Author: Admin

President’s Message

Brothers and Sisters,

As 2016 is coming to an end I would like to wish all our members and families a safe and happy New Year. For some of our members and their families 2016 was a difficult and challenging year and now to look into 2017 with the hope that things are turning around.

As 2017 rolls in brothers and sisters, I would like to thank each and every one of you for what you do as Steelworkers. Our members have built and shaped miles and miles of some of the most important infrastructure in North America and I believe it’s about time you all got credit for what you do. Be proud of the job you do.

As far as safety goes, I want to make sure that everyone knows no matter the pressures of work to always make sure you are working safe for you, your brothers, sisters and all their families. Please be safe. Don’t be afraid to speak to  someone if it looks like they are possibly in an unsafe situation. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone in general and get to know them. We have many members from all different walks of life. Say a good word about the work you do and your Union. Your a Steelworker and have much to be proud of.

Once again I would like to wish you all a safe and happy New Year. All the best in 2017.

In Solidarity

Mike Day

 

 

 

 

Are benefits we receive a reward?

The truth is our benefits are NOT a reward. They came from the Brothers and Sisters before us that held a sit down, a walk out, three strikes and another strike that was averted at the 11th hour a mere fourteen years ago. This was all accomplished through hard fought negotiations at each and every bargaining table since September 21, 1959 when USW 5890 in Regina Sask. was proudly certified.

Brief History

USW 5890 in Regina’s first Collective Agreement (Contract) was signed in 1959 with Ipsco, our former employer and did not include any benefits for workers. Job Classes ran from 1-15 and paid $1.70 and $2.54 per hour respectively. The Contract was 30 pages long.The second Contract was signed in 1961 with a new Article named “Welfare”. This was the first time anything remotely close to benefits was mentioned. The coverage included two things in the article. First the company agreed to pay the premiums to cover Medical Services in the province. Second they agreed to cover Sickness and Accident Insurance that would pay a member $20.00 per week for 13 weeks.

Continue reading Are benefits we receive a reward?

Shop Steward Education

The annual GRJ Labour Law conference is going to be held on Jan 26,2017 at the Queensbury Centre here in Regina. Any shop stewards wishing to attend please call the office @569-9663 or by email to m.day @usw5890.com.

Degasser Update

At today’s Union/ management meeting the company informed the union that starting Monday Dec 5th, they will be starting the process of trying to fill the Degasser position beginning with the senior employees from the EAF/LMF lines of progression.

If you have any questions please contact a member of the Executive or Shift & Overtime Committee. Please make sure of what all your options are and do not hesitate to call the Union Office for clarity. 306-569-9663.

 

IMPROPER LAYOFF GRIEVANCE IN STEEL DIVISION

On April 1st, 2016 the union filed a group grievance for what the union saw as an improper layoff notice under article 12.13{3 day clause}. On March 17th the company issued a 2 week layoff notice for members in the steel division. Then on March 24th the company then invoked article 12.13 for a shortage of work affecting parts of the Meltshop and Caster. The unions position was that during a layoff notice, the employee’s rate of pay and normal hours of work cannot be cut.

After months of discussion on this grievance the company has agreed to pay the 35 affected employee’s their 12 hours of pay on the December 2nd pay. Below is the attached list of employee’s

 

copy-of-grievance-237-list-of-employees

 

In Solidarity

CBA BOOKS

​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.

Bargaing Update

​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.

Where is my C.B.A????

The 2 outstanding articles from the last contract have been agreed to by both the company and the union. Lump sum payments have been awarded to members who were  on W.C.B and summer students at that time. The second article was the language around the dates for the Health Spending Account.

The proof reading of the Collective agreement is now completed by the Union and we fully expect new C.B.A’s to be printed for each member as was stated to the company at the proposal exchange meeting in May.

Rally for Resources and Support of Pipelines

Earlier today members of your executive took part in the Rally for Resources and Support of Pipelines in White City. This was put together by the Mayor of White City, Bruce Evans. With the negative publicity surrounding pipelines Mr. Evans decided a positive rally was needed in support of energy. Brother Courtland Klein spoke on the importance of getting pipeline projects approved and that old infrastructure needs to be replaced. He also spoke on the trickle down affect that the Jobs at Evraz has on the local economy.

Also speaking at this event was Ray Orb ,President of SARM. Jeremy Harrison, Minister of Economy for the Government of Saskatchewan and Andrew Scheer, member of Parliament for Regina/ Qu’appelle. All of these individuals spoke in favor of projects such as Energy East and know the importance of getting our energy here in the West to other parts of Canada and the United States. With all the negative publicity surrounding oil and pipelines we need to get out and promote for oil and pipelines.

Grievance Protocol Practice

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.

Bargaining Update

Over the last 2 days your bargaining committee and members of both Steel Shift and Seniority and Tubular Shift and Seniority committees were meeting to discuss the company’s proposed changes to Lines of Progression in both Divisions.

The Union recommended to the the company that a tour was needed in the Melt shop, 24 inch mill and Mill 5. On Tuesday you may have noticed the committees touring these locations with individuals from management. On Wednesday both committees sat down with the company to discuss these proposed changes. There was very good discussion from both sides of the table and to date there has been nothing agreed to or signed off on regarding Lines of Progression. Both the Union and Company are looking at future dates to continue talks.

 

In Solidarity.

