FALL 2003 ~ VOLUME 24, ISSUE 3

WOODSTOCK, ONTARIO

President’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Plant Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Thank You’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

A Fond Farewell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Environment News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

CAW London & Area

Working with Pride Caucus . . . . . . . 9

Financial Secretary’s Report . . . . . . . . . 9

Physical Effects of Alcohol . . . . . . . . . . 9

Skilled Trades Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Human Rights Committee . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Retiree’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Recreation Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Family Day 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Inside this Issue . . .

NEXTISSUE

DEADLINENOV. 21st

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C.A.W. LOCAL 636EXECUTIVE BOARD

Ross Gerrie – PresidentJohn Dobbyn – Vice-PresidentJim Farrell – Financial SecretaryRob Leeson – Rec. SecretaryGary Moon – Sgt.-At-ArmsGarry Gray – GuideRoy Clarke – TrusteeDennis Burleigh – TrusteeRussell Tuffnail – TrusteeDon Morton – Retired Member Rep.Members-At-Large –

Women: Health Care: Kelly-Anne Heslinga

COMMUNICATIONSCOMMITTEE

Donna Strickert – Typist (OPEIU 343)

EDITORIAL BOARDRoss Gerrie

John Dobbyn

CAW Local 636126 Beale Street

Woodstock, OntarioN4S 6X5

(519) 537-5942Fax: (519) 421-0064

E-mail: local636@oxford.netWeb Site: www.oxford.net/~local636

The opinions and views expressed inthis paper are not necessarily theopinions and views of the Editor,

his staff or C.A.W. Local 636.

PRESIDENT’S REPORTby Ross Gerrie

The 7th CAW Constitutionalwas held in Toronto in August, withover 1200 delegates from coast tocoast, representing all sectors of ourunion. The theme of this conventionwas “Unions Resistance andRenewal”. Debates and discussionswere held on key economical, social,and political issues facing delegates,our members, their families and com-munities. There were many guestspeakers which included DavidCockroft, General Secretary, IFTUnion, Jack Layton, Federal NDP,Stephan Lewis, United NationsSpecial Envoy, Barb Byers, CLC toname a few. A video was shown ofthat dramatic day in Chatham whenour members were attacked on alegal picket at Navistar by the securi-ty firm hired by Navistar. For thosewho were not there to see thistragedy, it was something they couldhardly fathom. To hear that the plantwill now remain open shows thatfighting back makes a difference andhopefully the tragedy will never berepeated.

The United WayThe quality of any community

lies within all members of the wholecommunity. Many citizens supportthe community through volunteerwork to many organizations andagencies. Their values of hard workand compassion for the people ofOxford are the same qualities whichare the driving force behind theUnited Way. The hard work of in-plant volunteers, and the generousdonations, allow the United Way ofOxford to help fund over 20 pro-grams and 50 services. Throughyour hard work, strong values andcompassion, our community growsmuch stronger. Please give gener-ously.

NegotiationsThe Local is currently in contract

talks with Purina, and CaressantCare, and will open withWoodingford Lodge soon. CaressantCare has been ongoing for some timeas the employer has been draggingtheir heels somewhat. Most of thelanguage has been completed andnow we are awaiting their responseto the monetary proposals.Hopefully, we will be able to con-clude bargaining in October. GeneralSeating ratified a new agreementwhich addresses their main concernseverance as the plant is scheduled toclose in January of 2004. We wereable to negotiate one of the very bestseverance packages I have seen.Also, with the efforts of the NationalUnion and others, there is a commit-ment from Inteir to hire GeneralSeating employees at their new plantin London, Ontario. Ironically, thisis the plant which was awarded thereplacement work for CAMI whichSeating lost the bid. For other high-lights please refer to the GeneralSeating report.

When you read this report,Ontario will have a new governmentwhich hopefully will be more labourfriendly and one which will be morefocused to automotive manufacturingand the parts industry as well as thehealth care sector. With municipalelections just around the corner, weall should remain focused on theseissues and other issues which havefaced our city and the county, andsupport candidates which supportstrengthening our community andoppose the threats and intimidationthe province has been handing outover the past years.

3

PLANT REPORTS

continued on page 4 . . .

