us. The alternative is that everyone is stuck with what the Basic Agreement says. 

At negotiations we will try to address vacations in a way that hopefully benefits everyone.

While the operating area is moving along we are still awaiting a decision on the mechanical area, we need to get this going so that plans can be made and vacations booked.

Pension Seminar

We had our presentation last night and I am happy to report that it went very well and those who attended were very happy with the presentation by Jeff Richardson, a member of the Research Department of the Steelworkers.

I have copies of the material he handed out and will make copies for anyone interested. I will also try to get his slide presentation from him and post it to this site.

Negotiations

No we are not talking and no dates are planned for talking. We need to get our Negotiating Committee in place if the Executive deems it necessary as per our by-laws. 

If you have questions or concerns talk to me in the mill.

April 4, 2012

It's been a few days since the election and things are starting to settle down and while some results were surprising, others were not. Having said that, the membership has spoken in what I would consider to be a very strong turn out in a strong way.

Yet while things are settled on that score for the most part, I hear of another area of contention and that is the negotiating committee and who is eligible to run and who is going to run and so forth. A few different scenarios have been stated and I would like to set the record straight early on so that we are not distracted by crap when we should be focused on the coming months.

In 2000, our last strike year, all members of the grievance committee made up the negotiating committee. There was Joe Crugnale, Scott Duvall, myself, Dan Butler and Brett Lewis. 

In 2001 it was decided that we didn't need five people at the table so someone introduced a By-Law change, which went through three readings and debate after the third reading in April 2001, and was passed by the membership. 

That amendment to the BY-Laws read: 

6b) The President and two (2) members to be elected shall be the Negotiating Committee for Parkdale Works (election to be held when recommended by the Executive, Stewards and Committee persons).

In 2003 as we started to get attacked by Stelco, someone put in a By-Law Change that read: 

6b) The President and two (2) members of the Grievance Committee shall be elected  to the Negotiating Committee when recommended by the Executive, Stewards and Committee persons.

At the third reading in November of 2003 this was passed.

Having gone through all the minutes of the last 9 years this By-Law has not changed and remains as revised in 2003.

I would like to point out that as many of us near the end of our time here we need to train up the new members who have stepped forward and who you elected to represent you.  Everyone who has been at the table has had a first time. 

We do have some good news to report, we have 6 people back to the mill next week and we are all happy with that. With vacations now being booked we can only hope everyone else will be back within weeks. We do know that EI is getting precariously close to ending for some, so fingers crossed.

April 2, 2012

The election results are in and are as follows:

Vice-President - Terry Willock - 77

                           Steve Morris - 48

Treasurer - Jeff Walker - 98

                   Geoff Oberfrank - 26

Guard (2) - Steve Blacklock - 95

                  Tony Ciaramella - 31

                  Mario Caruso - 97

Chief Steward Operating - Ron Whalen - 43

                                      Mario Caruso - 68

                                      Tony Ciaramella - 26

                                      Brett Lewis - 44

                                      Terry Willock - 71

                                       Steve Morris - 49

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for all who ran.

April 1, 2012

Tomorrow is election day and I'd first like to again congratulate everyone running for putting your name forward and I'd just like to remind everyone else to please take the time to vote for the person you support. They can't win if you don't vote for them.

The notice below will be posted at work tomorrow regarding Wolfy's memorial party. If you are a retiree and want on the bus then you must contact me to let me know so that I can make sure there is enough room. If need be then we can rent two buses but costs will have to be deferred by us all throwing in 10 bucks to cover it.

    GOOD TIMES AND MEMORIES OF WOLF

April 15th 

There will be a bus leaving the Union Hall at 1pm.

It will make a stop at the Metro Plaza on Upper Ottawa and Stonechurch to pick up those who live on the mountain at 1:15. We will drive to Dunnville, stay for two hours then return.

We are asking that everyone wear blue jeans, you will be given a 5328 T-shirt to go with them so that we are all dressed the same.

Mike’s wife Barb is looking forward to meeting his co-workers. Please use the attached sheet to sign up by Thursday April 5th so that we know how many are coming and that we know if we do need to rent a bus.

March 29, 2012

There will be no funeral service for Mike Wolf, he will be cremated and there will be a memorial on Sunday April 15th, upstairs at the Dunnville Legion Hall from 2 pm to 7 pm because he would rather have a party.

I just talked to Mike's wife Barb and it has been confirmed through autopsy that he did indeed have a massive heart attack. There was substantial scarring behind his heart. 

The Local is going to rent a bus that will leave the Union Hall at 1pm, we will drive to Dunnville, stay for two hours and be driven back to the hall. This will happen only if we have enough people wanting to go. If you want to go, please sign up on the sheet we will post on the main bulletin board.

Barb said she would love to meet all you guys and she knows Mike would love you to come and have a drink in his honour. 

Mike lived hard and played hard and in his honour lets all show up in jeans, no suits!

March 28, 2012 

We have lost a great friend and co-worker with the tragic passing of Mike Wolf. His family lost so much more. 

There was a lot of emotion in the mill today as the news spread and the fact that he had only worked his last shift on March 16th made it all that harder to deal with. 

Personally I have truly been shaken by the news and I know that I am not the only one. 

We go through different phases in our lives; we grow into adults, get married, have kids, hold down a job, pay the mortgage, do all the things we need to do to take care of our families and make sure that they are ready to do the same with their lives. 

Then there is supposed to be a time when we can just sit back and take care of ourselves, bask in the successes of our children as we watch them groom their own children. A time to look back and say "you know what? I did okay." We are supposed to grow old with the one we love, sitting on the proverbial rocking chair watching the cars go back and forth to work as we yell "Suckers!" at them.

Mike didn't get the chance to do any of this, he had to work too late in his life because of circumstances beyond his control. His time for sitting in the rocking chair was cut far too short as was his life. 

For that I am deeply sorry for his family. 

Without preaching I am hoping that some might look at this and say "What am I doing staying here? I want that time to enjoy the last part of my life." 

The saying is Life is too short, Mike just gave us a lesson today because it really is.

I put a small video together below as a tribute to Mike and all that he loved in life. I hope you take the three minutes to get to know him a little better.

March 27, 20 

Heading into the first week of April we see very little in the way of change with the  business conditions at our mill. Next week will be a mirror of this weeks crewing except for the retirement of Bob Francey who's last day is Friday. This could bring one person back, we still have a long way to go. 

I first met Bob when he was my Supervisor at Great Lakes Wire in Burlington in 1981. I will miss him, he encouraged me back then as a person new to the wire industry and wished me luck when I left to come work here in 1986. It's my turn now...Good Luck my friend, you have had a few rough years, you deserve some time for yourself. But keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the week, remember when you tried to have me run copper wire with water and grease? Pay back's a bitch old man. 

The tour at our mill last week by a possible strand customer was promising but has not turned into any orders being placed. In fact the reality is that the bridge is in a political quagmire:

Michigan lawmakers have rejected a plan to build a second bridge between Windsor and Detroit, ending for now the political squabbling that pitted a billionaire businessman against governments on both sides of the border.

The new bridge, deeply desired by both the Canadian and Ontario governments and a pet project of Michigan governor Rick Snyder, had been the subject of attack ads and criticism, primarily sponsored by the billionaire owner of the Ambassador Bridge, Manuel (Matty) Moroun.

The Ambassador is North America's busiest border crossing.

Moroun used attack ads both stateside and in Ontario during the run up to the recent provincial election to condemn the public plan, and referred to the proposed bridge as "road to nowhere."

Moroun's company, Detroit International Bridge Co., issued a statement after the vote, applauding the committee for seeing that a new bridge was "unjustified and unneeded."

So this will take a while to play out. 

I have had calls from some of the vacation relief people from last summer looking to see if there will be an opportunity to come back this summer. Sadly, the answer is most likely no. Unless something drastic happens to the business or we have massive retirements, then not much will change. 

Those of us who have been around know that in a contract year, as we approach the expiry of the agreement the company cannot guarantee product to the customer beyond the expiry date.  The customer hedges its bet by seeking out other suppliers and once they find one they sign a service agreement that covers it for a period of time, usually to the benefit of the supplier so that whether there is or isn't a work stoppage the new supplier has the customer on the hook regardless. Then it takes a while to get them back.

This is my view on what is happening here. Hence the need for finished goods which can be converted to cash, increased customer compliance and quality to hang onto what business we do have pending the July 31st expiry date.

Last month many people signed up for an information session at the Hall to deal with pension questions, how CPP works etc. I am happy to say we finally have the date and please feel free to bring your spouses. This will not be of any value to any of our current retiree's and is meant to answer questions of those contemplating retirement.

I am also very happy to report that Don and Diane Baglole have been hard at it cleaning up the kitchen in the cafeteria and have done a great job. It will not be long before she is once again serving breakfast and coffee to us at work in the mornings. Once she opens I hope you will all  support her in her endeavors. She has done a great job for us in the past, I think this will be great for all of us.

Vacations will begin to be canvassed forthwith with the exception of the Oil Temper and Wire Drawing as there are a few issues to work on in these descriptions. Everyone will be canvassed, there will be no sheets left in an area for people to pick amongst themselves this year. 

I'd also like to send on my condolences to The Corsi family, Renzo lost his mother on Monday, our thoughts are with you Brother.

           INFORMATION          

               MEETING

          to answer your questions regarding Canada Pension Plan etc.

APRIL 11, 2012

6:30PM

STEELWORKERS HALL

Feel free to bring your spouse

Below are a few pictures from our Laid Off Workers night. With your help we were able to raise $1,900.00. It was a great evening for all who attended. 

I would like to thank Ron Whalen, Mike Hnatjuk and Geoff Oberfrank for their work in organizing the event. I'd also like to thank Leo Gerard, Wayne Fraser, Scott and Sherry Duvall, Lena Hickey, ArcelorMittal Hamilton East, and Harvey Woodrow for the donated door prizes. Also a big thanks to Harvey and Pam Woodrow for donating and preparing the food. 

Thanks go to Mike for the music, and for my daughters Shannon and Lisa for volunteering to tend the bar so that we could enjoy ourselves. 

Nothing has changed in terms of business at our place, we are still not where we should be in my mind. We are actually laying 3 more off this week. 

Nominations have taken place and elections will be held on April 2nd. The positions being challenged are Vice President, Treasurer, Guard and Chief Steward (Operating). 

I would like to welcome aboard Paul Francey (Trustee) and John Butler (Chief Steward Mechanical, Guide). They will make a great addition to our  Executive.

I want to thank everyone who has put their names forward, there is a lot of disappointment and little reward in this business and it can be very frustrating at times, but if there wasn't  folks stepping up and there was no Union...well, imagine that for a moment. It is also gratifying to see younger members stepping up too, we have a very short learning curve for them before us older guys move on. 

So again, thank you. I wish everyone well who is running.

March 1, 2012

OK so we have a bit of good news for a change and hopefully it is the start of what is to come.

Next week we have the Straighten and Cut being up-crewed to 21 turns and an increase in draw resulting in the return of 5 of our brothers to the mill and a return to 3 shifts in wire drawing. While that still leaves 13 out it is indeed a good start.

The vacation relief jobs are down and will be awarded hopefully on Friday, there are many jobs where there were no applicants so when you get back here have a look and see if there is something for you. If so, send word through your supervisor that you are interested.

I would like to acknowledge the Thank You card from Sandy to everyone in the mill. It was very touching to read his words. We can tell from his words how much that small gesture from you meant to him. As he says "it's what we do". So I will add my thanks to those who took the time to sign the card and donate.

The planning for the Laid Off Workers Night is going well, we have the food, deserts, two bartenders and the disc jockey offered to us at no charge. We have door prizes coming from the International Office in Pittsburgh, The National Office and the District 6 Office.  A Big Shout Out to them!

The District is sending us a T-shirt as well for each of the presently laid off members.

We are hoping to have a great turn out and in honesty it will be more of  a dance than poker tourney although there will be tables set aside for it. So bring your spouses, girl friends, invite some friends to join you for what should be a fun night. 

I will be speaking with the drivers from Hamilton Cab to see if we can get some taxi vouchers for those who need them.

There will be plenty of draws, raffles and  a Toonie toss. We'll try and get Sandy and Ray out as well. And with it being St. Patrick's Day, we'll have some green beer as we burn their collective agreement. lol

Just kidding, but we will have green beer.

 February 27, 2012

Being laid off is tough. It's made worse when it happens repeatedly, it's hard on the psyche, it's hard on the family,  and it makes it difficult not to go look for work elsewhere with the added pressures.

You feel out of the loop, you miss your coworkers and although many would not admit it, you miss having something important to do every day.

Our business is a cyclical one that see's many ups and downs, we are in an age where costs rule before reason. We see it not only at our place but at manufacturing facilities country wide. 

A few years ago we had our first ever Laid Off Workers Night, and we did it to say that we recognize how difficult it is, to raise a few dollars for our laid off folks and to just say that we are thinking of you, that we haven't forgotten you. 

As we enter into our fourth or fifth month of lay-offs we thought it would be good to do it again. Your Union tries to work on your behalf while you are int the plant and we believe that it is just as important that we communicate and share with you when you are not. 

The Steelworkers are everybody's union for a reason. Our Local Union aspires to be just that.

We hope to see you out to the event, no charge for laid off members and spouses. If you'd like to help us out during the day or evening let us know. Details below. 

Laid Off Workers Night

Poker Tourney and Dance

March  17 , 2012

7pm - Steelworkers Hall

Cash Bar.  A light buffet will be served.

Door prizes, and raffles.

Tickets $10.00 All proceeds will be split amongst our laid off members.

February 22, 2012

Once again there is not much change in the numbers at work, we are recalling one person. The configuration of jobs change a bit but nothing drastic.

The vacation relief postings are up on the board with a deadline of February 28th to apply. Once awarded canvassing for vacations will begin. Below is the shutdown picture as released late this afternoon. 

The Chief Stewards still have to meet to discuss the guidelines with the company but its good to see an earlier start.

In the coming days, the vacation booking process will get underway for 2012.  Employees will be canvassed by grouping, and in order of seniority.

All employees are advised to have their desired first picks ready for the canvassing process.

Similar to last year, the 8hr operations will be scheduled for two weeks of partial shutdowns during the Summer months (July 8th, and August 12th). Specific 8hr guidelines by description will be communicated, but please note that all 8hr employees will be required to book 40hrs of vacation to cover one of these weeks.

For the 12hr operations (Pusher Furnace, OT, and Testing), the shutdown schedule will need to be a little different. We will be scheduling full Pusher Furnace, OT, and Testing outages during two weekends in July and August (July 13,14,15 B/D, and August 17,18,19 A/C). Employees on each rotation within these areas will be required to book 36hrs to cover the outages.

In December, the 8hr operations we will be scheduled for a plant wide shutdown during the week of the 23rd. The 8hr operations will finish on Friday December 21st with the Floater holiday applied on Monday December 31st. Operations will resume on Wednesday January 2nd with New Year’s Day applied as it falls on Tuesday January 1st.  To cover this outage, 40 hours of vacation will be scheduled.

For the 12hr operations, the Pusher Furnace, OT, and Testing areas will finish on Sunday December 23rd. For this schedule, the Floater holiday will be applied on Monday December 24th. The balance of the Statutory holidays will be applied as they occur. The 12hr Operations will resume on Wednesday January 2nd.

Hoist gets a lift from Hollywood

Hoist is a privately owned company which will supply our Yard Lifts and our Centre-aisle truck. Below is an article about the company that showcased the owner and its workers last year.

Hoist Liftruck will get a lift next month when it is showcased on the Travel Channel program “John Ratzenberger’s Made in America.” The show will air on May 14 at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time. Ratzenberger, an actor who starred in the long-running TV sitcom “Cheers,” said Chad Arthur, vice president of sales and operations for Arthur Machinery, recommended that he spotlight Hoist.

Arthur is president of the Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs Foundation, co-founded by Ratzenberger and the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association. The foundation has a variety of programs that seek to encourage children to become tinkerers in the hope that they will develop interests in manufacturing.

The actor and his crew spent a day at Hoist’s plant last fall. Ratzenberger said he was familiar with Hoist’s equipment from his visits to other factories. “Hoist is all over the place,” he said.

Ratzenberger said he was impressed that Hoist’s owner, Marty Flaska, knew the names of everyone in the factory, a trait he frequently finds in owner-operated companies. “That’s always an indication that whatever product is being made is going to be a top-quality piece of merchandise,” he said.

“The secret of my business is that most equipment can be shipped in eight to 12 weeks after we get an order,” Flaska said, adding that his trucks and the parts that go into them are completely North American sourced.

The company has about 300 employees, nearly of whom work at its headquarters. About 250 of its employees are factory workers, and about 60 percent of them have been with the company 10 to 15 years, according to Dan Peter, Hoist’s marketing director.

Peter said Ratzenberger was pleased to see that Hoist’s factory work force includes a substantial number of young people. Ratzenberger has warned that the U.S. faces “an industrial tsunami” because there aren’t enough talented young people entering the manufacturing work force.

