USW Local 2-232
formerly PACE 7-232
Membership Meeting
Members are urged to Attend this Meeting.
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USW Local 2-232 formerly PACE 7-232
Members are urged to Attend this Meeting.
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by Greg Gorecki President |
Since February 22, 2002 we have received several W.A.R.N. notices and corrections. The bottom line is that there will be reductions in L-1, M-1, L-5, M-5, 105 and in the skilled trade areas. This should occur around the end of April or the beginning of May. This has become a deep concern to the Union because that will inflate the number of laid off members to over 450, with no real solutions in the near future. We have made some suggestions to the Company on ways to reduce those numbers but the Company has not been real receptive to some of those ideas. The Union will keep exploring and pursuing different options, to try to reduce the number of members on layoff.
Rumors have run rampant throughout the plant and has reached many of our members on layoff regarding the Die Cast Division being sold. Many of these rumors have been fueled by some middle management people saying that there is a deal that has been made, while upper management denies that anything has been sold. The Company stated to me that if a sale was to happen, the Union would be informed before any announcement was made, and at this point we have not been informed of anything pertaining to the sale of Die Cast. Last year the Bargaining Committee met with John Shiely regarding the state of the business. At that meeting he stated that he thought Milwaukee’s future would be in castings and component parts. So their words say one thing but their actions seem to indicate otherwise. The Union has requested another meeting with the Company, but as of the date of this writing, we have not heard anything yet.
We recently experienced 2 accidents at the Burleigh plant that could have been very serious. Fortunately for our members no one was seriously injured. In the plating dept. a hoist or overhead lift gave way and fell to the floor where our members were told to load this rack. Our skilled trades members and the original manufacturer were brought to check the job out and assure its safety. In the Die Cast Area we had a fire caused by the die pinching an oil hose and causing $15,000 in damage according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. With the election of George Bush to the White House, we have experienced a real dismantling of OSHA regulations in the past year. Therefore we are asking all our members to be more cognizant of their surroundings and report any safety hazards to your steward or foreman. Despite what the White House is saying, safety should be our number one concern in the work place.
The Company and the Union are still trying to hash out the definition of similar jobs when addressing the job elimination. We’ve tried several times to set up some meeting times only to have them rescheduled. With the resignation of the Human Resource manager, the Union has agreed to wait until the Company has settled on the defined group to discuss the implementation of the job elimination language.
Several cases will be heard in front of an arbitrator in the next 4 months. On April 10th, a discharge case will be heard in front of Arbitrator McAlpin, he also will preside over the subcontracting grievance on May 20th. Then on August 27th Arbitrator Gil Vernon will hear arguments on another discharge case. Results from these hearings normally take 90 to 120 days before a decision is rendered.
The Company has informed the Union that they wanted to update the work rules. They didn’t have a lot of explanation for some of the rules when the Union questioned them. They told us it was more of a guideline. In any event the Union sent a protest letter stating that we expected the discipline aspect to be applied the same as it has been; prior to the Company issuing this revised version.
Worker’s Memorial Day is coming up on April 28th. Please remember all the workers that are injured or die on the job each year. You can honor them by wearing a black ribbon and/or a black sticker signifying that. Your grievance reps. will have them so we are asking people to wear them on April 26th. Remember the quote from one of our great Labor Leaders, Mother Jones, who said “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.”
The Union met with representatives from the Dept. of Workforce Development, The Hire Center, Briggs & Stratton and Strattec to explore the different benefits that would be available to our members that will be losing their jobs in the upcoming year. Both companies agreed to allow on site presentations. For Briggs, the orientation will probably take place in mid April sometime. At Strattec, the date would be closer to the time the layoff would start. The Company indicated that to happen around mid or late July. The Hire Center also agreed to work with the Company and Union to try and obtain any possible state and federal funding that might be available for our members.
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