T.R.W. UNIT(Kelsey Hayes Beards Lane)

In opening, it was nice to see theFederal and Provincial Governmentsgot off there butts and made effortsto save the “Navistar InternationalTruck Plant in Chatham”. All theparticipation from our Locals certain-ly paid off in the long run. OurBrothers and Sisters should all beproud of the solidarity that wasbestowed, especially Brother DonMilner and Keith Bennett who wererun down by the goons hired by thecompany and who received very seri-ous injuries. Hopefully, the Brotherswill have a complete recovery. Therestill is numerous concerns about ouremployees on lay-off and also thefuture September 21, 2003, layoff.There always seems to be a sufficientamount of overtime work on week-ends while our employees haveexhausted their EI Benefits and SUBBenefits. I had a discussion withDave Kelly (Plant Manager) aboutthe overtime and asked if a weekendshift could be put in place. Hereplied he would look at the O.T.hours and let me know. We presentlyhave 151 production workers, and 24skilled trades working plus 2 appren-tices. I have been told by the PlantManager that we are quoting on newwork but nothing written in stone.We had 2 employees that wereaccepted into the LMR Programunder the WSIB. The grievance loadat present is light with 2 pendingthird step.

Condolences, go out to BudBlackmore and his family with theloss of his mother.

The City of Woodstock’s new

“No Smoking” Bylaw is in place andI have been asked to approach man-agement on a wind break outsidewith the colder weather arriving.

The JEHSC is still waiting forapproval of the “Early Return toWork Program” which I forwarded tothe company back in June 2003.

Reminder, all employees are cov-ered under the Liberty Plan for thePSA blood test (prostate) which wenegotiated in the last CollectiveAgreement. Also, report all injuriesas small as it may seem, and if anemployee is on “Modified Work”,follow your doctor’s orders.

In closing, let us all hope theeconomy strengthens so we canrecall our Brothers and Sisters fromlay-off.

Merv Dagenais, Chairperson

CARESSANT CAREUNIT

A belated thank you to GarryGray. Thanks for your assistancerecently during Ross’ absence. HelloJacque at Holland too. A greatneighbour.

Changes in management has hap-pened again. WOW! 2003 will godown in history as the year that sawmanagement come and go the most.

Bargaining continues into lateSeptember. The committee remainsunited to represent all the member-ships’ interests fairly. Thanks foryour continued patience and trust.

Grievances are currently high.Repeated issues seem to be the caseand remain unresolved, so we havefive outstanding and one was just set-

tled at step 2, clearing an employee’sfile.

Congratulations on your retire-ment Alice Barney. Your accordionmusic will echo historically throughthe hallways at Caressant. DebHoiting is getting married and mov-ing away too. Crystal and Marniebecame new brides too.Congratulations to all the recent newparents and sincere get well wishesto all who are absent.

The dietary department now hasa full time FSS. The department wasgiven more hours of work but haveyet to be implemented. Frequentstaff shortages on shifts in theNurse’s Aide Department requires thestaff that are present to struggle andprovide care at below the minimumstandard to the residents. Who is lis-tening? Health Care workers lovetheir jobs, but the work demands areunreasonable.

Due to the absence of manage-ment, the Health and Safety meetingsscheduled in the last several monthswere postponed till whenever.

Construction continues aroundCaressant. Parking is still not avail-able for employees. The high schoollot is no longer available and WalterStreet has become no parking. Theneighbours were leaving messages onour windshields. The employeradvertises out of town for employees,how does C.C. think they are goingto get to work? Is that a tow truck?Where’s my car?

I hope everyone voted. Whatwill be the future for health care? Iremain hopeful for a little good newsto report next time.

Janice Courtney, Chairperson

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PLANT REPORTS. . . continued from page 3

LAFARGE UNITIt’s fall, that’s all I’m going to

say!!