The Mitsubishi Advantage - Our Technologies, Your Tomorrow

The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd (MHI) is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group in Japan. It is one of the world's leading heavy machinery manufacturers with a diverse field of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, power plants, chemical plants, environmental equipment, steel structures, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems.

MHI made its mark in Japan, the whole of Asia, and major cities around the world because of excellence in engineering and quality forklift design.

Unfortunately Caterpillar is associated with Mitsubishi in ventures in several parts of the world, under the name of MCF, Caterpillar usually takes care of the distribution of these trucks. Our trucks will be made in Houston, Texas.

Fortunately, Caterpillar will get no money from us because we are getting our trucks through Hewitt. 

                                                                                                                                                                                               February 19, 2012

So you are working Family Day while your spouse and family members are off, a long weekend that could have been, how does that make you feel?

Some may think it’s better to be at work, but I am guessing the majority of you would like to be at home sharing a day off when there are no distractions of shopping, traffic, paying bills etc.; actually spending time with your family. 

If you are working, then thank your provincial government. They introduced this legislation, which is a great idea but they put a limit tied to it that dictates the number of statutory holidays one can have in a year.  We are already at that max, as are most unionized places. So we do not get to spend that extra day with our families, a day as I said, with no distractions.

You know that I am going to ask you to contact your MPP to get this changed, it’s what I do. But I am going to ask you to do two things actually, beyond that. 

I would like you to contact the Premier himself and voice your displeasure; send him an e-mail by clicking on this link:  

dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

The other thing I’d ask you to do is think about your wants in the upcoming negotiations, this is a prime example. We have a floating holiday. Under our current agreement it is applied on or about the week of Christmas, would you rather it be applied to Family Day?

Yes or No; either way I would like you to start thinking this way so that when the questionnaire regarding negotiations comes out you are ready. 

Vacations, VR’s, TT’s, Lieu days, single day vacations…and on it goes, start thinking about it now. 

With your help we will have successful set of negotiations.

February 17, 2012

I visited Sandy this morning, gave him the card/tickets and he wants me to pass on my thanks to all of you. 

I can say that you made his day, he even got a little teary eyed. I can report that he will be continuing his radiation treatments until next Friday then have 4 weeks with no treatment,  he will then start chemotherapy to attack his lung cancer.

He is in great spirits or so it seemed and so is Karen and that's half the battle. 

He is open now to visitors but if you plan on visiting you should call first to make sure it is ok, the steroids have him a little wired and he is telling me he is sleeping 3-4 hours a day only.

Again, thanks for supporting this.

Also Dave Pavlica lost his mother late Thursday night, there will be a memorial service on Monday at 11 am at MA Clark & Sons Funeral Home  567 Upper Wellington Street  Hamilton.

Have  good weekend.

February 16, 2012

I just wanted to report that the final collection put us at $305.55 so we were able to purchase 102 scratch tickets....wrapped in duct tape! 

Sandy is at home but is receiving daily radiation treatments and is taking steroids to ease the swelling on the brain. He is not taking phone calls, and is sleeping at long intervals. 

We will visit him in the morning if he is up to it and deliver the card and tickets and try to spend some time with him.  

I would like to thank each of you for donating, I know Sandy will be touched by your warm wishes. 

So thank you. :)

February 15, 2012

There is no change in the number of people, crewing call is a wash, they are just shifting people around. We are expecting the first delivery of furnace carriers by Friday, so with that and the fact that they are happy with production coming from the three man crew they are keeping the 3rd man out there despite running the bells again. 

There is 500 tons of material that has to be tempered and that should take * the week  *  two weeks on the bells. 

We shouldn't read too much into the strand grouping crewing up, they are just going to try to have some extra inventory ready with spring approaching. The helper on nights will be paid driver rate to load 61 frame as has been the agreement for years even though it hasn't happened in some time.

Vr's will be posted by Tuesday, booking to happen before end of month. Everyone will be canvassed this year, even in areas where the guys typically work it out themselves.

We had a good discussion regarding bundling and all agree, the bundlers should just drive for themselves, do away with the one driver concept. Anyone TT'd there will be familiarized if needed.

The company has agreed to allow Diane B. to come in and look at the kitchen to see if she could get it in good enough shape to open for morning breakfasts. Their  only concerns are the costs they would have to incur and the kitchen would have to pass an inspection by the Health Department. If all is well then she would open up from 6am - 10 am and serve breakfasts and coffee during that time, so fingers crossed.

As of this morning we had collected $264.00 for Sandy's scratch tickets with only night shift tonight to go, Mike will get them in the morning, I was hoping we could get 100 tickets for him, looks like it will happen. Thanks Mike for taking care of it.

February 14, 2012

Happy Valentines Day! You are all loved, (don't get carried away). But you are loved by those in your family, near and far. They care about your condition and want you home after the end of your shift.

As we know our lives can change in an instant, it's bad enough that there are so many things we can't control, but at work there are things you can control. Don't let work change your life in that way, in that instant.

I have had a few people today come to me with safety concerns which they say are not being addressed. 

I find this perplexing. 

I don't know how many times I have to say it, but if your job or something about your job is unsafe then you have the right to use one of the most powerful pieces of legislation in the province of Ontario to protect you. 

Use it. Get the problem fixed or you put in a work refusal under the Health and Safety Act. It's as simple as that. No one else gets to make the determination that something is safe but you.

Without getting mushy, you should know that along with your family we care what happens to you too. 

Talk to a member of the Health and Safety Committee or see a steward if you need help.

February 13, 2012

We are moving through the mill a huge get well card for everyone to sign and ask that you chip in 3 bucks each to buy one of our co-workers as many scratch tickets as we can. If you don't want to donate then don't donate.

Some might ask, why are we doing this for him, others have been sick and we didn't do it for them? 

We have only done this a few times, one time was when a member lost half his brain with devastating affects, the other time was when one of our members had a stroke. In both these situations as with this one we knew the people would not be back to work. 

That's the difference!

We have had members suffer heart attacks which were treatable and they were expected to return to the work force. We have had a few members treated for other types of cancer and again they were thought to be returning to work and as it turned out they have indeed returned to work.

So it's not a matter of picking and choosing who we do things for, it's actually being consistent.

Any time a member goes off long term we have adopted a rule that they will receive a get well card from the Local, if for nothing else than to let the member know we are thinking of them. If something serious results then we react in the appropriate way. 

February 12, 2012 

As you have heard, Caterpillar shut down its London facility after only a couple of weeks of locking their workers out and demanding pay cuts in access of 50% for most of its employees. This was their intent from the beginning, there was never any plan to reopen this plant. 

Reaction to the closure announcement was swift from the obvious labour voices but surprisingly there was an out cry from others as well.  

Mark's Work Wearhouse has pulled Caterpillar boots from its London, Ont. stores in support of the 420 workers there who lost their jobs at Electro-motive, Canada's last manufacturer of locomotives.

We have had our own talks with the management here to discuss the new tractor fleet coming into our mill, all slated to be supplied by Hewitt, who do a great job for us currently, but the tractors they were going to provide were of course Caterpillars. 

For a Local Union about to enter into a tough set of negotiations it is very troubling to have to support  a company that would be so callous,  uncaring and greedy.

February 9, 2012

In my previous post I spoke of the tour on Tuesday, yesterday was the second part of that tour. This time there were a lot more people from different ArcelorMittal plants. It has been expressed to me more than once now how impressed these folks were with our facility. This was an important two days and I'd like to thank you for the work that you did in making the most favourable impression you could. This could mean added business to our mill in the future and I cannot stress how important that is to us.

As you know the NDP is having a leadership race to replace the late Jack Layton. The Steelworkers have come out to support Brian Topp as their choice for leader, I agree. 

Last week I took part in a Town hall meeting with Mr. Topp and I posed this question to him:

Q: Harper says we are free traders but nothing is free. We have so many different trade agreements its hard to keep track. My Company is a former Stelco facility now owned by ArecelorMittall, a global giant. 

As I watch my members being laid off, and my brothers from Quebec giving up concessions, and we are about to go into negotiations as well, the Harper government stands by and says nothing regarding the imported drawn wire (or steel) not only from NAFTA countries but from China, Japan, Korea, Spain, and so on and so on. 

Arcelor, being a global company will not seek trade actions, I have written the Prime Minister myself with no response, so my question to Brian is what would a Brian Topp government do to negate, destroy, or otherwise apply trade sanctions against illegally imported steel which affects not just my plant but so many others?

Answer: Darren,

Thanks for participating in the town hall and for asking this important question. 

 Illegally imported steel -- in other words, steel that has been unfairly subsidized by governments or that is being dumped into our market by foreign companies -- should be the object of a countervailing tariff, and of a trade complaint. That's why we need an NDP government -- a government that will stand up for our country, our economy and our working people.

As we watch the attack on Unions, workers and the middle class we need a government that will stand not only with us  but will stand up for us. The only party to do that is the NDP, you can join and have a say in who the next leader of our party is. You can do it for as little as $5.00. 

The deadline is February 18th, if you would like a membership see me or Terry. We will sign you up, and you will even get a chance to win an I-Pad.

February 7, 2012

We have the mill looking very good once again and our tour this afternoon went very well, there will be a second part to that tour tomorrow. The people who visited our plant are from LCNA (Long Carbons North America) and the tour shouldn't raise any alarms as they are visiting all of their facilities, our plant was one stop of many.

The tour came through close to shift change and it was nice to see everyone on the job and lots of tractor movement. Good Job!

I am a little disturbed about something though. Throughout the mill and at the cleaning lines are portable eye wash stations that were put where they are because the old ones were decrepit. I was asked to go through and make sure they were all dusted and clean. What I found is what disturbs me. There were no less than 5 of these stations without water and as far as I can find out there were no reports to say they had been used up.  

This could have proven to be catastrophic for anyone splashed with acid, hydraulic oil or any other number of chemicals we use in our mill. Someone could have quite easily lost their eye sight if they were unable to rinse right away after such a splash.

I`m asking you to report to your supervisor any time these units are used so they can be refilled. 

There are those of you who have spoken to me about retiring soon. Good for you. I would ask though that you make your intentions known to HR so that we can get some planning done in regards to vacations, VR postings and training. This helps all of us as we move forward on some of the issues we are facing.

Below is our newsletter which will be handed out in the mill tomorrow and mailed to our laid off workers.

February 7, 2012

                  Information Update

Over the last six months the relationship between the Company and Union has deteriorated to its lowest point since before the acquisition. We were no longer meeting, or even talking. We were accusing each other for the problems we have been experiencing instead of sitting down and discussing them.

We allowed the rhetoric influence the way we deal with each other. Despite that, most people just want to come to work, do their jobs and go home. Some have expressed quite clearly to me and loudly I might add, how much they care for this place and what happens to it. They want to continue working and to retire from here.

The last four months have been especially stressful for all of us with the crackdowns etc. and we all need to take a breath, think about where we are headed and how much we have accomplished when we do work together versus being at each others throats all the time. Being seven months from negotiations, its time to get back to working together to make it work.

To that end the Senior Committee met with the Company off site to have a discussion about what has gone wrong and how we repair it. We have restarted weekly meetings to discuss everything from production, problems in the mill, the state of the business, market conditions etc. We have committed to try and salvage what was once a good relationship, for all our sakes. While the first few meetings have been with the Senior Committee, Chief Stewards and it is hoped, shop floor stewards will be brought into these meetings as well.

I have been told (from a Steelworker Staff member) that there are several senior people at Long Carbons North America (LCNA) questioning whether they need two wire mills in Canada. We have an even senior person questioning if they should be in the wire business at all. The wire industry in general has been on a downswing. The exchange rate, the metals spread, the trouble we have in getting quality steel and competing against dumped imported wire with no action from the federal government to curb it are all things affecting our business.

Until someone at the top answers the question of being in this business then we are going to continue to be pressured on all fronts. Having said that, if they decide to continue, then from where I sit they have to do some things to help us get our mill into a state of readiness for what ever transpires in the market so that we can be profitable in slow and good times.

But the things above are beyond our control. And what they did in Quebec negotiations they did in Quebec. However I do not think concessions are the answer to what ails this business or that of St. Patrick’s. There are so many other things that go into making a business profitable and they need to be addressed too.

The company will decide what they decide when it comes to being in the wire business and all we can do is hope that they come to what we think should be the correct decision. What we can control though, is our influencing that decision.

We do that by simply by coming to work and doing our jobs.

Business remains slow but this is always our slow period and even though their budget doesn’t show it, the reality is that come March or April we will hit it in full stride as we do every year.

St. Patrick’s Contract

The highlights of the contract are as follows:

75 month agreement. The current agreement expired Sept 31,2011. Therefore the                                                                                                  new agreement expires Dec 31,2017

Effective immediately, the COLA(Cost of Living Allowance) clause is removed and as such no further increase will be provided on the basis of an increase of the cost of living.

The COLA payable as of January 2012 was $0.80 per hour. Fold-in is $0.17 into the base wages and the balance of $0.63 will not be paid.

The general wage increases :

1.       Year 1:$0.00

2.       Year 2:$0.00

3.       Year 3:$0.00

4.       Year 4:$0.60

5.       Year 5:$0.60

6.       Year 6:$0.60

Because of the difficulty in attracting and retaining electricians the Company offered to increase the wages of electricians $1.00 per hour year 1.

Meal Allowance $8 to $10.

Bereavement to include grandfather and grandmother.

There was some improvements for a few insurance coverage for the employees and spouses as well as increased the Max dental benefit to $2000, however in return there was an increase to  the cost to the employee of the deductible for medical prescriptions. Increase deductible on non-generic drugs from 0.50$ to 2.00$

Elimination of 5 positions including contracting out of the die room.

SUB FUND

The SUB Fund remains in good condition despite the number of lay-offs and as of December 31st there was $42,880.00. It has paid out $5,800.00 since the first lay-offs with $3,649.00 put back in through contributions as provided for in the Basic Agreement.

VACATIONS

At our Senior Committee meeting last week we brought up vacations. We have been assured that Vacation Relief vacancies will be posted in the middle of February with canvassing to start by the end of the month.

Yes I know, but let’s wait and see first. As I have said before, this will be a big issue at the table when we get there.

OUR NEGOTIATIONS

April 13th is the date where we hand in the letter stating our intent to renew our Basic Agreement. It is the 110 day notice required under our agreement.

In 2008 by this time we were nominating our Negotiating Committee, there wasn’t an election because we had a consensus among the Chief Stewards.

But this year is also election year so the whole Executive is up for election and until we have those results we cannot move forward. Nominations take place in March, elections in April and any new people take over in May. The 110 day notice though will be delivered on April 13th regardless.

And regardless of who is on this committee, this is going to be an important set of negotiations and that

Committee is going to need your full support, without question!

I encourage everyone to put the rumour mill aside and again, take a breath. We have entered what I

refer to as silly season and we get hit on both fronts; elections and negotiations in the same year. If

you have questions you want answered then talk to a member of the Executive, Committeemen or

Steward Body. We are trying to keep up to date with the sharing of information.

Check the web site, if anything bad or good is to be reported you will find it there first. We are actually

 averaging 175 visits per week to the web site so I’m glad I’m not wasting my time with it.  

If there is a need for a special meeting we will call it. As it is we will be having meetings in February,

We will have a nomination meeting in March and back to a regular meeting in April. We are looking to schedule meetings so that each meeting rotates crews so that B&D can attend then A&C can attend the next one.

SUPPORT YOU BARGAINING COMMITTEE!

PENSION PLAN

I have received a copy of the Actuarial Report for the Bargaining Unit Pension Plan for members of Local 5328 as audited by Morneau Shepell.

At last report I reported that our fund was valued at 87 percent on a wind up basis and 107 percent on an ongoing basis. This report shows us as being funded at 88 percent and 114 percent respectively. The company is making all its obligatory payments. We have 453 retired members and beneficiaries drawing on the plan. What I found interesting is the number of retirees in each of the age groups listed below.

Age                                                                                                                                   Total

The chart below shows us once again what our government is allowing to happen. ArcelorMittal is a global company and the last thing they want is trade sanctions but as can be seen below, we are fighting beyond our borders.

We need to take action ourselves. Our Mp`s have to hear from us that this unacceptable as these imports have our members out on the street. I have written the Prime Minister myself. You need to take some action now, and don`t think that you can`t make a difference. You can and you should.

I am including contact information for our area Members of parliament. If enough of us call, or e-mail, then we can have this issue raised in the House of Commons.

Below is a news article from the Wall Street Journal which I think brings with it a ray of hope for manufacturing.

Not so long ago, the U.S. was considered a high-cost place for making automobiles.

But helped by favorable foreign exchange rates, and an ample supply of affordable labor, the U.S. has emerged as a surprisingly competitive producer of cars and trucks, and a favored location for making vehicles to be exported to markets around the world—especially for Japan's big three auto makers.

Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are ramping up capacity in their U.S. plants with the intention of shipping U.S.-made models to Europe, Korea, the Middle East and other parts of the world. This comes as all three are seeking relief from the strong yen, now trading at about 77.8 to the dollar, which causes them to lose money on many of the vehicles they export from Japan.

"The weaker dollar makes it more advantageous to export" from the U.S., Bill Krueger, vice chairman of Nissan's operations in North and South America, said in an interview. "We continue to grow our capacity in our U.S. plants. We're adding shifts and hiring workers."

