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456 News
Meeting Notice
The next meeting of Lodge 456 will be
Tuesday February 14, 2012 at
Pizza will be served
The January 2012 IAM Journal is now available on the new IAM App.
Get the IAM App on the iPad, Android Tablet and Android Phone. iPhone
support coming soon! For information on how to download the free IAM
App, click
here
and follow the links to Apple’s iTunes Store or the Android Market.
20/1/12
Settlement at Inland Kenworth
Penticton, BC – Members of IAMAW
Local Lodge 692 have ratified a new collective agreement with Inland
Kenworth Limited.
“The biggest fight was to make overtime voluntary,” explained IAMAW
Local Lodge 692 Shop Steward Don Stocker. “It took some time but the
company finally agreed to give reasonable notice for any overtime.”
The three-year agreement provides for wage increases of 2 per cent in
each year combined with new hourly premiums for any certifications
mechanics hold:
align="center"
Motor Vehicle Inspection Ticket $ .75
Class 1 or 3 Drivers Licence $ 50
Cummings Engine $ .25
Caterpillar Engine $ .25
Eaton Transmission $ .25
Paccar MX Engine $ .25
Other agreement highlights include:
Improved out of shop premiums
Improved Tool allowance
Improved boot allowance
It was agreed that pension options, either the Machinists Pension Fund
or the existing SEI RRSP fund, would be determined by a majority vote of
the members in 2012. The ten members overhaul and repair heavy-duty
Kenworth trucks.
21/1/12
Joseph Mairs Memorial
The annual observance of Joseph
Mair's service to, and sacrifice for the labour movement will be held on
January 22 2012 at St. Mary's catholic Church, 1135 4th Avenue in
Ladysmith
GVP Ritchie Elected to CLC Executive Committee
IAM Canadian General Vice
President Dave Ritchie has been elected to the Executive Committee of
the Canadian Labour Congress.
Ritchie was elected by members of the CLC Canadian Council, which
consists of the top officers from all of the affiliated unions to the
CLC. The Executive Committee, which meets at least four times a year, is
responsible for the administration, affairs and activities of the CLC.
The Executive Committee consists of the four CLC Executive officers and
ten Vice Presidents – five from the five largest private sector union
affiliates and five from the five largest public sector union
affiliates.
Ritchie was one of two Vice Presidents elected by the members of the
Canadian Council from the ranking officers of the national and
international unions, which are not on the Executive Committee. “I’m
pleased with this election,” said Ritchie. “It’s my job to ensure that
the smaller affiliates have a voice. There was a perception that the
smaller affiliates were shoved to the sidelines, but now they will be
part of the decision-making process.”
22/11/11
Lodge President to be Interviewed on You
Tube
Our esteemed Lodge President, Stan Dzbik, has been interviewed recently
on matters of great relevance to those of us in the labour movement.
Its alwasy too easy for the Golden Rule to apply; those with the
gold, make the rules. Its nice for us to get an opportunity to put our
side of things forward. The interview can be viewed at the link below.
10/11/11
The IAM App is Coming November 1
 T he
IAM’s newest communications tool, the IAM App, will be available to
download Tuesday, November 1, 2011.The application will enable IAM
members to read the new, digital version of the IAM Journal
on their smart phones and tablets. Through the tool, members will also
be able to take immediate action on important legislative issues,
share information with family and friends and organize new members.
“The IAM App is an exciting and potentially explosive new way to
communicate with our members,” said IAM International President Tom
Buffenbarger. “It places our union on the cutting edge of new
technologies. And the IAM App puts vital information at our members’
fingertips and on their hips. The information will be more current,
more useful, more video intensive, more quickly read, and more action
oriented.”
To join the IAM in this new generation of communications, visit the
www.goiam.org
homepage on November 1, and click on the “IAM App” section. The links
there will guide you to the Apple iTunes Store and Android Market
where the IAM App will be available for free download.
25/10/11
Union Plus
Credit Card Benefits to Continue
Holders of Union Plus Credit Cards should not see
any immediate changes to the card’s program or features following the
recently announced sale of HSBC’s $30 billion credit card portfolio to
Capital One.
The Union Plus Credit Card is issued by HSBC’s Card
and Retail Services and provides unique benefits for union members,
including special hardship protections for members facing financial
hardship due to job loss furlough, disability, disaster, strike and
high hospital bills. The sale is subject to a variety of government
and regulatory approvals and is not expected to be completed until the
second quarter of 2012.
