Kronos Swipe Card Grievance Update

Member’s at the meeting on Nov 19th through a motion from the floor voted in favor of sending four group grievances in regard to Kronos to arbitration. These have now been filed with the Company and we await their response.

Be proud of your Local and stand together Brother’s & Sister’s! Know that your executive has heard you loud & clear as a membership. We agree and in support of that have responed. Keep in mind that this is something that will not be solved quickly. It will take time and our reslove will be strong, yours should be too.

Solidarity Forever!

Benefit Cards

Due to recent events it has come to light that Brothers & Sisters should check and make sure the correct person is listed as a beneficiary for both the Union death benefit and the bargained life insurance with Evraz.

By law Insurance Companies and or anyone who provides a benefit with a stated beneficiary must pay monies out even if they haven’t had a relationship with the deceased in a long time.

Please make sure the person you want as your beneficiary is updated by checking your benefit cards should the unthinkable happpen to you.

The Sask Party Is Coming After You & Your Union

Members of the United Steelworkers do real work. The type of work that builds communities and creates wealth for all of Saskatchewan. When people like you work hard each and every day, it’s only right that they be treated with respect and fairness. Together, workers have fought for and won rights at their workplace. But the Sask Party wants to change all that making…

Continue reading The Sask Party Is Coming After You & Your Union

Relevant Articles for 3 day layoff regarding breakdown in Meltshop

Article 12.13
(a) Lay-off Because of Breakdown
When a breakdown of equipment or a lack of material or work occurs and an employee is sent home as a result thereof, such employee may be sent home without regard to seniority, provided that such total time lost by any such employee shall not exceed three (3) working days in any one calendar month. If an employee(s) is required to work, the most senior qualified person(s) on that particular crew will remain.

Continue reading Relevant Articles for 3 day layoff regarding breakdown in Meltshop

Chubb Card Update

As everyone should already know Evraz has stated they intend to implement a time clock system or “Chubb card” system starting on October 21. There have been many questions from many members regarding this new system and how it is going to address issues such as shift start-end times, changing clothes, clean up time and overtime. There is a meeting scheduled on October 11 involving  both Pipe and Steel Seniority, Shift and Overtime Committee’s and Evraz. Evraz representatives have stated they intend to address all of this issues with reliable answers.

There will be an update on this subject on October 12 or October 11. Please check back here.

A quote from Leo Gerard

“We are as reasonable as anybody when employers want to approach us reasonably and want to talk about how to benefit our members, but let me tell you this. Any Company that has it’s heart set on killing our Union or hurting our members, any Company like that needs to know, that this Union and it’s members will fight in solidarity till our very last breath if that’s what it takes. We will last one day longer.” –

 Leo Gerard, USW International President

Benefit Society Update

There was a general meeting held on September 20 open to all Benefit Society members in locals 5890, 5917 and 6717 to report on recent events and to elect new officers to adminster the fund.

The following brothers were elected:

President- Vasco D’Ameida

Vice-President- John Forster

Treasurer- Tory Sand

Steelworkers Not Affilated with America Income Life

It has come to the Local’s attention that some of our members have been receiving phone calls from a company called American Income Life. The person calling claims to be representing the United Steelworkers out of BC and is offering extra life insurance to our members for a fee. The USW does NOT endorse this company in any way. The Union is unsure how they have obtained a list of members names and phone numbers. We want to assure our membership that the Union does not sell or distribute in any way, or at any time, lists or partial lists with the personal information of our members. The USW takes the privacy of our members very serious and holds this information in the strictest confidentiality.

In Solidarity!

USW District 3 & 5890 Executive

The ‘new’ Saskatchewan: Oklahoma North?

Of the litany of proposed changes contained in the Saskatchewangovernment’s Consultation Paper on the Renewal of Labour Legislation in Saskatchewan,the most pernicious is the suggestion that employees be allowed to opt out of paying union dues, yet still receive the full benefits of union membership. This idea is dangerously reminiscent ofU.S. right-to-work (RTW) laws that already pervade the American south and have recently been proposed in northern states likeWisconsin andIndiana.

If this is the direction the current government wants to move, then it is incumbent that the people of Saskatchewan recognize what the adoption of RTW laws entail, because it will not only affect union members, it will affect all workers in our province, unionized or not.

Continue reading The ‘new’ Saskatchewan: Oklahoma North?

Drug and Alcohol Reasonable Suspicion Workshop

Locals 5890 and 6673 (Calgary) attended a workshop in Regina on September 17 to educate stewards in the process of assessing and  determining impairment. This workshop has provided stewards the knowledge to properly and effectively recognize a worker that may be under the suspected use of drugs or alcohol in the workplace.  It is important for our Union stewards and OHS members to be proficient in assessing workers for impairment. The local believes that in the past Evraz has overstepped it rights to test members for drugs and alcohol. The purposes of the training is to keep our workplace safe from drugs and alcohol and to protect our members from unwarranted and unreasonable submissions to testing.

Membership & Benefit Society Meetings

A Local 5890 monthly Membership meeting will be held on Sept 17th at the Regina Union Center, 2709 12th Ave. at 7:30pm sharp. Agenda will be the presenting of financial reports. The swearing in of new members. Reports from committees, schools and conferences. Unfinished business and new business that arises.

A Benefit Society meeting will be held on Sept 20th at the Italian Club, 2148 Connaught St. at 7pm. Agenda will be the nomination of new Executive positions to the Society. Explaination of new By-Laws. Q & A. * (Only Benefit Society Members will be allowed at this meeting)*. Meaning if dues for the Society are deducted from your check then you are a member.

Please make every effort to make it to one of these meetings.

In Solidarity!

Signing Kronos Card Sheet

The Local would like to advise the membership that members have the OPTION of not signing the Kronos Card Implimentation sheet after having your picture taken. Your Local has concerns with how this system is being set up and questions about the requirements of employees that we are still seeking answer for from the Company. We ask that if you do refuse to sign the sheet, be polite and respectful.

United Steelworkers Benefit Society Release

To all members of United Steelworks Locals 5890, 5917, 6717

As some of you are now aware there has been a misappropriation of funds from the United Steelworker Benefit Society. The processes that are in place to safeguard the Society’s funds worked properly and the misappropriation was detected.

The Directors of the Society acted immediately and requested an audit. The audit determined that a misappropriation of funds had occured and the individual responsible has now resigned from all positions held within the USW along with two other members of the Society that were asked to resign and both have done so.   Continue reading United Steelworkers Benefit Society Release

Evraz implementing Kronos Chubb cards

Evraz is implementing a Knonos Chubb Card system starting October 21th 2012. The Company will be requiring all employee’s to obtain this card with their picture on it. A representative from Human Resources will be at Security in the Operations Building beginning Sept 10th/2012 from 5am-8am to take employee’s pictures. The Local will be discussing this new card system in a meeting with the Company on Sept. 10th as well

New Top Officer

With a unanimous vote of confidence by the Local Executive, we would like to welcome Brother Vasco D’Almeida as the new Vice President of 5890.  We ask the members to extend your support to Brother D’Almeida as he transitions into his new role.