The company is in the process of hiring 1,200 new workers at its plant in Smyrna, Tenn., in preparation to start assembling a new luxury car, the Infiniti JX, that will be exported world-wide. It plans to add 1,300 additional workers at another Smyna facility that makes the Nissan Leaf electric car. One hundred and fifty engineers are also being added at a technical center in Farmington Hills, Mich.

On Wednesday, Nissan detailed a previously disclosed plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a third plant in Mexico to make small cars. Nissan expects to eventually spend up to $2 billion on the plant, to be located next to an existing factory in Aguascalientes, 300 miles northwest of Mexico City, although not all of the money will be invested at once.

The plant will produce the Nissan Versa small car and initially will make about 175,000 a year, exporting about 70% of them to Latin American markets, Mr. Krueger said.

"The competitiveness of Mexico and the market growth in Latin American means it makes a lot of sense to put a new plant in Mexico," he said.

Nissan's investments in North America are being followed by Toyota and Honda. Earlier this month, Toyota, whose Japanese operation have been pushed into losses because of the yen, acknowledged it is planning to increase output at its U.S. plants and aims to increase exports significantly from North America.

"We are looking for opportunities to export more North American models," Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota's North American operations, said this month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Toyota exported about 100,000 cars from North America in 2011, but Mr. Inaba said "this is just the beginning."

The trend of foreign auto makers increasing output in the U.S. could help give the American economy an additional shot in the arm as the rebounding Detroit auto makers ramp up investments in Midwest plants. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC have said they will spend more than $15 billion to expand their U.S. operations. Ford, for example, is spending $1 billion to upgrade just one plant in Kansas City, Mo., where 1,600 jobs will be added.

German auto makers, which are hindered by the euro's strength against the dollar, are moving in the same direction. Volkswagen AG just opened a new plant in Tennessee and is considering building a second to produce Audi vehicles. BMW AG is expanding its plant in South Carolina, which already exports to markets world-wide, while Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit is considering adding a second U.S. plant to one it already has in Alabama.

Late last year Honda acknowledged it will expand U.S. and North American output significantly over the next few years. Dealers briefed by senior Honda executives in December said they believe the company will eventually export as many as 400,000 cars a year from North America, most from its U.S. plants.

At the Detroit auto show, Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said it was the yen's strength that is driving the production shift by the Japanese auto makers. "It's uncompetitive even now at 77 yen" to the dollar, Mr. Ghosn said of Nissan's Japan-based output. He added that nearly 90% of its cars sold in North America would be made locally within two to three years, up from about 70% now.

As per the Constitution of the United Steelworkers,

Nominations will take place for the following positions:

President                                                                                           Vice President                                                                           Recording Secretary                                                                 Financial Secretary                                                                  Treasurer                                                                                      Guide (2)                                                                                          Guard                                                                                            Trustee (s) (3)                                                                                   Chief Steward Operating (3)                                                          Chief Steward Mechanical

                         DATE: March 15, 2012

PLACE: Steelworkers Hall

1031 Barton Street East, Hamilton

TIME: 6 pm

      Article VII, Section 10. of the USW Constitution states:  “In order to be eligible for election as a Local Union Officer or Grievance Committee Member in any regular election or election to fill a vacancy, a member shall have attended at least one-third (1/3) of the regular meetings held by the member’s Local Union during the twenty-four (24) month period immediately preceding the month in which the election is to be held.”

February 2, 2012

This week we recalled back to the furnace to return to a three man crew which is good news as we didn't have to lay anyone off as a result. With this recall there are the job postings that go with it and there are also postings for driving and the die room.

We are told we have a backlog in cold heading material and that is the reason for the up crew in bundling and cleaning. It's thought that this will only last one week. 

The change house as you know has been very hot of late, to the point of actually sweating while getting changed. There is no in between with the heating up there, it's either on or off. The company will look at allowing the janitor to turn it off after the night shift goes home and turn it on before the afternoon shift comes in. If not the janitor then a technician will take care of it.

The Oil Temper movement will take place next Sunday at the beginning of the pay period. It should be noted that people will be changing crews if not rotations. If some one is on nights Friday and Saturday and their switch is to days on Sunday they will be expected to finish the weekend on nights and vice versa. 

We have attained the necessary signature for the new tractors, now legal is reviewing the lease. We are getting closer. We will retain a few tractors as spares it is believed and two shipping trucks currently under lease from Ferndale will be used in shipping.

The company is making great effort to see if we can get access to the gym at the Dofasco Recreation Center. If we somehow get the go ahead it will be a big thing for our members, its a great facility with very cheap rates.

Being mindful of your comments and questions we asked again that the company review the coverall situation. They promised they would discuss it .

We also brought up the boot truck and the lack of normal size shoes they have unavailable. The company will be contacted and will be told to have proper sizing available for those in need of boots.

February 1, 2012

We have had a few recalls to the mill to cover for sickness/injuries and we also have a recall to the furnace area as we return to a three man crew. I would caution that this is fleeting. However what is good news is that #2 cleaning line and bundle has added a third shift. 

Is it a start back to normalcy or a blip? We will know soon, but it always good to see people coming back in regardless of the reason.

I have promised a newsletter which I haven't delivered on yet, I am waiting for a little more information from outside our circle then it will be out. Hopefully I will have it ready to be out next week.

In an attempt to speed things up to prepare for negotiations I have asked Tony DePaulo to ask the International if we could move up our elections but the answer is no, we have to go by the constitution, we have to follow their rules. I am going to propose to the Executive that we move the membership meeting in March to the second week so we can have the election on April 1st. Then we can quickly have an election for the negotiating committee so we can start working on our proposals and be ready for theirs.

Already I am tired of hearing the different rumours through the mill, if you have a question see me, call me or see a member of the Executive, Steward , Committee Body. Beyond that do not listen to rumours, if there is something to report I will post it, check back here from time to time.

January 23, 2012

I have been able to confirm that our Brothers at ArcelorMittal St. Patrick's have reached an agreement with the company in their negotiations for a new contract. The agreement is over 6 years and was accepted by the membership with 81% voting in favour. 

If you want the details of their agreement see myself or a member of the Steward, Executive body. I will not post details here nor will I offer any comments on the contract in this space.

I received a few texts again today asking if there was any good news regarding our own situation here in terms of recalls and what I will say is that I will post anything that is good or bad with the business here as it becomes available to me.

We have had a few complaints about dental rates and how they are paid for retirees, I am happy to say the situation has been rectified and dental offices should receive proper payment from Great West Life from now on.

I have reviewed the actuarial report for our pension plan and I am happy to report that all is still in good order. When the latest newsletter is issued it will have some details on it. I will post it here as well as sending it out to the laid-off members. I will also include the latest status of our SUB Fund. 

Below is a video I thought you might find interesting. This is where our Rod is made from billets produced by an Electric Arc Furnace, they also produce billets for Dofasco.

January 18, 2012

The schedule for next week remains neutral in the terms of people working and while the crewing has changed a bit nothing has changed in terms of business conditions. We are a little busier in Bundle which has put a tester back in the test area while Straighten and Cut is being reduced because of the material which has to be tempered, drawn then run through the Oil Temper before its final destination.

There seems to be some confusion regarding the movement in the Oil Temper area. There was a down crew from 3 lines to two. Whenever there is movement in a job description anyone can move based on seniority. This has been the case for the last 6 years. With the shutdown over Christmas it wasn't done right away but it has been taking place over the last number of weeks. We are asking the guys in the area to police the movement themselves as they do with vacation bookings etc. The sooner it is completed the sooner we can get people to where they want to be.

There is some good news on a few fronts that I am happy to share with you that I hope will help put people at ease at least a little bit. The tractors have been settled and everyone I think realizes that we need to get this going, we are just waiting for the final signature on the order. 

The Manager of Operations received approval today for the ordering of furnace carriers. He has been in touch with the  supplier to get an order date.

The fact that they are spending money is a good thing.

I will be putting out a newsletter next week and will go into greater details on what is happening. I will send it out to all the laid off members as well.

I added some great pictures from the past courtesy of Al Baglole, Thanks Al, click here to view them. 

As you can see through my recent posts I am preoccupied with getting people out to support the workers in London as they face the most difficult time in their history at that plant. I cannot stress on how important it is to stand up for our fellow workers when they are being attacked in this shameful way. 

If we ever were to go on strike  I would be calling on all my brothers and sisters to join us on our picket lines, and they would come but they would come all the quicker when they know that we have been supporting them on their picket lines. 

That's one point, the other is that we have to put a stop to these types of attacks on our unionized workers, our families and our communities.

LONDON DAY OF ACTION AGAINST CORPORATE GREED January 21  11 am Victoria park

                                                                                                                                                                                            

OFL TO MOBILIZE MASSIVE RALLY IN LONDON AGAINST CATERPILLAR INC:

January 4, 2011

Have a look at what is happening in London, listen to the workers there. In a much earlier post I talked about the start of the attack on labour, I pointed out that it was Caterpillar  who led the way. They continue there antics and they have now brought them to Canada. 

Vale and Rio Tinto, two companies I had a chance to see in practice in Africa are doing the same things. The race to the bottom stops with you. 

I will be renting a bus to London in the coming weeks to join and support our friends at this plant, if you care for your future you will join us. Of course retirees will be welcome to join us. It's your future too.

Tomorrow I will have another video that speaks directly to the tactics of the Harper government in supporting these companies as evidenced by these workers.

January 3, 2012

The schedule for next week is out and those of you who receive it from me, will notice that we are training the two junior individuals on 30 and 31 frames making my comments below premature. I am glad to see however that this training is taking place and it can never be  a bad thing to have people able to the jobs they need to be called upon to do. 

With the cut back on the furnace and the relatively low crewing in bundle and only two lines in the oil temper the company has cut back in the test room. This has not resulted in any further lay-offs yet, no recalls either. So on the jobs front there is no change.

There are two recent work stoppages I think are important for you to look at if you are not aware of them, one in London Ontario, and one in Quebec. The following links will give you some information on what's happening in our part of the world. 

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1110094--olive-why-caterpillar-has-the-upper-hand-in-london-plant-lockout

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/01/02/rio-tinto-alcan-lockout-quebec-smelter.html

Welcome back to work, I hope all are rested and trust that everyone had a good holiday with the extra time you had with your families. I can say that one day back we are into a few situations which we should not be into.

We had a work refusal in the Rod Shed where there has been conflict since the furnaces have been installed here at our mill, a conflict that has never been resolved. 

The Yard Lift operator wants the doors in the shed open because of the fumes from the truck that gather when the doors are closed and the dust in the shed because the floors are not being swept on a regular basis causing great amounts of dust particles to be blown into the air.

The furnace operators of course want the doors closed because of the cold, that it happened on the coldest day of the year is not a surprise but even at slightly warmer outdoor temperatures it has been a problem. 

There was a temporary resolution but it will not suffice. While I was not involved in the refusal I would suggest that we rent industrial type heaters to blow towards the loading and unloading areas of the furnace. We have done this in the past on the cleaning lines in order to reduce the amount of steam over the tubs. This would also add heat to the circulation of the furnace, keeping it going. 

The other issue is one the union has been trying to have addressed for months now. We have wire drawers who are now junior who do not have the familiarisation to draw on continuous frames. This means that senior people are removed from their preferences to accommodate junior peoples available skills allowing these junior people to have preferential jobs. Again this is wrong, in 2005 when the jobs were combined the signatories to the agreement, namely, D. Robert, and M. McQuade gave their word and assured the Union that all people would be cross trained on all jobs in the description. 

The Union has been pressing this concern since before the first set of lay-offs anticipating this very situation. While we understand the need to control the costs, and while we continue to work through the difficult situations the Company finds itself in, we can not allow that to trump seniority rights enshrined in our Basic Agreement. 

That was something else we  were assured of as well.

January 1, 2012

There seems to be some confusion as to when we are supposed to return to work next week following the shutdown. All 12 hour shifts will begin on Monday the 2nd., with 8's starting on the 3rd. Below is a copy of the notice that was re-posted at work prior to the shutdown. I hope this clears up any confusion. 

Manufacturing – 2011 Vacation

April 6, 2011

 To:      Mill Notice Boards                                                    Copy: Mill Supervision

Al Lindholm

Sandra Cabral                      

                                                                                                                                                 David Hudson

                                                                                                            Matthew Ogus

Dan Paquette

USW 5328                                                                                                                                         

In the coming days, the vacation booking process will get underway for 2011.  Employees will be canvassed by grouping, and in order of seniority.

 All employees are advised to have their desired first picks ready for the canvassing process.

 With the very positive load position we’re all enjoying, we must continue to do all that we can to ensure there’s next to no interruption to our customers’ operations. Therefore, we will not have a plant-wide shutdown during the summer months.

 For the Summer months, we will be scheduling two weeks of partial shutdowns (July 3rd, and August 7th) for the 8hr operations. Specific 8hr guidelines by description will be communicated, but please note that all 8hr employees will be required to book 40hrs of vacation to cover one of these weeks. For the 12hr operations (Furnace, OT, and Testing), the shutdown schedule will need to be a little different. We will be scheduling full Pusher Furnace, OT, and Testing outages during two weekends in July and August (July 8,9,10, and August 12,13,14). Employees on each rotation within these areas will be required to book 36hrs to cover the outages.

 In December, we will have a plant wide shutdown during the week of the 25th. 

The 8hr Operations will finish on Thursday December 22nd with the Floater holiday applied on Friday December 23rd. The 8hr Operations will resume on Tuesday January 3rd with New Year’s Day applied on Monday January 2nd. 

 40 hours of vacation will be scheduled to cover this outage. 

For the 12hr operations, the Furnace, OT, and Testing areas will also finish on Thursday December 22nd. The Floater holiday will be the same as the 8hr operations, and will be applied on Friday December 23rd. The balance of the Statutory holidays will be applied as they occur. 

The 12hr Operations will resume on Monday January 2nd.

 As agreed to in previous years, the 12hr Continuous Vacation Schedules can be distributed to each crew. Employees will book in order of seniority until complete. 

 If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your supervisor.

Jason Deeley

Manager – Manufacturing

December 24, 2011

We are quickly coming to the close of another year that has brought many challenges to us at work, to our families, and to the relationships we thought were on good ground.

2011 is ending much as it started, we have lay-offs heading into the New Year. The state of the business is in questions with those who are in charge outside our mill questioning the need for two mills in Canada and some questioning if they should be in this business at all. 

If I could pull out the highlights of the year I would be hard pressed to name more than a few. It was a year where we once again saw a delay in the booking of vacations,  a changing of the rules for the mechanical area and outstanding single days being an issue. With the decrease in business we have seen a crack down on the rules concerning relief, absenteeism, production etc. (something that happens whenever we get slow I might add). 

We had an arbitration which addressed many grievances where we didn't fair too well leaving a bad taste in a few peoples mouths. We hired a  great group of vacation relief employees who worked very hard to try and secure permanent employment to no avail. We had too many of our people lose loved ones this past year, the worst pain of all and we lost a few retirees who passed on.

But I would be remiss if I ended my comments there.

Despite the slow start to the year we were able to hire a few people to full time positions who now hold recall rights. Business remained stronger and longer than normal and even though the business dropped in early September, the company kept the vacation relief employees on doing utility work until their term was over rather than letting them go right away. When the lay-offs started in the permanent ranks they kept three people again to do work on secondary wire rather than lay them off. 

Vacations, despite the late bookings were less of a hassle this year because of the partial shutdowns. Vacations will be a major bone of contention at negotiations. 

We have now a lesser need to go into the Lime tubs during the tub dumps, I convinced the company to have the people who clean our phos and smut tubs do it for us making the moving of the crane and having a member under a hoist a non isusue. They have agreed to talk to Dofasco about acquiring a magnet to clean the bands from the acid tubs.

We were able to secure new guns for bundling as well as some new scanning guns for the rest of the mill. We agreed that we need to get new tractors and work has been happening behind the scenes to make this happen in the New Year. 

We have had I think five people retire and we wish them well. We know more are coming. This bodes well for the vacation relief employees if they still want to join us here.

We have had a number of young people take an interest in being involved with the Union. They are doing a great job for us and are standing up to fight on your behalf. We have been spending a lot of our money on training as the rest of us get older so that they are prepared to take over. It will be up to them to step it up in the elections taking place in April.

Brian Howe has been appointed to the District 6 Health and Safety Committee which will give him great exposure to many seasoned activists within our union and he will be on top of the latest developments in regards to Health and Safety.

Thanks to a few retirees we have revived the Retiree Committee and the Social Committee has been able to help raise funds for our many extra activities. 

I would like to point out that while yes there are many issues at work, the union keeps you in mind each and every day and we continue to fight on your behalf. Going back to the beginning, I guess I could pick out a few positives from the last year.

My favourite quote ever was from Jack Layton just prior to his passing where he wrote: "My Friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair.  So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world".

So as the year draws to an end I would like to wish you all, from my family to yours a very Merry Christmas and healthy and prosperous New Year.

See you in the New Year! 

Green out. I am now going to take the week off, there will be no more posts until after the New Year. Enjoy the time with your loved ones.

