Author: Admin

Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at 11:00 am at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, 100 Argyle St., Regina

Interment in Riverside Memorial Park

Mike Day has be re-elected as President for his second term.

Rob Desnomie has been elected as Recording Secretary

Thanks for voting.

The United Steelworkers Southern Saskatchewan Benefit Society is have a general meeting on Tuesday April 24 at 7:30 PM
The meeting will be held at the Union Office at #26 395 Park Street.
The agenda is as follows:
Update on Society Business
Financial Report
Report from Auditor
Nominations for President, Vice President, Treasurer and 5 directors
General Q&A

THE MEETING IS OPEN TO “ACTIVE” USW BENEFIT SOCIETY MEMBERS ONLY.

DATE: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2017

TIME: 12:00 NOON – 5:00 PM

LOCATION: Italian Club, 2148 Connaught St., Regina

FACE PAINTING (1:00-4:00 pm), DINO BOUNCER, SANTA, INFORMATION BOOTHS, FOOD FOR ALL (HOTDOGS, HALAL, VEGETARIAN & FILIPINO), TREATS AND DRINKS.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CALL THE UNION OFFICE AT (306) 569-9663.

COLA
The CPI figure for October was released on November 17, 2017. As per the Collective Agreement the following calculation will apply.
October 2017 135.4
July 2017 133.9
Difference (1.50)
(Divide difference by .063) = ($0.23)
Effective with the first pay period after the release, COLA will be $0.41 per straight time hour worked as it was previously $0.18.

The results of the ratification vote is 68% in favour.

The Union is in great need of 13 people to man the ballot stations on Wednesday Sept 13. Anyone wishing to volunteer please call Tory at 3065353812

Locals 5890 and 6673 have reached a tentative agreement with Evraz. The bargaining committee would like to thank all its members for their support and patience over the past 16 months. The Bargaining Committee fully supports this contract. Please attend your regularly scheduled shifts. The strike has been averted.

There will be a ratification meeting next Wednesday Sept. 13 at the Italian Club .  Meeting times will be at 3:00 and 7:30.

It was with heavy hearts we bid our brother Kris Kups farewell today, as a celebration of his life was held at the Turvey center at 2pm. We would like to thank all brothers and Sisters who provided a donation for Kris’s son Lundyn. It is because of you we were able to present the Kups family with a gift of $1180 at the celebration. There is still a card available to sign if anyone would like to make a donation but hasn’t had the chance to. Those brothers and Sisters can contact the steel side Chem or Physical labs. Thanks once again.

The Union has served strike notice to the Company for 6:00 AM Friday September 8. The last shift worked for 5890 members will be the Thursday night shift September 7.

We are saddened by the passing of our brother Kris Kups. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family right now. Donations will be graciously collected for his son Lundyn by Scott Trenaman, physical lab or chem lab. Our hopes is the company will match our donations.

RIP Brother

After 3 days the mediation process of negotiations with Evraz has broken down.
Mediation started off this week with the Union wanting the concessions to be removed from Evraz’s monetary package.
Not once throughout the 3 days of bargaining did the Union sit down face to face with Evraz.
On the 2^nd day of this process the Union even invited the Employer back to the bargaining table and Evraz declined.
All of the discussions held between the Union and Evraz went through the Mediator.  The Mediator would meet with one side than relay that message to the other side.
It took 2 trips from the Mediator into Evraz’s room to convey the message that their concessions need to be removed from their monetary package.
Evraz sent a monetary package back down with 1 concession remaining, transition wages for new employees, and 1 new concession tied to all members… A hybrid pension plan.
Evraz has decided to offer no real money and has taken the step to attack all of our pension plans by adding very little money to future pension years and nothing to pension years all ready accumulated.
Evraz’s monetary package contained next to nothing in real $$$.
Evraz has decided to play with each and every one of our lives, both now and in retirement.

Through the mediator we received a wage proposal.
Wage Increases;
2016 0%
2017 0%
2018 1%
2019 1%
Because of all of this, we said “NO” and this is what the Union walked away from!

Under the Labour Relations Code of the Province there is a 14 day cooling off period that follows Mediation, the fourteen days start, the first day following the date on the letter from the Mediator excusing himself from the bargaining process, we hope to have that letter on Aug. 11^th 2017.

Today the bargaining committee met with  Evraz and delivered the message that our members won’t accept concessions. Both parties agreed to meet tomorrow.

​The Union has filed a grievance under Article 18.04 Copies of Agreement

The Company and the Union desire every employee to be familiar with the provisions of this Agreement and his rights and duties under it. For this reason, the Company will have the Agreement printed in booklet form and Management will give a copy to each employee.

​A Bargaining Update will be given at the monthly membership meeting on Nov. 21st.

Changes have been made to the lines of progression in the Steel Division.  For the EAF, LMF and the new position, Degasser.

We also have an update on the status of the current CBA.
Please come out to our monthly meeting and be the 1st to know what has transpired from last week’s, 4 days of meetings with Evraz.
Come out and ask any questions that you may have, to the bargaining committee.

Recently as you may know the the Union filed a complaint to the Saskatchewan Labour Board regarding Evraz engaging in unfair labour practices. Before a hearing with the  Labour Board an agreement was reached with Evraz. It is as the following:

GRIEVANCE PROTOCOL

In the interest of encouraging constructive grievance handling and resolution, the parties agree as follows:

1. If an employee wishes to discuss an active grievance with a supervisor, the supervisor will ensure that a shop steward or member of the union executive is present for the discussion and, regardless of who initiates such a discussion, the discussion will not occur without the presence of the shop steward or member of the union executive.
2. If it appears that the terms of paragraph 1 are not being followed, the Local President will inform the Senior Human Resource Manager or Senior Divisional Operations Manager for attention.
3. The parties affirm the importance of the grievance process and remain committed to ensuring its integrity.
4. Nothing in this protocol is intended to affect or restrain regular operational communications on the shop floor, nor alter the terms of the collective agreement related to grievances and arbitration.

DATED October 6, 2016.

CUPW is one of the largest unions in the country and as such might as well have a bullseye painted on it’s head. If we allow our own government corporation to shut down this union and take away their pensions and continue to pay women 30% less than male workers it will be the death knoll of the labour movement in Canada. Every neoliberal of course salivates at the thought of our perfectly good crown corporations being defunded to the point of nonfunctioning and then sold off to the lowest oligarch bidder. Crown corporations were created to fulfill a need OTHER THAN seeking profit. This dominant culture of the individual has divided us into winners and losers, and even the losers are brainwashed into thinking they are winners by embracing greed and entitled superiority as their own, even when they are slowly but surely enslaved and economically compromised by the very politicians and elites that they support and vote for. Continue reading CUPW’s struggle is our struggle