Meeting Notice:
The June meeting of
Lodge 456 has been recessed and will resume at the call of the chair. A
notice will be posted here giving the time and place that the meeting is to
be resumed.
_______________________________
IAM Jobs Saved at Quebec Turbine Plant
The 450 members of Local 1660 in Lachine, Quebec, are
breathing easier following news this week that their plant, GE Hydro, has
been purchased by Andritz Va Tech Hydro of Austria and Metso Incorporated of
Finland.
“This is great news,” said, District 11 Business Representative Denis
Longtin. “Things didn’t look good when GE Hydro announced last September
that it would close this place. We never gave up hope and now these
good-paying jobs have been saved.”
The facility had produced hydroelectric turbines for Hydro-Québec, China and
California but GE felt it was no longer viable when Hydro-Québec decided to
purchase its turbines in Brazil and Mexico. The facility located in suburban
Montréal will now specialize in the manufacturing of crushers and crushing
cylinders for the mining industry.
“We expect the new owners will give new energy to an old building,” added
Longtin. “The new employers have told us that Metso will take care of the
factory while Andritz will concentrate on research and development in the
laboratory.”
08/07/08
Ontario Machinists Benefit from Mining
Boom
A surging Canadian mining industry is paying dividends
for 220 members of Local 2412 in North Bay, ON, who recently ratified a new
three-year contract with Boart Longyear. “Our membership has tripled in size
over the life of the last agreement because of the continual demand for
drilling and exploration equipment by the Canadian mining industry,” said
GLR Pat Murphy. “This agreement reflects the success the company has
enjoyed.”
The three-year agreement provides wage increases of three per cent in the
first year, retroactive to May 1, 2008, three per cent in the second year
and three per cent in the third year. Other improvements include increases
in shift premiums and improvements to dental and vision coverage for members
and their families. Vacations and pension benefits were also improved.
The members of Local 2412 manufacture ‘down-hole’ drilling equipment for the
Canadian mining industry.
03/07/08
Canada’s High Court Protects
Bargaining Rights
A decision by the Supreme Court of Canada confirms that
trade union bargaining rights are protected when a company creates a new
company and transfers part of its operation to that new company.
“This is a great victory for all unionized Canadian workers,” said District
14 Business Representative Bob MacKinnon. “We’re very pleased that the
courts affirmed the importance of trade union bargaining rights when a
company reorganizes.”
The case revolved a corporate reorganization that created a new company and
transferred operations of the original company and led to the layoff of 160
IAM members.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board originally found that the initial $87
million capitalization was a successorship under the Labour Relations
Code, which provides for bargaining rights to be protected. An appeals
court overturned the decision, finding that there was no successorship. This
was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court, which said that labour
boards must be wary of creative corporate restructuring or reorganizations
that undermine collective bargaining rights.
01/07/08
Ohio Local Holds 17th Annual Ride for
the Guide
With thunderstorms nipping at their boot heels, more than
300 motorcycle riders took part in the 17th Annual Ride for the Guide on
June 28. The event, hosted by Local 1297 in Ashland, OH, raised more than
$10,000 to benefit the Guide Dogs of America (GDA).
Riders had an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to win a special
Custom Donnie Smith Harley-Davidson FLHX Street Glide that was on display at
the event. The unique bike features a stretched gas tank, stretched front &
rear fenders with a molded-in license plate holder, stretched saddle bags,
custom seat, custom wheels, custom paint and graphics and a timing cover
with the GDA logo.
Raffle tickets for the custom bike are still available for $5 each or 5
tickets for $20. To purchase a raffle ticket, call (818) 833-6421 or order
online using PayPal, visit the GDA website at
http://www.guidedogsofamerica.org. The drawing for the bike will be held
November 22, 2008.
01/07/08
Fuel Crisis Leads to Air Canada
Layoffs
IAM leaders in Canada are expressing outrage over the
Canadian government’s refusal to aid the ailing airline industry in the wake
of the recent announcement that Air Canada will cut thousands of jobs.
“The prime minister and his government are sitting on their hands in the
middle of a fuel crisis with no plans to offer any relief to the airline
industry and our members are paying the price,” said IAM Canadian General
Vice President Dave Ritchie.
The union was informed by the company that 600 IAM members at airports
across the country and an additional 50 members in cargo operations will be
affected. At this point the company has not issued a breakdown by
classification of the November 1, 2008 layoffs.
District 140 President and Directing General Chair Jim Coller will meet with
Air Canada in early July with to discuss ways to mitigate the layoff.
19/06/08
Machinists in Canada Organize
Helicopter Techs
It took more than two years but persistence has paid
off with the successful certification of 17 workers employed by Hélicraft
2000 Incorporated at St. Hubert airport on the south shore of Montréal.
“We have been pushing hard to organize workers from the helicopter industry
in Quebec,” said District 140 Organizer Robert Savoie. “The implementation
of a dedicated website,
www.helistation.org and continual contact with workers across the
province over the past two years has finally paid off.” The 17 workers, who
perform maintenance on helicopters, consist of certified mechanics,
mechanics helpers and stores keepers. All will become the newest members of
Local 1751 in Dorval, Quebec.
“The IAM is the aerospace union in Canada and we believe the decision by
these employees to join us will have a spill-over effect on other workers in
this industry,” added Savoie.
10/06/08
Lock-out at Robin Hood Flour
The 61 workers at Local 416P of the UFCW have been in
a lock-out with Horizon Milling, the producers of Robin Hood Flour since
April 24 2007.
From this, it would seem that Robin Hood is acting
more like King John than its namesake. The C.LC. and the Ontario Federation
of Labour have launched a boycott of Robin Hood products. It might be a good
idea to send them an message by honouring the boycott until the dispute is
cleared up.
20/05/08
Machinists Ratify Accord with
Vancouver Shipyards
After months of long and difficult bargaining, members of
five unions, including IAM Local 692, finally have a new contract with
Vancouver Shipyards – Vancouver Drydock.
Among the improvements in the five-year agreement are wage increases of 4.25
percent in each year and annual increases to the Health, Welfare and Pension
(HWP) plan.
Contract duration was a contentious issue during the negotiations.
Initially, the five unions proposed a three-year agreement, while the
company wanted eight years. A compromise was reached via a Letter of
Understanding that commits the parties to enter into negotiations for the
terms of any extension to the existing agreement.
The 47 members of Local 692 at Vancouver Shipyards – Vancouver Drydock
include engine fitters, machinists and mechanics.
12/5/08
IAM Celebrates 120 Years
In a Photograph from 1948,
Machinists marked the 60th anniversary of the IAM, commemorating its
founding at a meeting of 19 workers in a railroad pit in Atlanta, GA on May
5, 1888.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers celebrates its 120th anniversary this week. It was on the evening of
May 5, 1888 that railroad machinist Tom Talbot held a secret meeting with
eighteen fellow machinists in a locomotive engine pit in Atlanta, Georgia.
That meeting was the foundation of the IAM.
Unemployment was high in the 1880s and people were still hurting from the
ravages of a depression of the 1870s. With 10-hour days, unsafe working
conditions and declining wages (journeymen machinists, at $2.00 an hour,
were earning about half as much as twenty years earlier), the need for
workers to unite and organize was never greater.
First named the Order of United Machinists and Mechanical Engineers of
America, Tom Talbot became the union’s first president. With the help of
“Boomers,” Machinists organizers who traveled by rail, membership grew to
4,000 in just two years.
07/05/08
