STRIKE!!!

[Captain Kilowatt]

Nope not the lightning kind but rather the labour kind. Yup it looks like we are heading into a strike at work in the next week or so. Over the last month or two we rejected two contract proposals by 84% and 97%. A strike vote was confirmed with 92% in favour. Yesterday we voted on our third company proposal and rejected it by over 80%.I just got home from an emergency meeting this morning concerning the vote yesterday. The biggest issues are the company's decision to convert from a defined benefit pension to a defined contribution plan. The difference would mean possibly greatly reduced earnings upon retirement. The second big issue is wages. The proposed increase would be eaten up by increased pension contributions as well as increased medical premiums and some other stuff meaning we will be taking home even less money this time each year over a six year contract than we are now and that is even BEFORE factoring in inflation. We would be taking one step forward and two steps backwards each year. Nobody really wants a strike but the time has come to stand together and get a decent contract. The company is barely able to meet demand for a few of the products we make and is literally "hot shipping" some stuff meaning it is literally coming off the plant floor and going straight to waiting trucks bypassing the warehouse altogether. We just got nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in new tooling for a new product that is just waiting to be installed. This is just part of a $16 MILLION expansion planned for this summer/fall. Some of that is government money and the NDP government hates to loan/grant money to a company and then see a labour dispute hold things up. Rumour has it the company is royaly pissed and somewhat concerned over loosing BIG customers like Tim Hortons, Loblaws, Costco, Walmart, and Burnbrae Farms (egg producers) which may turn the tide in our favour. The company has not had a strike since the late 1960's and have become used to the union getting scared and caving in but this time it looks like it could be the other way around. I hope so. I have vacation planned for the middle of July and I would rather get paid regular wages to go camping then to be paid very little for walking a picket line however if it needs to be done then so shall it be. It could be interesting when I go to work tonight.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

The company also has a plant in Rexdale Ontario and another in Langley British Columbia. The Langley plant goes into negations July 15 so they could have two plants shut down. Here's hoping things go well for us in the mean time.

 

[Moleculo]

Your company still has a pension plan? Most companies in the U.S. ditched those years ago. That means our retirement plan is basically to work until we drop . And medical insurance costs go up every year - both for the companies and the employees.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

In our case we were asked to fork out an ADDITIONAL $128 a month over and above what we pay now for just medical premiums and have a cap of $70K per year for medications. That may sound like a lot but cancer drugs or heart related issues can easily top that...yes even here. Some "orphan drugs" can top half a million dollars for certain types of cancer treatments even with our "free" health care. Funny how everybody except us thinks we have free health care here. We were also asked to double our pension contributions to a plan that may not even exist in 15 years under their proposal. IOW contribute now and be SOL later. Even before all that the proposed wage increase is still below the rate of inflation.

One of the big beefs is that for many years the company contributed NOTHING to the pension fund as it was in good shape. Now with the decline in the markets they expect US to make up for that lack of funds that THEY created. They also borrowed several million dollars from it and were to pay it back in five years. We were generous enough to extend that to ten years and now they still want us to contribute even more to it as well as wrap up the existing defined benefit plan and switch to a defined contribution plan. It would be different if the company was not making money however it is. There was not one mention of a possible closure if we did not accept their offer nor anything even remotely related. Six years ago they put in over $5 million dollars of new machines and are now looking at almost another $16 million in new equipment, not replacements but additional gear to meet current market demands. In short, our plant can't hardly make enough to supply current orders. Sales are twice what was projected for some items, the higher end items at that. The "white elephant" company across the street just closed at the end of 2012 which took a huge financial burden of them as well.The company is making BIG profits and we have been held back long enough.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