December 23, 2011

You might ask what the pictures above are about. I was offered an opportunity to travel to South Africa and Mozambique with the Steelworker Humanity Fund to meet with fledgling unions there and to attend a Globalization school. As I had vacation time remaining and there would be no cost to the local, I agreed. I have many many pictures, met some great people and have developed ongoing friendships. I also learned how what is happening in the developing world is affecting us here in Canada in terms of why our manufacturing jobs are being shipped over seas. It is absolutely disgusting, but I will not preach to you in this space. 

What I will say to you though is that when we ask you to come out to a demonstration we are asking you to come out to fight for yourself because they have figured out that desperate people will work for anything thrown at them with no concern other than feeding their family.

Below is my report back to the Humanity Fund.

Humanity Fund Report – South Africa and Mozambique – September 23- Oct 7, 2011

December 21, 2011

One of the toughest things for the leader of any organization is to watch as their members are affected by events out of their control. So it goes once again as the company lays off another 19 employees on top of the 6 already laid off. While I would like to grab someone by the throat for doing this, the fact is there is no one at this facility to blame, no one in the organization really. What is happening here is happening throughout the city, the province, indeed the country.

As president of the Steelworker Area Council I am still seeing plants under my purview shutting down. I see the staff at the Adjustment Center being overworked as more and more of our brothers and sisters in the manufacturing sector are laid off. If you go into the Center and look at the job board you will find close to a hundred postings for jobs, but the employers are looking for skilled and experienced workers willing to work for little more than minimum wage. 

We have watched as General Motors made announcements that they are investing in their plants in St. Catherines and Oshawa. Good to hear. But these types of announcements will take at least 2 years until fruition. Doesn't do anyone any good at present. We have foreign automakers who are making cars in North America who use more Canadian content in their cars than the "Domestic Automakers". We import more of these parts than we make now. 

Below is a list from April 2010 to September 2011 which shows the amount of drawn wire  imported into Canada while our mill struggles. This should be criminal, in the United States it is. But here in Canada we are "Free Traders" as we have been ordained by Prime Minister Harper. 

I have written to the Prime Minister to protest this inequality, now its up to you. If you want to fight for your job then you need to contact your Member of Parliament and ask that action be taken against these countries who we are supporting while we lose good paying unionized jobs in Canada. Our jobs.

If you click on a country you will see all steel products they export to Canada. 

December 16, 2011

Last night we had our December membership meeting followed by our annual Christmas Social. It was very well attended and everyone had a good time even those who came by after the 3-11 shift. It was once again great to see so many of our retirees out. These were the folks who helped build this place and they were the ones who fought the battles to get us the wages and benefits we currently enjoy. 

We are going to re-institute our Retiree Committee which fell by the wayside after CCAA. The purpose of this committee will be to phone, stuff envelopes and do mailings to other retirees to let them know what is going on in our mill and to let them know when we have any special events such as the Kids Christmas Party, the Socials we have, Labour Day and to get them out to any protests or demonstrations we might be involved in. This should work well. Whenever I have a group of these folks in front of me I always thank them for what they have done for us.

I would like to thank Harvey Woodrow and Charlie Scibetta for doing all the work including the prep and cooking of the great meal we had. We had lots of good comments again.

It was asked at the meeting if we could do something different rather than have a meeting every two months because the folks working 12 hour days don't get to attend. I will point out that we did the bi-monthly meeting to save on lost time to build the bank account up so that we can continue with the education we have started with some of the younger guys, so that we can go to arbitration when needed and to be prepared for negotiations. In the month where we do not have a meeting we will put out a newsletter as promised.

I will be discussing with the Executive for alternate ways to handle this but I will say that some of our meetings run short because of an abbreviated agenda. I will no longer do this, we will go with the regular agenda from now on to hopefully afford the day shift people a chance to attend. Having said that, depending on the amount of correspondence and the length of the reports, the meeting could still be over by the time they get there. As I said we will try to look for alternatives. 

Nothing has changed with the business, Cold Heading remains tight, Oil Temper, Strand and Straighten and Cut are holding there own. The Surface furnace will go down for a few weeks as there will be an inspection and repair of any problems which are found. This of course will mean more lay-off notices this week. The numbers are unknown but I will caution a few things for folks and ask them to plan their spending accordingly. 

Pre-retirement vacations will end at the end of December and there will be few if any at all on vacation in January. Both these things will mean that we will get a true picture of where we are at in the terms of employment levels. 

SUB remains in a good position for those on lay-off but as you know there will be people who have collected and will continue to collect, so it is important for any new people laid-off to register with EI immediately. The company sends you record of Employment directly to EI. 

You will have noticed the new picture on our home page. That is a picture I received from Kurt. I put out a history leaflet at our meeting with the history info listed on this site along with a few pictures and news clippings and the media release announcing the acquisition by Mittal. I asked those in attendance for any pictures, etc. so we can put together a more comprehensive history. This was the first picture I received. Thanks Kurt.

I heard from Bill Stenhouse today and he asked that I pass on holiday greetings to everyone in the mill. I reciprocated in return.

On December 22nd from 11 am to 1pm we will be partaking in a demonstration at the WSIB offices at Jackson Square to protest the treatment of injured workers in Ontario. Please try to join us.

December 8, 2011

Below is a copy of an e-mail I received through my Arcelormittal account, I found it interesting. I think you might as well.

December 7, 2011

We will only be calling three people back to the mill next week as the anticipated load and other factors are holding us back. This still leaves seven on the street and while it was our hope to have every one back for a few weeks before Christmas it doesn't look as though that will happen.

We have a very diverse group of employees here in many terms. We have Serbians, Croatians, Czechoslovakian, Polish, Scottish, Irish, Chinese, British, Indian, and probably a few others I have missed. We also have many people with different education levels.

 I only point it out to remind myself and you all that we owe it to each other to treat everyone here with the respect and dignity we all deserve.

That means when we tell a joke or a comment at someone’s expense it’s really not a joke, it becomes offensive. We have language in our Basic Agreement which covers that. As the good reasonable people we are, we should be following it.

At a Scott Air Pack training session a few weeks back I made a comment out of line in regards to a nationality in front of everyone at the session. It turns out that I deeply offended an individual there. I only just learned of this and I am deeply troubled that I would say such a thing because I know better.

I feel I have to Man Up and say so. I thought it would be the right thing to do to say so out loud, so I say in public; I do apologize for my comment that offended you.  We have always had a good relationship. We are all here trying to make a living and we need to work together to be successful. We (all of us) spend way too much time together to allow anything to get in the way of any relationship.

Only when we are United are we what we cannot be alone.

December 1, 2011

Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can't miss. Lee Iacocca (former Chairman of Chrysler)

We have reached another milestone, one some  believed we would be unable to attain. Today is the sixth anniversary of the signing of the agreement which allowed us to keep our mill open.

It was on this morning of December 1st, 2005 that we all shook hands and said our good-byes as talks had broken off and we were heading back to Hamilton to negotiate a closure agreement with Stelco.

It was only the persistance of our Staff Rep. Tony depaulo that  was able to get us all back to the lawyer's office after a few hours sleep. We went back at it for another 13 hours and just before midnight we had a deal. The rest is history as they sa

We have seen many changes over the last number of years and there are those who would argue better or worse but the fact that we are still here says something. What the future brings is something that only time will tell.
       ________________________________________________________________________

Since the global recession of 2008 we have been up and down at both remaining mills in the wire group in terms of business and employment. Customers are not carrying the inventories they once did as it ties up valuable cash. Yet many customers are only sitting on the cash that they are saving because of the economic uncertainty in North America and Europe. They are not putting it back into their businesses. Capital expenditures are being put on the back burners, research and development is slowing, and construction is idling.

In the United States we have Republicans and Democrats fighting tooth and nail over their own financial situation which is providing another opportunity for the markets to take us into yet another man made, bank delivered recession. Only this time the recovery will not be so quick. We also know that the majority government granted to the Conservatives here in Canada does absolutely nothing to protect good paying, unionized manufacturing jobs. Including ours.

We have been told that over the last six years we have lost over 70 million dollars here at Hamilton East. The they say we lost $800,000.00 in  of the last two months alone. (I plan on asking for an audit as contemplated under the ISP agreement before negotiations.) If these numbers are to be believed then a reasonable person would ask, “Why are we still open?” The answer to that is that we make a great deal of money for the mother corporation through our rod purchases. This is good when we are busy and buying and producing great amounts of steel, but when we are slow, not so much.

When we are slow we are not the same value added asset, we actually become a drain and the focus turns inward because of the demands of the corporate leaders from outside our mill. Every move has to be justified with the higher ups. Of course when that happens there is a more urgent need to justify our existence to people who have really no idea about our work place, our community or our families.

The result of this added focus brings questions and demands onto the floor. Why is that job down? Why is your production so low? You have no relief, why are you off the job? All valid questions, I won’t argue, but are they the right questions to be asking? I always ask, do we have the right tools and equipment to do our jobs?

SAP – I feel that we have to address this because it has become an increasing problem, and while we are quick to criticize the company sometimes we need to look at our selves. What I am talking about is the scanning of coils from the frames and cleaning lines. I have heard from furnace operators, oil temper operators and wire drawers about how much time is spent on looking for material which has not been scanned to a location. This is wrong. Wire drawers are doing job changes only to have to change it back when a few coils are found later; jobs are skipped on the furnace, unnecessary changes on the OT lines. We need to take the time to scan the coils, when we don’t we just make more work for everyone else. I would rather see a frame suffer a half hour down time because a driver was scanning than a half hour down time because of an unnecessary job change.

Recall – It looks as though we will be recalling some folks next week as we crew up the second furnace for three weeks. This is not seen as long term as the load for January has not materialized beyond the three weeks as was first thought.

But with that start up however short, we will need cleaning, draw and bundle support. It will provide jobs for a few weeks at least and renew the group benefits for a further 3 months for those recalled.

The OT still looks good going into the New Year and Strand is holding its own. Hopefully some good news is on the horizon despite all the doom and gloom in the world.

Joint Children’s Christmas Party – We will be having our Kids party on the 11^th of this month and hope you can join us. There is still time to register. We will be paying for the children of laid off members once again and the party will feature Giggles the Clown and after the presents have been given out a magician will perform and of course Santa Clause himself has agreed to join us. We can always use a few hands to help out so if interested please see Terry or Mike Hnatjuk.

Union Social – On the 15^th we will be having our Union Social at the Steel Hall, we will have once again what should be a very good meal, a chance to play some cards, meet a few old friends and have a few drinks together.

Social Committee – I would like to thank the people taking the lead in helping to raise funds for things like the kids party, the Socials and Labour Day. Their efforts allow us to continue with them while not being a drain on our bank account. Currently they are doing a 6/49 Bingo and selling a Kessell Toronto Maple Leafs jersey which will be drawn at the Social. I would also like to thank you on their behalf for your support in the many draws etc. that they have put on. It has made a difference.

SUB Fund – at the last update we had $43,000.00 in the fund and while people are just getting their cards and starting to draw on it, the fund should be in good shape for a bit.

You can get the necessary reports that you need to submit from the Service Canada web site. Be sure to sign them before handing into HR.

Retirements - We have had a few retirements in the last little while with Cosri, Wellard, Campomizzi and Allaby leaving. I’m sure you would join me in wishing each of them good fortune in the second part of their lives. I am sure we will have a few more people retire before negotiations and while we joke about the Local 5328 Volunteer Association, retirement is a big life changing decision that presents a lot more difficulties than a simple 30 and out type of rationale.

WSIB – We have one appeal being heard where we are waiting for a second date and we have one waiting for a date to go to WISIAT. I have arranged with Jim Pasell, the person who runs the District 6 WSIB Committee for which we belong to have Ed and Geoff attend a number of appeals and to sit with the people who are interviewed prior to appeal so that they can gain the experience to actually present appeals at all levels.

Geoff and Terry will also now be our Return to Work Committee, having taken the Duty to Accommodate course through the Ontario Federation of Labour. Some scary stuff came from that course I must say.

Stewards – Our new stewards are doing a great job for us and it has shown me that it was worth the training we put on. I would like to have another training day in January for the remaining stewards. These folks are the front line face of the Union and your support of them is appreciated. I would like to thank each of them for the work that they do on your behalf. It can be a thankless and frustrating position, but when you win one it feels real good. We have also been bringing them to some of our meetings with management to give them some added experience. We will try to do this with all of our stewards.

Health and Safety - I would also like to congratulate Brian Howe on his appointment to the District 6 Health and Safety Committee. Brian will join other activists from across Ontario and the Atlantic provinces in fighting for tougher legislation and finding ways to hold people accountable. One of the things that we push for as a union is Coroners Investigations whenever there is a workplace fatality, I suspect Brian will have a role to play there as well.

As can be seen below, we are doing pretty good wage wise here at least as compared to many in our community who are under - employed, unemployed and working two or three jobs just to pay the bills. Over the last number of years you have reacted as the people I know you are in supporting several families at Christmas time. We have seen the cards of thanks. Again this year the company is willing to match donations made by employees in an effort to help a few more families have what would otherwise be a very dismal Christmas. Please consider making a donation, this isn’t for the company or the union, it’s for our community. Your donation will be appreciated.

As I was finishing this I got a call from Dave Waller, he and his wife are doing well, both working. Dave is now an Iron Worker, working with structural steel erecting a new building, working well above ground strapped to the girders. I love it.  He asked that I pass on well wishes to you all for Christmas and the New Year; I wished him the same on your behalf.

November 22, 2011

Many of you continue to ask about negotiations at St. Patricks. I cannot, I hope you understand, divulge any details which I might know other than to say they are ongoing.

They are not into a traditional set of bargaining in the way that they have not been meeting every day.  The Union Committee however did enjoy a nice break last week for three days. They will be having an information meeting for their members on December 1st which I may attend to assure their members that we are two different businesses and to fill them in on what is happening here in our mill in regards to the business and the concerns we have with whats happening here.

I will fill you in on things following that in a different forum.

To our friends in Quebec....André, nous vous souhaitons ainsi qu'à votre réussite grande équipe, nous sommes solidaires avec vous et vos membres. Que la force soit avec vous.

November 21, 2011

This week we had a further four people laid off including two from the Oil Temper area, bringing us to a total of 22 laid off at present. This number would be higher of course if not for outstanding vacations, people on the sick list and a few who have taken pre-retirement vacations. We have asked that others who have come forward be allowed to take some of their pre-retirement vacations but the company is denying the requests citing costs, when costs were not a factor in any other year we have allowed this.

The costs associated with the pre-retirement vacations have been costed against the entire compensation package for each employee and the company has 30 years before they have to pay that out. It is a cost that has to be borne by the company. If every eligible employee decided to retire today those costs would have to be paid out.

The goal of the Union is to avoid lay-offs, and this in our mind is a good way to do that. While I would ask anyone to come forward to see me who claims to have been canvassed to take pre-retirement vacation, I can categorically deny the company's assertion that the union has canvassed anyone to do so. We have simply forwarded any requests from employees.

It is hard to tell where the business is going but the Oil Temper remains strong as does the Strand operation. It is hoped that both furnaces will be running for a couple of weeks in December before the Surface is taken down for a couple of weeks for maintenance work. So far there appears to be load for two furnaces in the New Year, fingers crossed.

I have forwarded the names of those employees laid off to the Steelworker Adjustment Centre so that they can contact them regarding any extra training, schooling etc. They do some very good work in finding placements for laid off Steelworkers. I would advise any of our younger employees to think about enrolling in a certificate program through one of the area Colleges just in case things go from bad to worse with the economy. There may still be government funding available.

I keep hearing from the Company about how much money we are losing and that everyone has to come to work every day and do their jobs. I'm not denying any of that. I get it. This plant is made up of people from Canada Works, Great Lakes Wire, and Dosco, all plants that closed their doors. We have people from Hilton Works who went through a revolving door of lay-off after lay-off, having 35 years of Company service with less than 30 pensionable years of credited service.

When Venkat was here two years ago for our Health and Safety Day he said not only to me but to the management in the room that when we come to work each day we should consider that it could be our last one. I understand his statement and the ones from the company regarding our current situation. But I also understand that even if we show up each and every day, even if we stay on the job until our relief shows up, and even if we watch our coffee breaks and lunches, the fact remains if we do not have the proper tools to do our jobs then we are kicking the tires on a broken down Ford.

We do not have a membership meeting this month as I spoke of in an earlier post so we will be handing out a news letter next week. In December we will be having our Christmas Social on the 15th and we hope you will all be able to join us.

November 4, 2011

We are now getting ready for the Children's Christmas party which will take place in a months time and will feature Giggles the Clown and a magician will perform after the gifts are given out. As usual we will cover the costs for the children of parents who have been laid off. 

The Social Committee has been selling tickets for 50/50 draws and other things throughout the year and I would like to thank you for your support, this money goes into things like the kids party, Labour Day and our Christmas and June Socials.

The Committee is now selling 6/49 50/50 draw tickets where for ten dollars you get to pick 8 numbers and the the first person to have all their numbers drawn from the Wednesday and Saturday draws wins half the pot. If we were to sell 100 tickets that would be 500 for the winner, not a bad chunk of change. Again, thanks for your support.

