INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS
Local Lodge 1722
NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
November 2012
Much has happened since the last Newsletter. The District
office has expanded and we now have room for more offices and
consequently have freed up the boardroom for the meetings it
was meant for. We have had two successful sets of negotiations
and one that has had some success with language but has stalled
now that we are in the money part of the negotiations. This is
very disconcerting considering the economic market we are now
in. Here is a brief synopsis of what has occurred this past
while.
Diamond: After a long protracted set of bargaining we have
finally settled on a new contract. Along with the restructuring
of the Contract to make it easier to read, we have made
significant improvements in many of the clauses to make for a
more labour friendly contract. Some of the highlights are:
improved seniority language, better union representation,
protection from discipline for refusing to cross a legal
strike, improved benefits, increased vacation (6 weeks
maximum), premiums and wage increases of 18% over 4 years.
Cummins Ed: Has had much turmoil in their management this
summer with the termination of several managers and a settling
of a major grievance where a member had been laid off out of
seniority. This had to be pushed all the way to arbitration,
but was settled on in the eleventh hour, with the end result
being a very satisfactory to the griever.
Cummins Cal: In negotiations. As mentioned we have had
considerable success in improving Union language however we are
now stalled in wage discussions and the Company has elected to
proceed to mediation.
Strongco: Has had the most successful negotiations to date. We
went in with a huge shopping list of demands and were able to
successfully negotiate improvements in over one hundred and
twenty three clauses. As well as improving the language, we
also made improvements to benefits, pension. Vacation was
increased to seven weeks and the wage increase of 19% for
service and 21% for parts, over three years, with a COLA clause
for the final year made for a happy membership.
Waterous/Wajax: Has been fairly quiet this summer but they too
have had management changes. As well their contract will be
expiring midsummer, next year, so we will have to start getting
a negotiation committee together fairly soon.
LL 2583
Field Aviation: The Company has been bought out by Amavco Inc.,
out of the United States, from Hunting, PLC. Since their
transition to the new company, Field has become much busier
which has resulted in increased overtime and also an increase
in membership. The new company has expressed an interest in
expanding their business which is great for the membership.
LL 99
Finning: The Company is creating a lot of dissention amongst
the employees which has created a huge influx of grievances.
This is keeping everyone quite busy as quite a few seem to be
heading to arbitration, however we will see what develops. With
the blending of the Bucyrus group, LL 99’s membership has
increased by approximately 120 members. This is always a good
shot in the arm. The finning contract is also coming up for
renewal so they have elected a negotiation committee and are
headed to the Harbour for training. For more information on LL
99, visit their Web site at:
http://iamaw99.ca/
Submitted in Solidarity
Dan Uchacz
District 14 Business Representative / Organizer