The "final" company offer was rejected Monday evening.Tuesday morning the company president arrived from Toronto completely bewildered as too why it was rejected and mad as hell about it.Even local management was stunned it was rejected. I guess they really are stupid when it comes to seeing reality. The real problem is that the union has rolled over too easily in the past and they expected it this time.Too many people remember what the chief negotiator for the company told us last time we were in negotiations five years ago. He actually said "You guys were fools. You signed too soon. There was more money on the table but you guys didn't push hard enough". Can you imagine saying that knowing that sometime down the road there would be another contract to be negotiated? Well it came back to bite them in the ass this time. Wednesday at noon we filed a 48 hour strike notice which further astounded the company. There hasn't been a strike since 1967 and with sales being the way they are and nearly 17 million dollars worth of new equipment waiting to be installed they did not want one now. Oddly enough by Thursday morning the company tabled another offer that almost matched what we wanted but not quite however they threw in something related to our pension plan that was not even asked for and that was to not wind down the existing plan for the next 25 years nor bring it up in further negotiations for 25 years. The union executive is recommending acceptance and from the response at a meeting this morning I feel sure it will be by a large percentage. WHEW! It looks like no strike and business as usual from now on. Although we were willing to do what we had to do it does feel good to not have to do it. Now maybe I can actually plan some vacation time for the summer.

 

[BJ radionut]

BRAVO
Solidarity wins out!

All the Best
Gary

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Thanks Gary. It would be different if business was not good but it is doing quite well. We were not asking for anything more than we thought we deserved with all things taken into consideration and were actually hoping we would go out for a while and let management try and run a few machines themselves. Maybe then they would see what it really takes to to run them day after day for 12 hours each day. Lots of condescending remarks were made over the last couple weeks directed at the employees from management so our attitude became a "let's get some respect as well as some money and a few concessions as well". I think the company may have actually showed a bit of respect by NOT wanting to run the machines because they KNOW what it takes despite making comments that they were fully prepared to and that everyone of us was replaceable at any time. Apparently they forget that accountants are a dime a dozen and 2+2 always equals 4 whereas skilled machine operators of proprietary equipment takes training to run and years of experience to run it well. The fact that we were still setting production records while in negotiations and even set a record AFTER the strike vote was taken shows that the union members can indeed be more professional than the fear mongering managers.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Well the latest proposal was accepted by a vote conducted today and the threat of strike has been eliminated. Somewhat relieved as it now means things carry on as usual and there are no more uncertainties. Lot's of things were revealed today when I had a chat with the union executive. The pressure was REALLY on the company from within as well apparently. Several of the girls in the office were reduced to tears about the prospect of loosing their jobs if we went on strike.Seeing all the millwrights leave the plant with all their tools loaded in their trucks really stirred up the fear that something was indeed going to happen soon. Several management members were fear mongering with comments like "Strike if you want but there won't be any plant left to return too" or "Everyone here less than 10 years will be out the door" etc. It backfired on them. Their own support staff in the office began fearing for their own jobs. One section manager was called to the plant manager's office and was admonished for some things he said and it was "suggested" he take a weeks vacation during this critical negotiation time where saying the wrong thing at the wrong time could be disastrous for either side. In the end the company expressed their thanks to the union members for conducting themselves in a professional manner and for even setting a production record on the same day the 48 hour strike notice was given. That showed that even though we were serious about going out we could still perform in a proper and professional manner. Looking forward to scheduling some vacation time off this summer and getting a little back pay to boot.

 

[BJ radionut]

Glad it's over for you and the men CK!...
Strikes are never something that is wanted, but there are times when there is no other course of action.
I have a somewhat different perspective having been on BOTH sides of that table. I prefer being on the side with the manpower and have been since I was sworn in 1980.
I have been on the last 4 or 5 negotiating committees, and sometimes it is never pleasant. I have seen management "PARADE" strike breakers around the building. I have also seen 6 weeks "on the line" in solidarity for another craft. I as well have recommended the Strike vote on two occasions. We always managed to settle hours before the walkout.
Those times are never good for either side.
The last two contracts the board of directors ousted the "bean counters" and the Lawyers out of the room and did not let them return. Smart move!
That's when we can finally get down to the "brass tacks".
I was hoping to be able to retire before the contract runs out in two years, however getting out at 62, does not seem to be "in the cards" right now.
The prospect of going from $400 a month for full coverage insurance to $1500 seems a little of a stretch, even with two pensions and a nice annuity. We'll see...
Enjoy your time off....
All the Best
Gary