On July 13th by a very goodmajority we ratified our new collec-tive agreement. On behalf of thecommittee I would like to thank themembership for their support. Iwould also like to thank my fellowcommittee members Tom, Barry, Timand our National Rep. Fergo Bertofor their support to bring this dealtogether. I’ll list in point form theimprovements we were able toachieve:

• Trades and Production jobslocked in for only 5 years

• General Oiler will now be trades(red circled) or apprentice

• Day workers stay on 7:00 a.m.starting time year round

• LEO/Vacation relief will beasked for OT first even if on anuprated job

• Post for 1 Bulkloader and 1Bulkloader/stores to settle griev-ance

• Bereavement add 1 day for aunt,uncle, nephew and niece

• Sunday premium 1st year$20.50; 2nd year $21.00

• Shift premium 1st year$0.80/$0.90; 3rd year$0.85/$0.95

• Life and AD&D increase $1,000per year

• W.I. increased to $500 1st year

• LTD increased to $18,000 in 2ndyear

• Dental max.1st year $1,100; 2ndyear $1,150; 3rd year $1,200

• Savings plan increase $0.10/hrper year from both parties

• Millwrights get 1 set of addition-al coveralls @ no charge

• Standby beeper

1. M to F from $12 to $20 1styear

2. Weekend and holidays from$45 to $55 2nd year

3. Weekend and holidays from$55 to $65 3rd year

• Prescription safety glass from$90 to $100 1st year

• Safety boots from $125 to $1351st year

• P.E.L. from $0.01 to $0.02 in 2ndyear

• Wage increase 1st year 3%; 2ndand 3rd years 2.75%

I think we got a pretty evenpackage for everyone.

We have just learned that salesfor next year aren’t there so we willbe down to one kiln next year afterthe winter shut down.

Don’t leave Christmas shoppinguntil the last minute this year!!

Steve MacDonald, Chairperson

GENERAL SEATINGUNIT

After a very long and trying setof negotiations for our members, wefinally reached an agreement onSeptember 10 ’03, this after a 6month extension. Our intention wasto hopefully allow the company tofind other business which could haveaverted the potential closing of ourplant. Unfortunately future businessdid not seem to be something ourparent company could find. Wefocused on closure and severancelanguage. Although there was lan-guage put in should the plant re-openin another location or continue toproduce from the current facility, thatwas not the major issue any more.

In a very detailed severancepackage we will see employees with10 or more years receiving a mini-mum of 40 weeks severance. Thereare incentive bonus’s which will pro-duce anywhere from 1 to 3 weeksseverance for employees with over10 years seniority and working in theplant at closure. An example of a 14year employee who works to the endof production will walk out the doorwith 47 weeks pay, including vaca-tion pay. Members can elect to puttheir money in trust as we havemaintained a 5 year recall for thepurpose of potential work at thisfacility or another Lear plan.Language allows us to receive dueconsideration at other Lear’s.Members would start as a seniorityemployee if hired. Currently wehave about 6 people that have goneto Lear in St. Thomas during variouslay off periods. There was also anagreement made with QualtecSeating Systems which has won thecontract for the new vehicle going tobe built in CAMI. The agreementallowed members to apply during atwo week lay off during the summer.Many of these people have gonethrough their 3rd interview already.Members going to Lear or Intier willonly receive 25% of the severancepackage or employment standards(ESA) whichever is greater as part ofthe agreement reached at the bargain-ing table. ESA entitles workers to 1week per year to a max of 26 weeksas long as they have more than 5years service.

We have negotiated languagewhich will allow for the setting upand running of an adjustment com-mittee center. Benefits will beextended for 6 months after closurewith an option to purchase 12 moremonths. If a person works 170 hoursin 2004, their pension will also con-tinue for another 1.9 years.

continued on page 5 . . .

5

I guess one important thing outof all this is that we laid the basis forseverance during the 2000 negotia-tions. At that point there was still agood possibility the company couldhave put some work in here. Withthe language in the collective agree-ment, it made it much easier to dealwith getting the best deal that we as aunion felt we could get.Unfortunately we could not providethe package to everyone. We man-aged to provide it to all that workedin 2003 which covers about 103members. 31 of these members havebeen off work since March of thisyear. The remaining members willreceive what the ESA provides them,which will vary from 1 to 13 weeks.This takes into account approximate-ly 34 people that have been off forvarious reasons between 2000-2002.

I would like to thank VioletteThibodeau and Sue Carter, both newto bargaining, for their hard work onbehalf of the membership. Thanksalso to Ross Gerrie, our 636President, for his expert input andWayne McKay, our National Rep.,who fought for this membership’sdemands without hesitation.