People selling are John Babineau, Randy Almas, Terry Willock, Mike Hnatjuk, Brett Lewis, Ron Whalen and myself.

Of course each year we need people to help us organize, purchase and wrap gifts and set up on the day of the party. If you would like to have some fun, support our kids and feel good, contact Terry or Mike Hnatjuk.

Our Christams Social will take place on December 15th, we hope you will put this date aside and join us.

Although it hasn't been advertised yet The Company has advised that their Christmas Brunch at the Royal Botanical Gardens will take place on December 18th. 

November 3, 2011

We've hit the wall as far as business goes and we will see a further thirteen people exit the mill on what we hope to be a short term lay-off. This number would be increased by three except for some pre-retirement vacations. Two of the people being laid off have opted for retirement rather than face another round of lay-offs.

There are a number of factors driving the slow down this year including the auto parts shortage coming out of Japan which is causing auto makers to adjust their production quotas, and a financial market on the brink of collapse in Europe which will be felt everywhere if it happens. 

I would like to remind those who are being laid off that we still have the Steelworker Adjustment Centre at the Union Hall. They can help with job search, resumes, and they offer training in computers, fork lift etc. They can also help you with your EI file if you run into trouble at all.

And do not forget to put in for your SUB money, you are entitled to it.

October 26, 2011

The upcoming week brought promises of further lay-offs as the furnace load continues to flounder but fortunately we are in a position where we have to recall a few people. That's a good thing. The bad thing is that we lay-off for a week here and a week there and this provides no stability for anyone. 

We are at the whim of the markets. It's why they have a scheduling meeting each week. What orders do we have? What machinery has to be crewed? Man power is figured out from the sales picture for the upcoming week.

The problem becomes even larger when we have people not familiarized into the jobs they have to bump into and are placed in a job that is preferred by a senior person or a Vacation Relief person. This is the case with the furnace operators from Burlington Works. As long as we have a furnace down this will be a problem for us and creates legitimate grievances. The best way to avoid this and prepare for whatever lean times we have ahead of us is to give these folks the training/familiarization they need. Yes it costs money but it is money well spent. 

I would like to thank Mario Caruso and Mike Hnatjuk for their work in answering your complaints about the schedule and trying to make corrections. They are doing a good job as two of our new stewards. It can get draining and we hope they stick with it because with our ageing work force we need the younger people to stand up and be prepared to take over when we retire. They will get the necessary education and I know that daily it is trial by fire for them, I for one appreciate it. I would add that Mike is doing a great job as our new Financial Secretary as well.

Geoff Oberfrank and Terry Willock  will now make up our Return to Work Committee. Of course Geoff and Ed Bratetitch will continue to be our WSIB Reps. Again, young people (not Terry, lol) getting involved to represent you now and in the future while keeping a steady head on their shoulders.

We will have our Children's Christmas Party on December 11th so as to not interfere with the Company Christmas Brunch at the RBG. Posters and registration forms will be posted shortly. 

The Company is sponsoring a First Aid Training opportunity through the Canadian Red Cross  on November 12 and 19th at the Dofasco Rec Center at no charge to participants. This training is open to family members and friends alike and they will pick up the costs. Participants will be trained in Emergency First Aid, CPR and the use of the Automated External Defibrillator which we have in our mill.

Having already taken this course myself I would strongly recommend this to anyone. A life you may save at any time could be that of a family member, think about that.

The Local is also seeking volunteers to host a lunch at Wesley Urban Ministries as we did last year to feed the homeless. It was a blast last year as we cooked, served and cleaned up after the meal to some very grateful folks. Please consider joining us.

October 20,2011

While I have not been here at this facility as long as some of my Brothers, I have been here going on 26 years and I have never seen anything like what I saw today.

Someone threw a die holder through the window of the Manager of Operations' window so hard that it not only broke the window but lodged into the wall above his desk. Even on picket lines I have never seen this kind of action. When called up to look at the mess I was at a loss for words. 

Many from the mill today expressed to me their disapproval of it, and many approached the Manager to offer their support as well. 

Of course the danger of this type of thing is that it casts a bad light on all of us, but they know that this action does not reflect the views of most people here.

If they find out who did this that person will be fired. And I don't know what this person was thinking, but how is the Union going to defend this? How could we? How the hell is he going to find another job?

I resent the fact that this person has put us as a workforce into question. And that question will be raised by those beyond these walls. We have many people advocating for keeping this mill alive as is, including myself , we don't need this kind of crap mixing up the picture.

We are better than this. 

I hope you agree.

October 19, 2011

Today the company announced that there would be 14 people laid off due to the business conditions which affect the cold heading material produced on the Holcroft Furnace. This of course has resulting affects throughout the mill with cleaning, wire drawing and bundling.

The hope is that it is for a few weeks only but once again I have to remind everyone that we are entering our slow period, traditionally this is when we do slow down. The uncertainty of the economic climate here and indeed globally has a role to play as well. 

I have had a number of people come forward to request pre-retirement vacation and I am working on making that happen to lessen the number of people laid off. As usual let's wait until Friday to see where we end up.

I requested a SUB Fund update today and the fund sits at about 43,000 dollars so we are good to go for a while depending on the number of lay-offs. 

St. Patricks started negotiations today and I will refrain from any public comments on here as to what is happening there with those talks until they come to an agreement or they take an action.

I would like to wish Renzo Corsi all the best as he retires and drives the Corvette off into the sunset. Renzo has always been upfront and blunt with me and I appreciate it. Much better than whining behind my back; he has always come to me and stated his thoughts. 

Good luck my friend.

October 11, 2011

I have been away for two weeks and have been unable to update the site and I understand that the schedules have not been sent to those who signed up to receive them, they will be restarted this week.

I also understand that some folks are getting nervous about the business situation for our mill after we saw some lay-offs and Health and Safety training take place. I'd like to remind everyone that we are coming into what is a traditionally slow period for us and if lay-offs happen they usually happen before Christmas, they last a few months and then we go full out again.

As it stands we are not seeing much of a load for the furnaces which really effects the support jobs in Draw , Bundling and Cleaning. Beyond a few weeks we are not sure where it will go. Oil Temper remains good and Strand is holding its own at 10 turns. The surprise for me at least is the Straighten and Cut going to a 24/7 operation.

I have been approached by a number of people looking to use some of their 15 weeks and when we are busy we have a harder time releasing people,  when we find ourselves in a for sure lay-off period the company and union have worked to allow this to happen. I don't expect this year to be any different.

We had a PM done on the Strander area done and we are hoping that it will be for the better for the material and the operators working there and this past weekend saw the repair of the rails at #2 Cleaning Line. This should prove to be a smoother ride for the crane operators.

Tomorrow we have a broker coming to the mill to assess our tractor needs and to see if they can meet them. Terry Willock will be involved directly in the discussions. This represents a step forward for us in a big way and we are hopeful for a speedy transition to new vehicles.

Bumping has started as a result of the down crew of # 1 Cleaning Line to 10 turns. This will mean some movement of people and is always unfortunate. If you have any questions about your rights if bumped see a Chief Steward. In any case the bump should happen as follows:

Employees can bump ANY JUNIOR employee WITHIN their job description

Employees MUST exhaust their BUMP WITHIN their job description before bumping into another job description.

When bumping into a new job description they can bump anyone junior to them in the description.

September 15, 2011

We would like to express our deep sadness at hearing that Gerry Delvechio has lost his wife today after a long bout with cancer. Gerry has been with us for many many years and has been an advocate of this mill forever. Our deepest sympathies are extended to him. 

We are one week away from saying good-bye to our VR's who have been with us over the summer. These folks have worked very hard to try and secure full time employment here beyond the VR period and it's a shame that they will not be hired, yet. 

The people here, including management, the union and the shop floor workers are keenly aware that we need people. We have outstanding vacations, people off sick, people who have left or will be leaving. On the flip side we have an ever uncertain economy taking shape that could affect us with issues that are well beyond the control of any of us here.

Trust me when I say the case is being made on their behalf by all of the above. A sign of that is the willingness and actually the pro-active effort by the company to keep these folks here through next week when they could have let them go last week.  This week and last we have had the mill returned to a very good state of cleanliness, we have been able to get rid of the backlog of drums piling up and next week we continue the same type of work.

Yet I need to point out that if asked we (the union) could not extend the VR agreement. We have explained our reasons to most of these employees and they understand. 

The Holcroft is going down for two weeks is a result of that economic uncertainty. Things are a little slower right now but the projection is that it will be back up in two weeks. That also brings down #1 cleaning line for the same period.

The OT is still relatively strong but there is also a softening demand there. We will see where it goes.

As we watch our neighbours to the south do the right thing to protect American jobs we stand by and allow our jobs be funneled to places other than Canada while we import the same products back in. This has to stop. However only a backlash from the public will change this. 

Does every manufacturing job have to disappear before we ask "what happened?" If I ask you to go to a rally or a demonstration its not to get numbers there. It's to say to the government to stop the crap and protect Canadian jobs, protect collective bargaining and protect the  future for your kids, grand kids. As it is, whenever we close a plant we open up a Walmart or a Tim Hortons so they have a place to work. For me? This is unacceptable. It should be for you as well. 

This past Friday we attended an arbitration that saw us go through many grievances which the arbitrator will rule on. Both sides made the arguments that needed to be made and now we are waiting for the results. If one of those grievances are yours then you will be notified of the answer ASAP.  

I would like to extend an invitation to the remaining Addeco employees to join us at our monthly membership meetings to keep up to date with whats happening here. I will also put a package together for you to access the Steelworker Adjustment Center which will help you look for work and I will pass on any leads from other Steelworker mills that are doing any hiring. I just need your contact info.

September 5, 2011

What another wonderful Labour Day weekend. We spent the weekend preparing for the parade and picnic today which was another great hit with the kids. The turnout can always be better but our members and retirees dominated the numbers today. The food was excellent again and the kids had a blast with the games and toys.

I'd like to thank Brett, Jeff Walker, Willie, John Tyleman, Rick Hewitt, Mike Hnatjuk, Mark Kruegel and Terry Willock for their help today, it is much appreciated by everyone. Pictures to follow.

Scott  MacDonald won the 50/50 draw picking up $145.00. 

In appreciation of our retirees and the fights they have fought on our behalf, we had a free draw for the Steelworkers watch. Bronco Cabrilo won that. We will get the watch to him. It is always a pleasure to see the retired guys at events and this year was no different.

Yesterday 5 of our members joined other Steelworkers at Wesley Urban Ministries where we helped prepare and serve a very nice meal to the homeless. Thanks to those who came out.

August 30, 2011

We are fast approaching the last weekend to what many feel is the last weekend of the summer, vacation time begins to thin out, the kids are back in school and the sweaters come out of the closet. With that comes the thoughts of the end to the VR season, silly season I call it. 

Silly in that people try to jockey for positions or jobs other than their own, or when TT'd try to make their own rules to get to a a better job than what they have been assigned to. We can not willy nilly change the rules on the fly and I know there are those of you who think we gave up to much to keep you working and your family safe but the fact is we have not.  

When people apply for training opportunities they are tagged for life. They spent the money to train you because you asked for it. They will use you when you are needed. Some times in a lay-off position you benefit, you keep working while a senior person is laid off. You have a valuable skill that senior people decided they don't want. So the reverse of that is you will be tagged as the guy when your skills are needed.

Having said that our goal is to keep everyone employed and shutting down lines to  keep someone from being TT''d  is not a very smart answer. I asked the Operations Manager the other day what TT stands for and he said "too talented"...well he got that from me. But it is true. My advice is just this, be careful what you ask for, you may just get it. 

Our Labour Day celebration is this coming Monday and we will gather at York and Pearl Streets starting at 9 am. I hope you can all make it, it will be followed by the annual picnic at Gage Park where once again we will be able to re-connect with some old friends and allow our children to enjoy another day of fun and games while taking home a bag full of goodies courtesy of the Social Committee.

Terry will canvass those who are scheduled to work that day for shirts, but this is for regularly scheduled people not anyone working overtime, that's your choice. If you are working overtime we will sell you a shirt no problem.

Next Friday we are before an arbitrator to deal with grievances and we have a further date to deal with grievances from a former Burlington Works employee. I will keep you up to date with the resulting decisions.

I truly hope you all have a good long weekend and that you can join us on Labour Day. This invitation goes out to the "green hats" as well, please join us. We hope that you will all be hired on at the end of the VR season. I will say it again, you are doing a good job.

August 25, 2011

There has been much ado about the environmental issue last week at the cleaning line. This issue was blown deeply out of proportion. 

The whole story is as follows: There were workers working in the area to the west of us on the waterline who noticed something in the water they hadn't seen before so they called the city. They investigated and traced it back to us because of our location. The company to their credit did not try to hide anything and cooperated fully with the city. The company was not asked to shut anything down, the company took the initiative to find out what was going on.

The issue was traced back to the nail mill filter and a line running out, It was emitting rusty water. 

The line has been cleaned out and the city is happy with the result and the fact that the company didn`t try to  shirk responsibility and no charges or fines have been levied.

There seems to be some confusion over the TT/VR language in that people think they can move a person from a vacancy or a spot where a person is filling in. 

Let me be very clear. It has been the practice as the language says that  VR`s fill in for vacations and long term sickness. When a VR is filling in for a non-vacany position it is a TT, for example if someone is tt`d to a job and a VR  fills in for that person then that person stays there until the original person is released. He is paid his base job rate if it is higher. If a senior person wants that TT because of money or it's a preferred job they have to say so at the time it happens, not a week or two later. If a senior person is moved to a job he doesn't want later, sorry it's too bad. The person already filling in stays.

August 16, 2011

As promised I will try to update each day on the happenings at our Convention. There is a button on the bottom of the  article which should allow you to see the article in its entirety as a full screen shot.

I met today with the President, Vice-President and Recording Secretary from St. Patrick's, our sister mill in Quebec. We had a good discussion and while their agreement expires at the end of September they will not begin negotiations until November 1st. They have their own reasons for this. We will meet prior to and during their negotiations.

I also met privately with the Committee and Staff rep from the ArcelorMittal Tubular in Brampton. We also had a good discussion and with both these Canadian Locals we have committed to keeping in contact and sharing information. I will meet with Georgetown, Burns Harbor and Steelton committees in the coming days with the eye to consummating an alliance of AM workers.

This is a Global Company and we need a Global Union in response.

Also after reading the update  check out the video below it which explains quite simply how the middle class got screwed.

As the 2011 Constitutional Convention will shape the future of our actions against Wall Street and the Republican and Conservative governments as we fight to stave of an attack on the average working middle class families in both the United States and Canada, I thought it would be good for you to have updates throughout the week on the work being done here by over 2500 Steelworker delegates.

I was appointed to the Constitution Committee for the International who are paying the tab for my being here aside from three nights hotel. We have been working all weekend in order to make sure everything is ready for the convention. Today was truly inspiring with a wide arrangement of Speakers including Leo Gerard and Nancy Palosi, I have uploaded Leo's address to the convention and while long it sets the tone for the convention, if you have time take a look. It is broken down so you can come back to it.

I will be attending a meeting for all the ArcelorMittal unions on Tuesday and will share with you the results of that meeting.

August 10, 2011

For millions of years mankind lived like animals

Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination

We learned to talk.

The above words are from a Pink Floyd song, the quote is from David Gilmour, a member of the band. His words ring true to me and I have shared the same belief and wish  the same wish.

Since my last newsletter the relationship has been cold at best, and there are many of our members who thought it to be a well written piece with things that needed to be said while others worried that it was the beginning of the end. 

I have maintained through most of my written statements which are all on record that in my mind as long as we keep talking we can come to some resolution or get to a point where we just agree to disagree and get on with moving forward. Where we run into trouble is when we stop talking, when we fail to harness the power of our imagination. That's how wars start and that was his point. 

As a partner in this business we always want a voice at the table. It has to be for us to be successful. 

Earlier I reported that I had a meeting with the Manager of Operations and while we said a few things to each other which were not complimentary we settled most of the issues which were gnawing at us both. Since that time we talk regularly and have been able to resolve other issues for individuals and the mill including the proposed tractor need.

Through discussions with management, the mechanical personnel and the union, we have an agreement to bring leased tractors into the mill with a service agreement. This is no small feat and the union had to get past the hurdle of maintenance, but by including the mechanics in the discussion it made it possible to move forward on a much needed issue here. While it will not happen over night (pricing, getting the right tractors etc.) we are told it will happen. Sooner the better is what we are hearing from the drivers. 

Last week myself and Rob Mason, our Staff Representative met with the Director of Human Resources and the Manager of Operations to clear the air on other issues. Again there were some non-complimentary things said by both sides, but we got on track to deal with issues that have been a thorn in the sides of both parties. We agreed we need to get resolution on them as they keep arising. 

To that end we have agreed to put before an arbitrator all outstanding grievances for him to rule on. This approach will save us a lot of money while putting to rest forever some disagreements between us. Once the arbitrator rules that is it. The biggest benefit is that we will not be arguing these at negotiations and we can deal with the issues at hand.