Sept Bargaining Update

On September 20th your bargaining committee met with the company for 3 days with much of the discussion forming around Article 9.09{overtime distribution} and Lines of Progression language. The parties have agreed to new language under Article 9.09.

During this discussion the Union informed the Company that the Mandatory Overtime they have proposed is a non- starter. In response the company replied that it will be there till the end. Brothers and Sisters it is and will be the stance of this bargaining committee that all Overtime is Voluntary!

Your committee is working on dates to continue the discussions on Lines of Progression. When dates are finalized with the company we will communicate that information to you as well.

Pension on Vacation

It has come to our attention that some members may have not received pensionable hours while on vacation. The language from our pension text reads as follows.

1.23  Regular Hours means straight time hours actually worked and, in addition, regular straight time hours for each paid statutory holiday and for each day of paid annual vacation.

If you have not received pensionable hours for vacation or any other reason please contact a Shop Steward or Local Executive member.

Brother Rosko

Brothers and Sisters,

As some of you may or may not know Brother Rosko was Falsely accused of theft back in March. During this process our Brother was left at home for 5 days while the company had no evidence of theft, just accusations. Since that time Brother Rosko has returned to work with the discipline removed from his record. In an attempt to clear the name of our brother please see the attached letter from the company as their apology.

 

In Solidarity

 

glenn-rosko-letter

C.O.L.A

Effective the first pay period after the release C.O.L.A will be $0.58 per straight time hours worked. We have been informed that rates to reflect the roll in have now been updated and retro pay from Aug 1st to Aug 20th will be paid on the Sept 9th pay.

 

C.O.L.A

The CPI figure for July 2016 was released on August 19, 2016. As per the Collective Agreement the following calculation will apply.

July 2016 132.8

April 2016 132.3

Difference 0.50 (Divide by .063 per each 1 cent) = $0.07

Effective with the first pay period after the release, COLA will be $0.58 per straight time hour worked as it was previously $0.51

Bargaining Update

 

Brothers and Sisters,

This past week in an expression of solidarity and union partnership for Evraz workers in Alberta and Saskatchewan, USW chain bargaining committee members from Local 5890 and 6673 and their respective Staff Reps participated in an historic meeting with Unifor local 551 members from Evraz Camrose.

The first meeting of its kind brought together the two unions to deal with the aggressive concessionary proposals that all three bargaining committees have seen at the table from Evraz. We were able to share information, discussions and documentation and see the truth in their proposals. It is clear that we are all under serious attack and that working together is the only way to protect what we have now and make gains going forward.

All three Local Unions have agreed to form a strong alliance that will allow continued sharing of information, strategies and support while we all work towards bargaining new agreements. Evraz employees are loyal hard workers who deserve a fair collective agreement rather than threats and rollbacks. With the support of this alliance we are determined to make a difference for our Brothers and Sisters in Calgary, Regina and Camrose.

 

Your committee appreciates all of the support and solidarity from you the membership and we will keep fighting until we have a fair and equitable agreement to bring back for you to vote on.

In solidarity,

 

Your Local 5890 Bargaining Committee

 

Spiral Dead Shift

To: EVRAZ Regina Tubular Employees
From: Scott Manson, Director Operation
Date: August 3, 2016
Re: Dead Shift
In accordance with the Letter of Understanding Tubular Division – Dead Shift Agreement,
effective September 3, 2016, Regina Tubular employees will not be scheduled to work the
dead shift until further notice.
If you have any questions, please contact your Supervisor.

CUPW’s struggle is our struggle

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

Grievance Protocol

CUPW – 2016-07-06 – CUPW Files Unfair Labour Practice Complaint Against Canada Post

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CUPW Files Unfair Labour Practice Complaint Against Canada Post

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Wednesday July 6 2016
2015-2019/135
No 36

The Canada Labour Code provides that the parties have a duty to make every reasonable effort to negotiate a collective agreement and must bargain in good faith. Furthermore, employers are prohibited from interfering in the affairs of a Union. Today, CUPW filed a formal complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) that Canada Post management has failed to negotiate in good faith and is interfering with the Union’s right to represent its members.

The complaint covers both the Urban and RSMC bargaining units. It describes in detail the refusal of CPC to engage in any meaningful discussions or negotiations regarding the RSMC unit. With respect to both the Urban and RSMC units, CPC has refused to negotiate on their global offers which were submitted one week prior to the parties obtaining the right to strike or lock-out. CPC has also circumvented the bargaining process by negotiating through the media. An example is they claim our proposals will cost $1 Billion, which they repeatedly make to the media but refuse the Union’s repeated requests to justify their numbers.

Instead of bargaining, the employer has simply tabled offers that it knew would be totally unacceptable to the Union. Finally, management representatives have been communicating directly with Union members, making threats and spreading disinformation.

Once both parties have made all of their submissions, the CIRB will determine its procedure. We have asked that the complaint be heard immediately.

 

Negotiations Continue

As we previously reported, we met with CPC on July 4th, where they provided us with a written rejection of our global offer. Today, we met with CPC, in the presence of the mediators, to discuss several issues. Although we cannot report any major progress, we remain committed to the negotiations process.

We will continue to report developments as they occur.

 

 

As always, stay informed, stay united, and resist provocations.

Sylvain Lapointe
Chief Negotiator, Urban Unit
George Floresco
Chief Negotiator, RSMC Unit