To the members of GeneralSeating who pulled through again inthis very stressful time, who support-ed this collective agreement by 84%,we on the committee thank you.Obviously more work in the plantwould have been a million times bet-ter, but at least now we can try andprepare for our future with a littleless uncertainty.

Roy Clarke, Chairperson

HYD-MECH UNITThings at Hyd-Mech have had

some ups and downs over the lastfew months. In July we have 7brothers and sisters laid off, bringing

our plant population down to 68members. On the management sidethere were some of them let go aswell; some terminations, some unre-newed contracts.

Hyd-Mech changedPresidents/CEO in early spring. Ournew one comes from one of our maincompetitors in the U.S. So far he hasdemonstrated a willingness to keepthe membership informed of what isgoing on and why.

Another change made at the topwas replacement of Vice-President ofManufacturing. Our newest onecomes from here in Ontario. Aswell, he keeps the committeeinformed of what changes he is hop-ing to make and what new ideas he istrying to make to improve the qualityof our product and what other prod-ucts he is trying to make here so thatwe can recall some of our members.

At the most recentUnion/Management meeting, thecommittee was told that sales haveshown a slight and steady increaseover the last 8 weeks and that we arefinally starting to see the effects ofclosing our Houston facility. It hastaken approximately 18 months tosell off all the inventory they hadproduced and we are now starting tobuild these models at our facility.

We currently have no grievancesanywhere in the system. The last onewas resolved in favour of the grievorover a job posting. During themonths of October-November wewill be holding nominations andelections for all unit positions. Iwould like to thank the entire Hyd-Mech membership for their supportover the last 3 years as well as thankthem for allowing me to representthem.

In closing, I wish everyone thebest in our upcoming election.

Rob Leeson, Chairperson

GENERAL MOTORSUNIT

Convention Highlights and More

On August 19-22 ’03 myself andBro. Ed Haggith from the G.M. unitattended the 7th CAW ConstitutionalConvention in Toronto, Ont., alongwith approximately 1,100 other dele-gates, staff and guests who represent-ed their various other CAWunits/locals from across Canada.

CAW President Buss Hargroveopened the Convention with a speechcovering issues facing the CAW,International events, and electoralpolitics. Hargrove’s speech high-lighted the convention theme ofUnions: Resistance and Renewal ashe detailed the remarkable and verydifficult string of events that havehad a major impact around the globeand in Canada.

In Canada, he said the CAW’s255,000 members, their families andcommunities have been directlyaffected by the right wing, slash andcut policies of provincial govern-ments such as Gordon Campbell’s inBritish Columbia and the Ernie Evesgovernment in Ontario. But in addi-tion workers have faced the chal-lenges and uncertainty brought on bySARS, mad cow disease, the recentblackout in Ontario and the ragingforest fires in western Canada.

Among other things, Bro.Hargrove stated that while theCAW’s ongoing push for a Canadianauto policy has produced someprogress such as the CanadianAutomotive Partnership Council, theend of the Auto Pact continues tomean imports are challenging thefuture of a strong Canadian automo-tive assembly and parts industry.Recent automotive plant closures inQuebec and in Windsor highlight theneed for strong government action.

PLANT REPORTS. . . continued from page 4

continued on page 6 . . .

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PLANT REPORTS. . . continued from page 5

“It’s a major challenge and we mustcontinue to hammer away at govern-ment,” Hargrove said. Indeed,Hargrove called, for the first time inover a decade, for an end to NAFTAas well as keeping up the challengeto the Free Trade of the AmericasAgreement.

Convention Elections Results:

Bro. Hargrove was acclaimed tooffice with a standing ovation fromthe delegates, who represent 255,000CAW members from coast to coast.Hargrove, first elected CAW nationalpresident in 1992, said he was hum-bled by the solidarity and supportfrom leadership and activists fromcoast to coast.

Also re-elected by acclamationwere CAW national secretary-treas-urer Jim O’Neil and CAW Quebecdirector Luc Desnoyers.

Convention delegates electedCAW Local 1944 president MarilynCrook, CAW Local 2002 presidentAnne Davidson and CAW Local 597president Bill King as trustees serv-ing on the National Executive Board.

Nancy McMurphy, CAW Local302 president was elected as NEBmember at large, a new position cre-ated at this convention.