“We expect that our contract provisions and
protections for the program will continue with Capital One,” said
Union Plus President Leslie Tolf.
6/9/11
A Long-time Member Passes Away
Virgilio (Van) Nera, a long-time member of this
lodge passed away recently. He worked in the Mechanical machine shop
in HMC Dockyard, now re-named FFM Cape Breton, and was active as Shop
Steward for many years until his retirement and then enjoyed a full
and active retirement.
The Lodge extends its condolences to his family at
this time of loss.
A link to the announcement in the Victoria
Times/Colonist is here.
http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000152655210X
20/7/11
Machinists Strike Finning for First Time
in BC
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IAMAW Local Lodge 692 bargaining team members,
Phil Miles of Prince George and Laura Tetreau of Kelowna, hold
their picket signs outside the Finning International location in
Surrey, BC, minutes after the strike became official. The strike
began late Wednesday afternoon when it became clear that Finning
was not going to move off its final offer.
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Members of IAMAW Local Lodge 692 have gone on
strike at 25 locations of Finning International in British Columbia.
“We are working for a fair contract and so far
Finning has not given us an offer that will get us a deal,” explained
IAMAW District Lodge 250 Directing Business Representative Stan
Pickthall. “We have been working hard on these negotiations over the
past two days and Finning has moved only marginally from their
previous position. Since no reasonable offer has come forward, our 700
members are on picket lines at all Finning locations in British
Columbia.”
Wages, benefits, shifts and sub-contracting are the
four major issues of concern for the workers who voted by a margin of
89.5 per cent in favor of strike action. “We have represented these
workers at Finning since the mid 1960’s and until now we have never
had to resort to strike action, but the company has left us with no
alternative,” said Pickthall. The 700 mechanics, parts department and
support personnel repair and overhaul heavy equipment for mining,
forestry and construction industries in British Columbia.
“The bargaining team is available for further
meetings with the employer but the strike will continue until Finning
brings us a reasonable offer we can recommend to our membership,”
added Pickthall.
24/6/11
New Members for the Executive
At the May meeting of the lodge, two new members were
sworn in to office. Woody Boyd (L) was sworn in as Recording Secretary,
and Craig Nash (R) was sworn in as Financial Secretary. good luck to the
new members, the lodge will be in good hands.
19/5/11
Bro. Ron Bergman Steps Down
After many years of keeping the Lodge's books in
perfect shape, Bro Ron Bergman has reluctantly had to step down due to a
change in circumstances where he works. At the May meeting of the Lodge,
Bro Ron was honoured with a departure remembrance signed by the entire
executive of the Lodge.
We wish Ron well for the future and will look forward
to seeing him again in the future.
19/5/11
Noteworthy Links for Workers
The Lodge President has provided the Site Steward
with some important links to Web Videos that anyone who works for a
living will find more than worth the time to look at them.
The first link is to a site that deals with
protecting our pensions: Expand the Canada Pension
Plan
Three representatives of the labour movement talk
about the need for better pensions; and describe a simple way to get us
there.
Economist Sylvain Schetagne of the Canadian Labour
Congress goes into some detail with the verve of a stand-up comedian.
There may be no one else in the country who can have you laughing at
pension plan intricacies, but he does it; along with Jim Sinclair of the
BC Fed and Amber Hockin, also of the CLC.
On the internet at:
http://www.vimeo.com/21053909
The second is called: Living Wages and Child Poverty in
Victoria, A Public Forum
The Victoria Labour Council recently sponsored an evening of
discussion about a very important issue:
reducing poverty, and child poverty, by bringing in a living
wage.
It's something Canada can easily do and it would have a huge
and positive impact on our entire society. The happiest and most
successful societies are those that are the most fair and equitable;
and a living wage is a big part of that. Canada's Media seldom
discusses this issue, and chooses promote a very different agenda of
moving wealth to the 'already richest'... but you can get some
information by watching this important program.
The President spoke at the Day of Mourning
ceremony at Victoria City Hall on April 28th, 2011. Here is a Times
Colonist article that has quotes from his speech:
And here is the video of the Lodge business Agent, Alastair
Haythornthwaite shot of him speaking;
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