Another thing to come from the talk was that the issue of Coveralls is not dead. Rob will be canvassing the workplaces he services to gather the work wear they are wearing and present them to the company with an eye to trying something different. 

There are still issues of course and there always will be, but we will be OK as long as we Keep Talking.

Many of you are asking about the negotiations at St. Patrick. I will be attending the International Convention next week and should be able to meet with the Staff Rep. for that Local to discuss what is happening there. Failing that I will be taking a day to drive to Montreal to meet with the committee there to see how things are going. I have two offers of lodging and translation so the cost to the Local will be minimal. It is important we know what is happening there but at the same time we should not necessarily take their negotiations to reflect what will happen here. We remain two separate businesses with different although some similar product lines. They compete against some mills we do not, but we will see.

July 28, 2011

There was great concern today expressed to me about the shut down of the Holcroft Furnace and while such a move might prove disconcerting, I'd like to assure not only our members but the folks hired for vacation relief that this has nothing to do with business conditions.

Unless one was blind or stuck in a room in the mill somewhere it is obvious that we are producing more on the Holcroft than we are cleaning. Not anyone's fault and no one is being blamed. We just have so much annealed in front of the cleaning lines that the mill is getting jammed. The shut down will allow us to move the material through cleaning and bundle to be turned into shippable finished goods. 

The Surface Furnace also has a lot of wire in front of it. That reduces the need for wire to be produced on the frames which results in less frames needed in draw. 

In a weeks time we will see another partial shut down for the eight hour rotation then a weekend outage for the twelve's on the furnace and OT. Hopefully after all this we will have a proper balance in the mill going forward.

The Holcroft being down is expected to last for just one week with start up scheduled for the following Sunday. During the shut down there will be some maintenance work done.

The Adecco folks will be off for hopefully, just one week. We need you guys here and we want you here, don't despair. You have worked hard until now, enjoy the rest. You are all doing a great job.

For the rest of you, enjoy the long weekend and stay safe.

I would like to add my voice to those Canadians from across the country in wishing Jack the best of luck as he battles his latest challenge. After going through hip surgery and treatment for prostate cancer he knows what it is to fight; after bringing the NDP back to not only respectability but to the greatest showing in our history while recovering, he knows what it is to fight.

I first met Jack when he was a Councillor in Toronto and I supported him at the Leadership Convention of the Federal NDP. As President of the Hamilton East NDP Riding Association I had the pleasure of introducing Jack to Hamilton area residents and media.

The enthusiasm he brought and still brings to the political arena and his down to earth working man attitude endear us to him and we can not wait until he returns to Parliament to finish what he has started.

You all may not know this but he is a great friend of Local 5328, his first visit here resulted in a phone call from his team asking us for a good buffet to take him to for lunch. We presented him a shirt and hat in our office. He promised assistance if ever needed, and we offered Harvey up as a stand in double if ever needed in return.

                                                     Get well Jack and God's speed mon ami!

July 25, 2011

We are a little more than a month away from Labour Day and most of you will have had or will have shortly vacation time away with your family. We are continuing today on working on a few remaining issues with the vacation schedule unfortunately and while the picks, particularly for the 12 hour rotations have not been as generous this year we continue to live within the confines of the Basic Agreement. Once through this next year it will be up to you to give direction to the negotiating committee as they head into bargaining and it will be up to you to authorize them to do what they need to do in order to get what you are looking for. 

I would like to address the last leaflet I put out. But I won't apologize for it. There have been many issues surfacing that should not be, in my view. Whether it be awarding of overtime, lack of trucks, perceived threats or the coveralls and the heat. They are all issues which could be effectively dealt with if the parties sat down to discuss them instead of just doing something with no regard for the others input or lack of.

As I noted we have had five years of relatively good labour relations and to let that slip away does nothing for the future of our mill or for our livelihoods. I have always maintained that as long as we are talking there is a chance at agreement but if there is no talk....I have always said also that the days of fist banging are long gone but every once and awhile you need to do it.

As to a couple of the issues I raised in that letter I am happy to say there has been some movement.

The company has hired a consultant who has been working with the Oil Temper operators in an attempt to find better ways for them to do their jobs, which could mean new or different tooling etc. , in my eyes this is a good step. I trust that this is being done with the seriousness it deserves.

I have been able to get a few things fixed and a few fans put in place throughout the mill over the last couple of weeks. Trying to get a new phone for #2 cleaning line test area still and we need to get the second hoist put back on 1 and 2 frames, it is sitting in the shipping ready to go and we still need some SAP guns added to the mill.

The union after consulting the mechanical technicians and their Chief Steward, has given the company the green light to get a new tractor fleet in here ASAP. These new tractors come with a service agreement. We need to get moving on this and the Director of Operations has agreed with Terry to involve those who drive them in choosing the correct tractors for our operations.

The company has also hired a new maintenance supervisor I hear, this will help I am sure.

Since the newsletter I have had a sit down with the Manager of Operations with the view of clearing the air on some issues and will be doing the same shortly with the HR manager.

Like you though I cannot let go of the coverall issue, this will remain a thorn in our relationship going forward, but at the same time we can not let this stand in the way of progressing our mill.

This past weekend Local 1005 celebrated their 65th anniversary with a community gathering at Gage Park. They had an awesome turnout and below is a letter sent to them from me on your behalf.

                                 LOCAL 5328

                     UNITED STEELWORKERS -DISTRICT 6

                                1031 Barton Street E., Hamilton, On L8L 3E3

                     Ph: (905) 719-4412                                                   Fax: (905) 545-3506

July 21, 2011

The Chief Medical Officer of Hamilton has upgraded the heat warning issued two days ago to a Heat Alert. This means that there is no break in store for us here with the heat with Humidex readings exceeding 40 and approaching 50 degrees on Thursday.

It has become much more important that you pay attention to your body and imperative that we watch out for our co-workers.  

Stay safe and do what you need to do to stay cool.

July 18, 2011

I appreciate the fact that it is hot in the mill and will only get worse as the week goes on and I understand those of you who called me today to complain about the clothing. We have had numerous fruitless conversations with the Director of Operations, the Director of Human Resources and the Manager of Operations.  

They say the timing sucked but you will get used to them, you just need to become acclimatized. In other words you are stuck with the "Company provided work wear". I encourage you to call or visit one of the above with your complaints. 

Every bulletin or piece of advice issued by the Chief Medical Officer of Hamilton, the Ministry of Labour, and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety and others advise that workers wear light coloured, light and loose fitting clothes in cases of extreme heat alerts or warnings. But they know better.

Below is an article by the CCOHS and the most recent heat warning from the city of Hamilton and a poster just released by the Ministry, they all speak to clothing.

Home OSH Answers Physical Agents Hot Environments - Control Measures  How can I measure occupational heat exposure? What are exposure limits for heat stress? What control measures can be used to reduce the effects of heat? Can we become acclimatized to hot environments? How can I prevent heat related illnesses? How do I calculate the WBGT Index ? How can I measure occupational heat exposure? Feeling of hot or cold depends on: air temperature relative humidity of air presence of hot or cold objects in the surrounding area presence of air movement (breeze, ventilation) physical exertion clothing Various methods of measuring occupational heat exposure combine these environmental factors to obtain a single number as a measure of overall heat load. The most commonly used measure in the workplace is the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index. Please Note: This OSH Answers document contains information relating to prevention from and control of heat related illnesses. Please see Working in Hot Environments - Health Effects for information about the effects on the body from working in hot environments. The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) The wet bulb globe temperature is calculated using a formula that takes into account air temperature, speed of air movement, radiant heat from hot objects, sunshine and body cooling due to sweat evaporation. Air temperature is measured using a conventional thermometer. The contribution due to radiant heat is measured using a black globe thermometer. A conventional thermometer is inserted through a rubber stopper into a hollow, six-inch diameter copper ball which is coated with a flat black paint. The thermometer bulb is positioned at the centre of the copper ball. The black globe thermometer normally requires at least 20 minutes to come to equilibrium reading. The cooling effect of evaporation and air movement is taken into account using a natural wet bulb thermometer. A natural wet bulb thermometer is a conventional thermometer with its bulb wrapped with an absorbent cotton wick. The wick extends 30 to 35 millimetres above the thermometer bulb, and the lower end of the wick is immersed in distilled water. About 25 mm of moistened wick is exposed between the water and the bulb of the thermometer. The moist wick continuously provides water for evaporation. As with the black globe thermometer, the natural wet bulb thermometer also requires at least 20 minutes to reach equilibrium. Two different methods are used to calculate WBGT in the workplace: one for workplaces with direct sunlight, and the other for workplaces without direct sunlight. When conditions of the workplace fluctuate widely, time-weighted WBGT is often used. The question below gives worked examples of WBGT calculations. WBGT direct reading meters, often called heat stress analyzers, are also available - these meters give direct WBGT reading and no calculations are necessary. What are exposure limits for heat stress? Exposure limits intended to minimize the risk of heat-related illnesses are set by provincial and territorial governments for most Canadian workplaces, and by Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) for workplaces under the federal jurisdiction. These agencies generally use the exposure guidelines recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). (see Table 1). Table 1 ACGIH Screening Criteria for Heat Stress Exposure (WBGT values in °C) for 8 hour work day five days per week with conventional breaks Allocation of Work in a Work/Rest Cycle Acclimatized Action Limit (Unacclimatized) Light Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Light Moderate Heavy Very Heavy 75-100% 31.0 28.0 -- -- 28.0 25.0 -- -- 50-75% 31.0 29.0 27.5 -- 28.5 26.0 24.0 -- 25-50% 32.0 30.0 29.0 28.0 29.5 27.0 25.5 24.5 0-25% 32.5 31.5 30.5 30.0 30.0 29.0 28.0 27.0 Notes: Assumes 8-hour workdays in a 5-day workweek with conventional breaks. TLVs assume that workers exposed to these conditions are adequately hydrated, are not taking medication, are wearing lightweight clothing, and are in generally good health. Examples of work loads: Rest - sitting (quietly or with moderate arm movements) Light work - sitting or standing to control machines; performing light hand or arm work (e.g. using a table saw); occasional walking; driving Moderate work - walking about with moderate lifting and pushing or pulling; walking at moderate pace; e.g. scrubbing in a standing position Heavy work - pick and shovel work, digging, carrying, pushing/pulling heavy loads; walking at fast pace; e.g. carpenter sawing by hand Very Heavy - very intense activity at fast to maximum pace; e.g. shovelling wet sand Adapted from: 2008 TLVs® and BEIs® - Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices. Cincinnati: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), 2008, p. 221. The ACGIH exposure limits are intended to protect most workers from heat-related illnesses. The limits are higher than they would have been if they had been developed to prevent discomfort. If you are wearing heavier clothing then the exposure limit should be lowered. ACGIH recommendations for such situations are suggested in Table 2. Table 2 Correction of TLV for Clothing (Values cannot be added when wearing multiple layers) Clothing Type WBGT Correction (°C) Work clothes (long sleeve shirt and pants) 0 Cloth (woven material) coveralls 0 SMS (Spunbonded - Meltdown - Spunbonded) polypropylene coveralls + 0.5 Polyolefin coveralls + 1 Double-layer woven clothing + 3 Limited-use vapour-barrier coveralls + 11 Note: These values are not to be used for completely encapsulating suits. Coveralls assume only modest clothing is underneath, not a second layer of clothing. For example, an acclimatized worker wearing double-layer woven clothing doing moderate work would have a corrected exposure level of: 30.0 + 3 = 33ºC, which would lower his or her allowable exposure to 0-25% work (from 25-50% work) Adopted from: 2008 TLVs® and BEIs®: Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices. Cincinnati, Ohio: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, 2008. p. 220 What control measures can be used to reduce the effects of heat? The risk of heat-related illnesses can be reduced by: engineering controls to provide a cooler workplace safe work practices to reduce worker exposure by training employees to recognize and prevent heat illnesses. Table 3 (below) provides a summary of these controls. Engineering Controls Engineering controls are the most effective means of reducing excessive heat exposure. The examples which follow illustrate some engineering approaches to reducing heat exposure. Reducing Metabolic Heat Production (heat produced by the body): Automation and mechanization of tasks minimize the need for heavy physical work and the resulting buildup of body heat. Reducing the Radiant Heat Emission from Hot Surfaces: Covering hot surfaces with sheets of low emissivity material such as aluminum or paint that reduces the amount of heat radiated from this hot surface into the workplace. Insulating Hot Surfaces: Insulation reduces the heat exchange between the source of heat and the work environment. Shielding: Shields stop radiated heat from reaching work stations. Two types of shields can be used. Stainless steel, aluminum or other bright metal surfaces reflect heat back towards the source. Absorbent shields, such as a water-cooled jackets made of black-surfaced aluminum, can effectively absorb and carry away heat. Ventilation and Air Conditioning: Ventilation, localized air conditioning, and cooled observation booths are commonly used to provide cool work stations. Cooled observation booths allow workers to cool down after brief periods of intense heat exposure while still allowing them to monitor equipment. Reducing the Humidity: Air conditioning, dehumidification, and elimination of open hot water baths, drains, and leaky steam valves help reduce humidity. Personal Protection Ordinary clothing provides some protection from heat radiated by surrounding hot surfaces. Specially designed heat-protective clothing is available for working in extremely hot conditions. In hot and humid workplaces, light clothing allows maximum skin exposure and efficient body cooling by sweat evaporation. Workers who move back and forth between very hot, dry indoor environments and cold winter outdoor environments find that long underwear moderates the extremes in temperatures. Eye protection which absorbs radiation is needed when the work involves very hot objects, such as molten metals and hot ovens. Work that requires the wearing of impermeable clothing presents an added heat burden as the clothing reduces the body's ability to dissipate heat. Under such circumstances, it is often necessary to reduce the exposure limit values of WBGT to levels below those appropriate for workers wearing light clothing. Table 3 Summary of Control Measures Method of Control Action Engineering controls Reduce body heat production Mechanize tasks. Stop exposure to radiated heat from hot objects Insulate hot surfaces. Use reflective shields, aprons, remote controls. Reduce convective heat gain Lower air temperature. Increase air speed if air temperature below 35°C. Increase ventilation. Provide cool observation booths. Increase sweat evaporation Reduce humidity. Use a fan to increase air speed (movement). Clothing Wear loose clothing that permits sweat evaporation but stops radiant heat. Use cooled protective clothing for extreme conditions. Administrative controls Acclimatization Allow sufficient acclimatization period before full workload. Duration of work Shorten exposure time and use frequent rest breaks. Rest area Provide cool (air-conditioned) rest-areas. Water Provide cool drinking water. Pace of Work If practical, allow workers to set their own pace of work. First aid and medical care Define emergency procedures. Assign one person trained in first aid to each work shift. Train workers in recognition of symptoms of heat exposure. Can we become acclimatized to hot environments? The body adapts to a new thermal environment by a process called acclimatization. Complete heat acclimatization generally takes six to seven days, but some individuals may need longer. Loss of acclimatization occurs gradually when a person is moved permanently away from a hot environment. However, a decrease in heat tolerance occurs even after a long weekend. As a result of reduced heat tolerance, it is often not advisable for anyone to work under very hot conditions on the first day of the week. New employees should acclimatize before assuming a full workload. It is advisable to assign about half of the normal workload to a new employee on the first day of work and gradually increased on subsequent days. Although well-trained, physically fit workers tolerate heat better than people in poor physical condition, fitness and training do not substitute for acclimatization. Some medications interfere with acclimatization. For example, hypotensives (drugs causing low blood pressure), diuretics, antispasmodics, sedatives, tranquilizers, antidepressants and amphetamines decrease the body's ability to cope with heat. Workers should seek a doctor's advice on the suitability of a medication for them if they work in hot environments. Consumption of alcohol also interferes with acclimatization. How can I prevent heat related illnesses? If practical, workers in hot environments should be encouraged to set their own work and rest schedules. Infrequent or irregular tasks such as emergency repairs of hot process equipment often result in heat exposure. Experienced workers can often judge heat strain and limit their exposure accordingly. Inexperienced workers may need special attention as they may continue to work beyond the point at which signs of heat strain appear. People are generally unable to notice their own heat stress related symptoms. Their survival depends on their coworker's ability to recognize these symptoms and seek timely first aid and medical help. Salt and Fluid Supplements: A person working in a very hot environment loses water and salt through sweat. This loss should be compensated by water and salt intake. Fluid intake should equal fluid loss. On average, about one litre of water each hour may be required to replace the fluid loss. Plenty of cool (10-15°C) drinking water should be available on the job site and workers should be encouraged to drink water every 15 to 20 minutes even if they do not feel thirsty. Alcoholic drinks should NEVER be taken as alcohol dehydrates the body. An acclimatized worker loses relatively little salt in their sweat and, therefore, the salt in the normal diet is usually sufficient to maintain the electrolyte balance in the body fluids. For unacclimatized workers who may sweat continuously and repeatedly, additional salt in the food may be used. Salt tablets are not recommended because the salt does not enter the body system as fast as water or other fluids. Too much salt can cause higher body temperatures, increased thirst and nausea. Workers on salt-restricted diets should discuss the need for supplementary salt with their doctor. Sport drinks, fruit juice, etc: Drinks specially designed to replace body fluids and electrolytes may be taken but for most people, they should be used in moderation. They may be of benefit for workers who have very physically active occupations but keep in mind they may add unnecessary sugar or salt to your diet. Fruit juice or sport and electrolyte drinks, diluted to half the strength with water, is an option. Drinks with alcohol or caffeine should never be taken, as they dehydrate the body. For most people, water is the most efficient fluid for re-hydration. Emergency Action Plan: In extreme environments, an emergency plan is needed. The plan should include procedures for providing affected workers with first aid and medical care. More information is available in our OSH Answers document Working in Extreme Hot or Cold Temperature Conditions. How do I calculate the WBGT Index? The wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is calculated by using the following equations. For outdoors with direct sun exposure: WBGT = 0.7 x Tempwet bulb + 0.2 x Tempglobe + 0.1 x Tempair For indoors or outdoors without direct sun exposure: WBGT = 0.7 x Tempwet bulb + 0.3 x Tempglobe where: Tempwet bulb natural wet bulb temperature measured by using a thermometer whose bulb is covered with wet cotton cloth and is cooled by the natural air movement Tempglobe temperature measured using a black globe thermometer Tempair temperature measured using a conventional thermometer All temperatures are to be expressed in °C. Example Workers employed in an outdoor workplace with direct exposure to the sun. Measurement of workplace conditions produced the following results. Tempwet bulb = 24°C Tempglobe = 42°C Tempair = 40°C WBGT = 0.7 x 24 + 0.2 x 42 + 0.1 x 40 = 29.2°C Time-Weighted Average (TWA) When thermal conditions of the workplace fluctuate widely, time-weighted average (TWA) WBGT is used to assess heat exposure. TWA WBGT= WBGT1 x t1 + WBGT2 x t2 + .... + WBGTn x tn t1 + t2 + .... + tn WBGT1,WBGT2, etc. the wet bulb globe temperatures measured or calculated t1, t2, etc. the elapsed time spent in the corresponding conditions described by WBGT1, WBGT2, etc., respectively. Example Measurement and/or calculation of WBGT during a two-hour job produced the following results. Exposure duration (hours) WBGT (°C) 0.5 1.0 0.5 25 27 28 These data would yield the following time-weighted average. TWA WBGT= 25 x 0.5 + 27 x 1.0 + 28 x 0.5 = 26.75°C 0.5 + 1.0 + 0.5 Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety www.ccohs.ca Important Notices and Disclaimers: http://www.ccohs.ca/ccohs/important.html Inquiries and Client Services inquiries@ccohs.ca             1-800-668-4284                   905-570-8094       Fax: 905-572-4500