Convention Business:

The convention itself also includ-ed a tribute to Dennis McDermott,former Canadian Director of theU.A.W. and past president of theCanadian Labour Congress, numer-ous guest speakers on a wide array oftopics and interests and a specialvideo on Navistar in Chatham,Ontario. Craig Keilburger, an advo-cate for children’s rights, receivedthe C.A.W.’s Nelson MandellaHuman Rights Award for his workwith the Free the Children organiza-tion he founded. There were alsoseveral policy statements debated on

and passed which included ones onthe C.A.W. and Politics, Unions:Resistance and Renewal, BuildingOur Union Through Diversity,Equality and Solidarity, Pride PolicyStatement . Finally resolutions fromC.A.W. Locals across Canada, bothtopical and emergency in nature,were also debated and voted upon.

More in-depth coverage on theConvention itself and the policypapers and statements can beobtained through the C.A.W.’s web-site, www.caw.ca

Within the Warehouse:

Currently, the workload in thewarehouse is steady with some occa-sional overtime having been workedover the summer months. Recently,the company has renewed their focuson their lean plans for the plant aswitnessed through various announce-ments, actions and pending projects.Some of these include the designa-tion of a lean superintendent andsupervisor, various salary trainingprograms, process and procedurereviews and the pending relocation ofsome high volume sales items and/orwork areas etc. Interestingly enough,none of their plans or projections asstated to the shop committee and themembership include the introductionof any new work or customers:despite our ongoing and long termlobbying for such work. These facts,when combined with the company’spreviously stated objective of reach-ing a plant population of approxi-mately 350 members by the expira-tion of this agreement, will make the’04-’05 time period a challengingone, to say the least.

With the arrival of the fall seasoncomes an increase in the number andfrequency of meetings between theshop committee and the company asdiscussions are initiated on S.P.A.signups for ’04 and ’04 Document 13

opportunities. Information on theseitems will be communicated to themembership as it becomes available.

John Dobbyn, Chairperson

THANK YOU!

BereavementsPriddle Family (Harry Priddle)

Ingold Family(Leroy Ingold)

DonationsCrohn’s & Colitis, Oxford Chapter

Ann Lech(Bursary)

Lynette Wilson (Bursary)

Katie Clark(Bursary)

Brantford Minor Ball Association

(Sponsorship)

Good & WelfareMike Shea (Vouchers)

John Bryan (Retirement Gift)

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A Fond FarewellAs many of you may know by now, our custodian JOHN BRYAN, retired

on August 21, 2003, after serving our local since 1998.

John was a member of this local for many years, working at the FMC (LinkBelt Company) and serving as plant chairperson until its closure. John thenwent on to work at Fruehauf in Ingersoll until its closure and then on to theO.R.C. in Woodstock until its closure. John has left us, but the Union businessis still ongoing!

If you ever wanted a housekeeper, John is the one to hire. You didn’t wantto be near him on Monday mornings after a busy weekend in the hall whensome people would leave the premises in a very disrespectful manner, but bydays end John would have the place spic and span, and we would go on asusual. We always joked and called him “Mr. Clean” but we are proud to saythat our hall had to be the cleanest in Woodstock. John treated this place just ashe does his own home. Many bottles of Javex went through his cleaning sup-plies but we never had a complaint from anyone over the condition of this hall.

A year ago, we renovated the small hall and John was always there to seethat the finishing touches were done right and the recent renovation of the mainwashrooms was John’s last wish before retiring. He wanted to leave this placein A-1 condition and that he did.

John was also well respected by our Retired Members, always having theircoffee ready on Tuesday and Thursday morning, and making the odd cup of teafor some of his special ladies! He is indeed missed by them. John always wasa very understanding person and was there for you in bad times, giving you ashoulder to lean on if needed.

So, to John we say, farewell, but don’t forget to visit us from time to time.You will be missed but you have earned your retirement and we wish you andPat many happy and healthy years ahead.

CAW Local 636 Membershipand especially

Jim, Donna and Ross

P.S.: After a lengthy inter-view process, we have hired acustodian, Rick Martin, who didwork at the Thomas Bus plantuntil its closure. Rick had a verybrief training period with Johnand with a little coaching alongthe way from Jim, we are surethat he will do just fine and soonfall into John’s footsteps.