Heat Warning Notification(Stage 2) for the City of Hamilton

HAMILTON, ON – July 17, 2011 - The Medical Officer of Health for the City of Hamilton has called a Heat Warning effective July 18, 2011.  The Warning will remain in place until cancelled. 

Hot and humid conditions may persist in Southern Ontario for several more days.  In the event that the humidex reading has exceeded 40 or greater for more than three days total, the MOH will issue a Heat Alert (Stage 3).

The City of Hamilton and participating community agencies are responding to the heat by offering “cool places” to go at all 3 stages.  They can be identified by a “Cool Down Here” sign at their entrances, along with a heat meter sign, which indicates which stage we are at.

Risk of heat-related illness can be reduced by following these recommendations:

• Drink plenty of water.  Avoid drinking alcoholic and caffeinated beverages on hot days.
• Go to an air-conditioned place.  Visit a cool place such as a mall, public recreation centres, public libraries, and other City run air-conditioned facilities, etc.
• Dress to protect from the heat.  Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light coloured clothing.  Wear a hat or take an umbrella to keep your head cool and don’t forget sunscreen.
• Take it easy.  Limit physical activities (walking, running, gardening, etc.) during the day.  If rescheduling activities to dawn or dusk when it may be cooler, protect yourself with insect repellent as mosquitoes are more active at such times.  Check labels to apply.
• Cool off.  Take a cool bath or shower.
• Keep your living space cool.  Close your blinds or curtains.  Open windows to let air circulate when using a fan.
• Never leave children or pets alone in closed vehicles.  Temperatures in a car can become life threatening within minutes.
• Check on your neighbours and family.

Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, weakness, cold, pale and clammy skin; weak pulse, fainting and vomiting.  If experiencing symptoms, seek help right away – call 911 if needed. 

For tips on coping with the heat and places to go to cool off, the public can contact 905-546-CITY (2489) Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or go to www.hamilton.ca/heat. For more information on how heat affects human health, see Health Canada’s website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/environ/heat-chaleur_e.html  

July 4, 2011

Some time ago we thought it would be a good idea to forward our members the weekly schedule and its revisions to make sure those who signed up were aware of any schedule changes. It worked well and we had  a good majority of the people here take advantage of that.

Unfortunately this will be stopped as of today.

The policy which has been in place for many years has been to inform employees when their shift was changed. The reason for a shift rotation and preferences was to allow people to make plans.

Not the case now it seems. People are put on a different rotation and they are not notified, they only find out when they receive the schedule from the Union.

We will not take responsibility or be blamed for some one showing up on the wrong shift. We will not do their jobs. 

If you have any questions or concerns about the schedule see a steward.

Otherwise express your concerns to management. 

June 28, 2011

 

As we head into the summer months here at Hamilton East we do so with trepidation. What we have been witnessing has truly been troubling to the Union and the Union Health and Safety Committee.

Since being taken over in 2005 there has been a sense of cooperation between the company and the union. We solved many problems by dealing with them jointly. We didn’t always agree but the union was always a part of the discussions.

We had seen production grow in every area of the mill all the while reducing manpower and we saw a dramatic decline in the number of accidents or “incidents” at our mill. So much so that the company celebrated many “milestones” with gifts and a held a swank dinner here in the parking lot under tent.

We were rated amongst the wire group as having the best safety record and the best employee relations. Two of the things which put us in the favour within the North American Long Carbons hierarchy, something to be very proud of.

They chose to close two mills where the employees earned less money, had less vacations, fewer benefits and less pension. They kept us alive because of the above.

Yet as we write this today we are at logger heads over the coverall issue, we have more grievances than we have had over the last four years, and the number of accidents or incidents and their severity are getting worse.

We are no longer the favoured child of the wire group and we are being watched closely from outside the mill. While we took five steps forward, we have now taken ten steps backward and this is the result.

The company has this past week held several communication meetings with the employees and it has been stated to those in attendance that the inspector from the Ministry of Labour was very impressed with their heat relief program and the safety items (sweat bands, headbands for hard hats, squencher etc.) available to their employees. He found nothing wrong with the coveralls.

Well he, like the management of this mill work in an air conditioned offices. He or they have no idea what its like to work in these things in the extreme heat for eight or twelve hours a day. They make us wear them at our peril. 

That the Health and Safety Act does not address the heat is ridiculous and we are trying to address this through our political and labour contacts. We encourage you to contact the MPP in your area to do the same.

This press release from the Ontario government can be found online with some good links for you to get further information. In fact there are phone numbers so you can call the ministers office directly. 

 

Staying Cool When the Heat is On

May 31, 2011 11:00 AM

McGuinty Government Urges Workplaces To Prevent Heat Stress

As the weather heats up, Ontario is encouraging workplaces to make every effort to prevent heat stress, which can lead to worker illness, disability and even death.

Working where it is hot puts stress on the body's cooling system. When heat is combined with other stresses such as hard physical work, fluid loss, fatigue or some medical conditions, it could lead to serious consequences for the worker.

Employers must take steps to protect their employees from the effects of this hazard. There are many things employers can do to protect workers from heat stress, including:

• Reducing the temperature and humidity through air cooling
• Providing air-conditioned rest areas
• Increasing the frequency and length of rest breaks
• Scheduling strenuous jobs for cooler times of the day
• Providing cool drinking water near workers

Heat stress can affect anyone, including the young and fit, and can be a concern in many workplaces. Symptoms of heat stress can include excessive sweating, headache, rashes, cramping, dizziness and fainting.

QUICK FACTS

• Workers most at risk for heat stress include those in hot environments - such as smelters, furnaces, bakeries - and those who work outside in the summer.
• Prolonged exposure to heat stress can lead to heat stroke, a life-threatening condition.
• The victims of heat stroke are often unable to notice the symptoms, and their survival may depend on co-workers' ability to identify symptoms and to seek immediate medical assistance.

LEARN MORE

• Heat Stress
• Read about how to identify and prevent heat stress
• Watch a Ministry of Labour video on how to protect yourself from heat stress
• PDF Version - 42 Kb

CONTACTS

• Matt Blajer
  Communications Branch
              416-326-7405      
  
• Greg Dennis
  Minister's Office
              416-326-7710     

We encourage you to take every precaution and to take advantage of the many cooling areas and safety items that the ministry seems so happy about that are provided to you by the company.

We also want to know if they are not available and if you are being chased back to work when taking a heat break. We need this information in case we feel it necessary to recall the ministry.

 

For the new guys here for the summer hoping to get a job at the end of their vacation relief period, use common sense. We learned last week that one of you was turning red and sweating profusely but you didn’t want to leave the machine. Don’t do this. If you need to cool off then cool off.

 

In saying this, this isn’t an opportunity to get out of work. Again we all have to use common sense.

 

Reporting of accidents

 

As noted earlier there has been an increase in the number of and the severity of accidents or incidents. A good number of them have happened in the Oil Temper area. This has put a particular focus on the area.

 

What is worrisome is the message being sent to the employees in that area. Each crew has been told that the incidents have to stop or the facility will close. Your committee was told pretty much the same thing at our meeting last week.

 

The problem with this type of message is that it does little or anything to address whatever problems which may be present in the job itself and incites a behaviour that ignores the reporting of injuries in fear of the ultimate penalty…the loss of jobs for everyone.

 

In a term the company uses so often, “This is unacceptable”.

 

You are required by law to report any injury; you owe it to yourself and to your family to report any injury. The consequences of not doing so could cost you a lot more than your job. This Local Union has spent thousands of dollars on WSIB appeals, we have watched as people lost their homes and their families because of the lack of money coming in. If you don’t report an injury how can we come back later to fight it when further complications arise?

 

We need to look at what is behind the increase in injuries. Have we asked the OT people what’s going on down there? Have we bothered one iota to ask for their input? Have we looked at which line receives most injuries? Or do we just blame the worker?

 

There was a time when the company would sit down with its workers to see what can be done to make the job better, what are the problems you are having etc. It seems that those days are gone.

 

But the job gets done. A credit to you, the people who are doing the work, not the people watching people do the work.

 

At the same time the job has to be done safely. You have the law on your side. If it cannot be done safely then refuse to do it.

 

We are begging and borrowing tools from one area to another, we are fighting over which tractor to use. We down crew jobs from one area to run another, we don’t have enough scanning guns, or weigh scales. When we ask a supervisor for these things we are told to go find them. Nice.

 

I will not stand by and let the workers here accept sole responsibility if this place closes for whatever reason.

 

It is sad that it has come to this point where the Local Union President has to put out a leaflet like this.

 

But when those in charge simply do something because they can, whether right or wrong, then things have really gone astray.

 

The Union remains hopeful that we can get back on track. The Union and its members realize the value of this mill to us and our families.

 

In 2010 Mr. Vancat asked that the Union be included in Monthly Operational Review Meetings and its Management Meetings to show that we are partners in this business. To date this has not happened. It also speaks volumes as to why we are where we are today.

 

 

 

 

 

Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.  ~Henry Ford

 

 

 

Have a great safe summer.

 

 

Darren

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 22, 2011

 What is in the cards for us and will we be ready to meet the challenges coming our way in the next year as both sides put pen to paper in preparation for the upcoming set of negotiations? Will we as a Union and a membership be ready to act when called upon? Will the same people who are making the bold comments now have the same fortitude when their jobs are on the line? 

I want to address the above questions with a few comments.

We have seen company after company become emboldened by success after success on the picket line and it really all started in the mid 90's. A 17 month long strike at Caterpillar Inc. set the stage for all strikes from then on. Companies were no longer afraid after this baby, after all their workers returned to work without a contract.

We have seen the destruction of the steel industry in the United States and Canada, where the majority of the companies left after a global reconciliation of the industry are owned by foreign entities where the head offices are located in Germany, Russia, India,China and Brazil.

There goes any argument regarding dumping. It's now a Global marketplace.

But it's also a race to the bottom. The problem is, we have provincial and federal governments who support the attack on workers; and that's not cheap political rhetoric. 

The federal government attacked the Auto Workers, they are attacking the Postal Workers, they allow foreign investment legislation stand that hurts entire communities. Yet they were elected to a majority.

So what are we in for during the next year?

We have seen it before, they crack down on absenteeism, production, they watch more carefully for proper shift relief and coffee breaks. Surprised? Don't be. This was a standard MO of the old Stelwire gang too.

Everything is put on the worker, never mind that we still lack proper working strapping guns and crimpers. Never mind that our tractors spend more time in the shop than on the floor. Never mind that our mechanics are servicing the mill instead of servicing the tractors.

What can we expect at negotiations? Ask me in person.  I will give you my opinion.

 

June 14, 2011

Further to the conversation regarding our work wear, I am happy to report that no one has suffered from spontanious combustion since the coveralls were issued.

                  

June 10, 2011

Ok we have had our chuckle over the calendar idea. That was a joke to show the silliness of this whole coverall situation.  

But joking aside it would appear that this coverall kick back is being perceived by management as being  staged by just a few people. 

I want to assure them it is not.

These coveralls are being rejected by the majority of the people working on the floor. They are too heavy, too thick and don't breath. No amount of additional anti-sweat gear takes away from this. 

I myself worked the tub dump on Wednesday, when I went home I was a vegetable for the rest of the night, I had to miss my daughters baseball game and was not very good company for my wife. I was exhausted.

Others who worked with me reported the same type of evening.

And while the pictures might seem funny, I have been in every break area in the mill and almost everyone had been in various states of undress to cool off. (That's not funny)

For people like myself who are on medication for high blood pressure and there are many of us, and for people who have recovered from a heart attack etc., the problem is made more difficult. It is already bad enough dealing with the heat but to add to the burden is not very smart because someone is going to go down.

Another complaint is that when going to the washroom and the coveralls sit on the floor collecting germs from who knows what and then we put them back on who knows what is on our skin.

To say that we will be able to deal with the issue at some point ignores the reality of the day and that is that this summer is going to be hotter and dryer than any in recent memory. Dealing with the problem in October is not going to help anyone.

I encourage management here to think seriously about what it is doing to its employees, this is not an issue where heels should be dug in. I am asking that the right thing be done, and quickly. 

Below is what is foretasted by Environment Canada for this summer:

Environment Canada has released its official summer forecast. Its senior climatologist, Dave Phillips, said this summer will be hotter than normal, and drier than normal throughout the June, July and August months.

Last year is a tough act to follow.  It was the third warmest summer since nationwide record-keeping started in 1948.

Environment Canada's three month outlook predicts most of the country will be warmer than usual and southern Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia will see the least amount of rain.

This summer could spawn more severe weather events, including tornadoes. But Phillips said it will not be as extreme as weather in U.S. Midwest. 

Steelworkers Mourn Loss of Two Miners Killed on the Job

9 JUNE 2011  |  MEDIA RELEASE

.

  

SUDBURY - United Steelworkers (USW) members in Sudbury and across North America are mourning the loss of two miners killed on the job Wednesday.

"On behalf of all our members, I extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends and co-workers of Jordan Fram and Jason Chenier, who were respected and loved by so many," said Rick Bertrand, President of USW Local 6500 in Sudbury.

"Their tragic loss is mourned throughout our community and beyond."

Fram, 26, and Chenier, 35, died when they were struck by a fall of muck at an ore pass 3,000 feet underground at Vale's Stobie Mine in Sudbury. Fram and Chenier had six and 11 years of experience, respectively, with the company.

Fram and Chenier have been described as tremendous co-workers and friends to many. Chenier was a caring husband and father of two young children. Fram was well-known in the community as a former junior hockey player and talented athlete.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has closed Stobie Mine while the fatal accident is being investigated. The Labour Ministry, along with the Steelworkers, Vale and local police, are involved in the investigation.

"The Steelworkers will be involved in this investigation every step of the way," Bertrand said. "Once the investigation is complete we will work hard for the workplace to be restored to safe condition before it starts up again."

"For our members and for our community, this tragedy is a painful reminder of the potential danger mine workers confront on the job every day," said USW District 6 Director Wayne Fraser.

"The United Steelworkers union has always been at the forefront of efforts to improve workplace health and safety," Fraser added. "We will work to ensure this investigation leads to greater safety not only in this workplace but for all workers in the mining industry."

- 30 -

Contacts:
Rick Bertrand, President, USW Local 6500,                   ;
Wayne Fraser, Director, USW District 6,             416-243-8792      ,             416-577-4045      .

 

 

June 9, 2011

This morning there was a work refusal concerning the wearing of the coveralls. The Ministry of Labour was called into the plant to investigate. He was also here as a result of an anonymous complaint regarding the heat. The parties involved agreed to treat the refusal as a complaint rather than an actual work refusal. 

At the end of it all we do have to wear the coveralls as it is company required work wear. The only outcome from this visit by the ministry is that the exhaust fans and air bags must be in good working order.

He obviously didn't visit the lunch room in the old #1 wire mill, where it stinks of dead air and he didn't visit the test room at #1 cleaning line either. Nor did he visit the dumping station where the operator has been trying to get a fan in place for almost a year I am told.

Despite all of this you are the best judge of what is happening to your body. When you feel the face getting flush and you are sweating profusely, get out of the mill immediately. Get to a cool place and rest, drink water and strip down if you have to. 

DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE TAKEN OVER BY HEAT STROKE!

We have contacted Paul Miller the NDP MPP for Hamilton East- Stoney Creek and the NDP Labour Critic Peter Kormos to have them speak directly with the Minister of Labour,  Charles Sousa regarding needed changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act regarding legislative requirements to establish safeguards for workers working in extreme heat.

Je vais aussi contacter d'autres Arcelormittal syndicats locaux pour savoir d'eux ce que la politique est à leur lieu de travail concernant les vêtements de travail. J'aidemandé à notre personnel de prendre contact avec leurs homologues et de faire une introduction pour moi.

Tres bien? Bon

June 8, 2011

Heat Advisory Notification(Stage 1) for the City of Hamilton   The Medical Officer of Health for the City of Hamilton has called a Heat Advisory effective for June 8, 2011. The advisory is effective for this date only.  In the event that the humidex reading is expected to be 40 or greater for more than one day, the MOH will issue a Heat Warning. The combination of temperature and humidity can impair the cooling effect of sweating, and increase the risk of heat-related illness. People who are elderly, or have chronic illnesses, mobility problems, or are taking certain medications, along with infants, pre-school children, and those exercising or working vigorously outdoors are at greatest risk. Risk of heat-related illness can be reduced by following these recommendations: Drink plenty of water.  Avoid drinking alcoholic and caffeinated beverages on hot days. Go to an air-conditioned place.  Visit a cool place such as a mall, public recreation centres, public libraries, and other City run air-conditioned facilities, etc. Dress to protect from the heat.  Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light coloured clothing.  Wear a hat or take an umbrella to keep your head cool and don’t forget sunscreen. Take it easy.  Limit physical activities (walking, running, gardening, etc.) during the day.  If rescheduling activities to dawn or dusk when it may be cooler, protect yourself with insect repellent as mosquitoes are more active at such times.  Check labels to apply. Cool off.  Take a cool bath or shower. Keep your living space cool.  Close your blinds or curtains.  Open windows to let air circulate when using a fan. Never leave children or pets alone in closed vehicles.  Temperatures in a car can become life threatening within minutes. Check on your neighbours and family. Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, weakness, cold, pale and clammy skin; weak pulse, fainting and vomiting.  If experiencing symptoms, seek help right away – call 911 if needed. For tips on coping with the heat and places where to cool off, the public can contact 905-546-CITY (2489) Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or go to www.hamilton.ca/heat. The above heat alert was issued by the City of Hamilton. One would think that a company which espouses to be concerned with your Health and Safety would take this type of advisory and the general weather conditions in their area into consideration when contemplating mandatory work wear. And most would. To do otherwise is irresponsible. But it appears that we work for a company that is quite happy to just impose what they want without any concern for  or dicussions with its employees or their representatives. After all if a company provides protective equipment the employee shall wear them. (from the Health and Safety Act) The Health and Safety Committee was never consulted other than to say we were getting coveralls, the Union Committee was never given a chance for input other than them showing me a pair of coveralls that were thought to be much lighter. I said in an earlier post that I thought we could get through this issue and come up with something else. It appears that is not the case. Cooperation is not a one way street and this Local Union is not interested in partaking in making life miserable for its members. Obviously those in charge who sit in air conditioned offices all day have no idea what its like to be in the hot house or being on top of a hot tractor or to string up a continuous frame or slugging on the OT lines. The disconnect is actually alarming and what they are doing is making people work faster so that they can get to a cool place that much sooner which leads to further accidents.  And we are only going to see more and more of these types of alerts listed above. Make your views known to management. They were the ones who insisted on including Section 1.01 into our Basic Agreement, which includes the following statement: 1.01          This collective agreement is also intended to promote harmonious and orderly relations between the Company, the Union and employees.

Video on how to treat Heat Exhaustion 

 

Global climate change demands many responses. Few now argue against their absolute necessity. As Ontarians experience one of the hottest summers on records though, the need for some responses seems more immediate than others. Workers certainly require increased protection to prevent occupational heat stress. The shock of a bakery worker’s death in summer 2001 drove home this reality.

Kim Douglas Warner, 44, died from heat stroke in Barrie, Ontario during a 12-hour day shift at a Weston Bakeries plant in temperatures estimated at 49º Celsius. Lack of water and rest breaks also contributed to the fatality. Warner’s core body temperature rose to a staggering 42.5ºC at time of death. Sadly, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) had been poised to negotiate their first collective agreement with the employer. Hot working conditions were a major issue during the organizing drive. Two and a half years later Weston Bakeries was fined $215,000 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Safety problems
Heat stress can also trigger safety problems, including incidents resulting from fogging of safety glasses, sweaty palms and dizziness. Mental alertness and physical competency also may suffer as the temperature goes up, with increased discomfort promoting anger, irritability and other negative emotions that can spark incidents.

Chronic health effects
Heat stress can also have long-term chronic health effects. Workers who have suffered heat stroke or exhaustion are often less able to tolerate heat, sometimes for the rest of their lives. After labouring for long periods in a hot environment, some workers will experience chronic heat exhaustion, while others may suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure), heart muscle damage, reduced libido, or sexual impotence.

What more can be done?

Like many other dangers, indoor heat stress hazards at least can be controlled at the source; along the path; and at the worker. Controls made at the source of the hazard are the best way to reduce or eliminate heat stressors. Better building design and air cooling systems using renewable energy sources reduce worker risk and hot weather-promoting green house gas emissions. Mechanizing or automating some work procedures and installing better insulation for equipment like stoves and furnaces, are two more ways to curb heat stress.

Exhausting hot air and steam produced by operations, and installing fans will help address heat issues along the path. However, fans have little benefit when relative humidity levels rise above 70 per cent, as very little evaporation occurs. Further, if air and skin temperatures are the same (36ºC) or higher, moving air may actually heat up the body, especially if humidity is high.

When it comes to most hazards, controls applied at the worker are the least desirable. When it comes to heat stress though, particularly for outdoor workers, controls applied at the worker are often the only option. These controls include:

• Loose-fitting, light clothing in less extreme heat, water-cooled jackets and air-cooled space suits for extreme heat, and reflective clothing in high radiant heat situations;
• Administrative controls that seek to schedule heavy work during the coolest time of day, assign extra workers to heavy tasks, slow the pace of work or postpone nonessential work altogether;
• Avoidance wherever possible of work in direct sunlight;
• Frequent breaks in cool locations; and
• Provision of cool drinking water (slightly salted water in extreme heat) in reach of workers.

In the case of firefighters, a recent Workplace Safety and Insurance Board-funded study also found forearm submersion in water 18ºC or cooler to be an effective intervention during rest periods.

All interventions of course should be in the context of a proper heat stress monitoring and control policy and procedure developed by the joint health and safety committee, ideally in advance of a heat wave. Worker training, including training on the signs and symptoms of heat stress and a buddy system to help identify them is also ssential.

In the absence of proper heat stress controls and lack of response to expressed concerns, as a last resort workers should exercise their right to refuse unsafe work under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This isn’t just good advice — it may literally save lives.

June 3, 2011   

We have finally had a nice week weather wise and with that it has become evident that the new coveralls are a wee bit to heavy and a wee bit too warm for our mill. I have had conversations this week to try and convince our management team to look for another alternative to the coveralls. I have said before that we have pushed for work clothes for any number of jobs here and after working on the tub dump I am appreciative of the fact that I didn't have to bring home my work clothes to be washed as they were covered in rust, lime and phos. I believe we can get around this and I will keep trying to keep the issue at the forefront because this is supposed to be the hottest and driest summer in recent memory.  

Number 2 line of the Oil Temper is down next week due to a pan change as the one in there is on borrowed time, we asked the company to take out the VR and give him some time in bundling because senior people were tt'd out of the description. They agreed to do this and a senior person is back in. There could be other occasions where this may happen this summer and we will deal with them as necessary. They have ordered a spare pan for three line now so we arr ready to go if need be.

We have seen an increase in the number of accidents at our mill in recent months and while the company wants to get every piece of production out that they can, if it cannot be done safely then it shouldn't be done. I really want you guys to do the right thing for the company as our jobs depend on it but for crying out loud if something is not right then shut the damn job down until its fixed. The people who own us look at all aspects of the business and if they are to believed then Safety has to be the first priority. I will hold them to it as will your Health and Safety Committee but you need to do your part.

As I said earlier I worked on the tub dump at number one cleaning line and operated the crane. It gave me a chance to observe some problems there and I have asked for repairs on several things including some chain repairs and  trays for the acid tubs, it's ridiculous to go down into that tub and try to tie up all the bands and wire. The same for the high pressure rinse tank, a mesh netting with hooks that can be attached needs to be placed inside that tub so that no one goes inside that tank. 

It would appear that some of us have forgotten where we came from since prior to 2005 when we were under bankruptcy protection, when I, as part of the negotiating committee at the time had shook hands and said good bye to Mittal, prepared to come back and negotiate a severance and closure agreement with Stelco. 

Where would we be all working now I wonder often. How would our retirees be getting along?

In 2005 we agreed and you agreed to some work rule changes that were needed to keep this mill open. Most received a wage increase for this. I think the only ones who didn't were the top paid in a particular description. 

Now that we are busy again a number of people want us to go back. They forget the fights we used to have with Stelwire management, a lot of the same fights we have now. They forget the ignorance of some of the previous supervisors particularly in the nail mill. They forget that we used to have over 300 hundred grievances per contract term and that three quarters of them were dropped by the union as they had no merit. 

Let me assure you there is no going back. Can we improve things? Always. Are we willing to? Absolutely. Does it take time? Yep. 

How do we do it? By having discussions. By being able to listen to the other side. The alternative is entrenching ourselves in a position so deep we can't save face by backing down.

We have one year before negotiations start and whether I am President or you choose someone else you are going to have to decide. 

I would like to point out a few things we have done in the last five years as a union to allay any fears that we are too "soft" and your dues go for nothing.

• on a bump or an increase anyone can move to a preferred assignment based on seniority.
• we changed the bereavement language  to increase the number of days a person is allowed.
• for the first time in our history we have agreed to language that allows someone who gets hurt at home to come back to work on graduated hours.
• for the first time in our history we have coverage for physio therapy and chiropractor. 
• we have negotiated three months of benefits after lay off from one month.
• we negotiated an increase for our lifetime benefits and life insurance for both retirees and employees.
• we have negotiated an iron clad agreement on preferential hiring at Dofasco, where some of our members were hired during lay-off and got to see what its like to work somewhere else (they couldn't wait to get back here).
• we have worked with the company to get compassionate leave 
• we have worked with the company to reduce layoffs by allowing people to use their pre-retirement leave, way more than Stelwire ever let go.
• we have had two people paid for improper recall
• we have had one person reinstated
• we have suspensions withdrawn and money paid back for suspensions
• we went to mediation and got exactly what the person was asking for
• in recognition of the members who have family who are in Afghanistan we negotiated a flag protocal to recognize those Canadian soldiers who were killed in action
• we negotiated pension time for active service in the military
• etc., etc., etc.

Most importantly we have done what is needed to keep this plant open when they have gone after so many others. We continue to negotiate day in and day out on your behalf and we will continue to do so. But we need your support as always.

May 20, 2011

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Bob Francey's wife. Bob and his family have been through a lot over the last year and the next several months are not going to be easy for him. I'm sure you all will join me in supporting Bob in any way we can.

Details of the service and visitation can be found by clicking below:

JudyFrancey

May 17, 2011

In the last number of weeks we have seen some very interesting organizational changes in the wire group and inparticular at our mill and with that will come what I would hope are positive changes here at Hamilton East.

With the change at the top of our chain we have already seen some things put into motion that we will be able to visibly see and while they are cosmetic in nature they mark a new start. Both the Oil Temper and Bundling lunch rooms will be painted and will receive new furniture. The north washroom will be completely be redone with the addition of a woman`s washroom as well.

Since taking over he has ordered 1200 carriers, we have recieved the rod we need for our important lines, and strapping guns will not be the issue we have had for so so long.

The change in Production Planning is seen as a postive move as well but I would caution that there have been many people in that seat upstairs and all have promised better things. The person taking over does bring a different skill set to the chair however and it is hoped that with his customer knowledge he can indeed do whats right for both the mill and the customer.

And we finally have a full time purchasing person who can concentrate on getting chemicals, strapping, rod, and whatever else this mill needs to run. This has been sorely missed.

 

 

 

 

May 5, 2011

We have finally begun vacation picks and we can see there are some problems in regards to the 12 hour schedule and the availability of prime time weeks, we are working with the company to resolve these issues. There is some question as to the furnace shut down...at this time it is planned to have both furnaces idled during the scheduled shutdowns so that the whole rotation is booked off.

The first of our vacation relief employees (12) began their orientation yesterday (May 4th) and we have a varied mix when it comes to age and manufacturing experience. We have what appear to be 20 year olds up to someone around 50 years of age. We wish them a successful stay here and hope they all get a chance at full time employment in the fall. Another group will be coming in next Wednesday.

We all want these fellows to be safe and we all have a job to do in helping them to stay that way. Proper training with no short cuts thrown in is the only way to go. We are counting on your help with this.

With all the people coming in it will allow us to not only take vacations but we are hoping it will allow for some training opportunities for our full time employees so that we can be prepared for any possible retirements prior to the next contract.

On May 2nd we held the first of two steward seminars for 5 of our shop stewards. This was to give them the tools they need to serve you in the mill and I want you to use them. I want these fellows to gain the experience in dealing with the management team here so that when there is a transition or us older guys leave we will have people capable of taking over. I am asking for your help. If you come to me with a problem I will be sending you to see a steward to help you, if the steward is unable to help then the Union will indeed take up your cause but as I said not before you see a shop steward. The 5 stewards that attended the school all have been given helmet safe stickers identifying them as a steward.

Below is my speech from the Health and Safety day at work. I did get an opportunity to visit Dofasco the day before to see what they do for their Health and Safety day and I was quite impressed with the array of booths and interactive displays, something we could use to enhance our day here.

"I would like to point out that today is not only the ArcelorMittal Health and Safety Day, it is also the National Day of Mourning, where we commemorate workers whose lives have been lost or injured in the workplace.

The numbers are staggering. In 2009, 939* workplace deaths were recorded in Canada - down from 1036 the previous year. But this still represents more than 2.57 deaths every single day.

In the seventeen year period from 1993 to 2009, 15,129* people lost their lives due to work-related causes (an average of 889 deaths per year).

The National Day of Mourning, held annually on April 28, was officially recognized by the federal government in 1991, eight years after the day of remembrance was launched by the Canadian Labour Congress.

The Day of Mourning has since spread to about 80 countries around the world and has been adopted by the AFL-CIO and the International Confederation of Free Trade. ArcelorMittal globally has also recognized this as their Health and Safety day.

The Canadian flag on Parliament Hill will fly at half-mast. Workers will light candles, don ribbons and black armbands and observe moments of silence. Businesses are asked to participate by declaring April 28 a Day of Mourning and to strive to prevent workplace deaths, illnesses and injuries.

Here at Hamilton East we have negotiated specific language to commemorate this day. It includes the lowering of the flag, a moments silence and any other form of recognition as mutually agreed to by the Health and Safety Co-chairs.

Our local union has trained two instructors to go into high schools to talk about health and safety to students starting their first jobs and to the co-op students going into a job placement. Brian Howe and Terry Willock do a great job and the reports back from the schools have been great.

We have seen many changes over the last number of years in all areas of our mill, and while I will not apologize for helping to keep this mill open to protect our jobs and our retiree’s pensions while so many others are closing around us including Stefil, our former sister plant in Quebec and Walker Wire in Ferndale, I will say I am impressed with the work our Health and Safety Committee has been doing.

And while we still have room for improvement, we are getting to where we need to be and we will get there. But they need your help as well…and its as simple as this…if a job is unsafe ….don’t do it…you have the right to refuse unsafe work and I will say this in front of senior management… no one is going to retaliate. And be your brother’s keeper. What someone is doing unsafely could affect you and your family. They may not even think they are doing anything wrong, so feel free to point it out to them, and don’t get upset if it is pointed out to you.

I have watched many of your children grow up over the years, I have met your grandchildren and I know your spouses from the many events we have held over my last 25 years of being involved. Let me assure you, they love you and need you…and they have entrusted us all to get you home safely each and every day.

It is my hope that the annual observance of the Day of Mourning and the ArcelorMittal Health and Safety Day will strengthen the resolve to establish safe conditions in our workplace for all. It is as much a day to remember the injured and the dead as it is a call to protect the living."