Jim, John, Donna

John, Donna, Erich

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ENVIRONMENT NEWSWe may never know what was

responsible for the power outage thispast August, affecting so many peo-ple, workplaces and communities.There is, however, a number ofevents that have led to major powerfailures and a need to repair a systemof greed.

According to an investigator ofcorporate racketeering Greg Palast,the power outage began in FirstEnergy’s Ohio Operation, then theirPennsylvania unit fumbled. This isthe company who melted the THREEMILE ISLAND Nuclear facility.

Next the Niagara Mohawk powercompany blacked out and took downNew York state. Niagara Mohawk’spast involvement with electricity wasin the 1980’s when they built theNine Mile Nuclear plant at over acost of billions of dollars of taxpay-er’s money. The plant never pro-duced any electricity and was eventu-ally shut down. How did theseevents happen? It is called eliminat-ing regulations, deregulations, cuttingred tape or other works to describethings that are perceived to be both-

ersome for business. Those sameregulations may be the only thingprotecting the environment, clean air,jobs or a nuclear plant from melt-down.

A number of companies fromTexas, Houston Natural Gas,ENRON and others approached thegovernment of Margaret Thatcher in1990 to try privatization of electricityin Britain prior to bringing theirexperience to North America. Theexperiment for workers and thosethat relied on electricity was a disas-ter.

In 1992, the first George Bush inthe Whitehouse ordered the federalregulations of electricity to be elimi-nated. It would appear the powercompanies felt obligated to theRepublican political party and theleaders like the Bush’s, so they gavethem $16 million for the reelectioncampaign. It might make some peo-ple wonder about hydro rates and theconnection to profits or where dollarsare spent!

One of the few remaining piecesto put in place was to ensure all the

states deregulated as well. In 1998,the Power companies spent $39 mil-lion to defeat legislation requiringgovernments to keep electricity inpublic ownership. Just to make surethe legislation was defeated another$37 million was spent on lobbyingpoliticians. The promise was for pri-vate power, and reducing electricitybills by 30%. The reality, a 300%increase in surcharges and user fees.

In Brazil, Houston Industriesfired workers, raised prices, cutmaintenance, and anyone that fellbehind in payments, cutoff theirhydro.

At the time this article was pre-pared for the Leader we have a gov-ernment that has also introduced leg-islation to change the ownership ofOntario Hydro. All over the world,similar power outages, lack of main-tenance, and environmental accidentshave taken place after deregulation.

We may never know what causedthe power outage, however, do wewant to go any further with thisexperiment?

Doug Steele, Chairperson

THAMES RIVERCLEAN UP

Members of the Local 636Environment Committee and familymembers participated in the 2003Thames River Clean Up in theWoodstock area. Pictured here withsome river trash are LeslieArmstrong-Dejong, Rick Smith,Sarah-Jane and Mike Vandealar. Ifyou would like to participate withthe 2004 Clean Up, contact Lesliethrough the Union Office @ 537-5942.

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CAW LONDON & AREA WORKING WITH PRIDE CAUCUSThanks to everyone that showed

up and marched in the different GayPride Parades in the area this sum-mer, and to those that supported ourmovie social in September. Yoursupport is appreciated and valued. Iwould also like to thank CAW Local1520 and Local 636 for their contin-ued support of our caucus. Your con-tributions helped make our firstLGBT movie social a success.

September proved to be a monthof great gains for the LGBT commu-

nities across Canada. Although avery close vote, the motion put forthby the Alliance party to use the“notwithstanding clause” to restrictmarriage to heterosexual couples wasdefeated. This clears the way for thegovernment to work on introducinglegislation for same-sex marriages.

The following day parliamentvoted in favour of Svend Robinson’sprivate members bill C-250 to extendhate crimes protection for groupsdefined by their sexual orientation.

The CAW London and AreaCaucus meets once a month fromSeptember thru June. We alternateour meetings between CAW localunion halls in the area. For moreinformation about the caucus andmeetings, please contact StephanieJohnstone 519-536-9023.

Stephanie Johnstone

FINANCIALSECRETARY’S

REPORTThings are going well in the

local union office. We do unfortu-nately have some units with lay-offsbut others are holding their own. Wehave completed our washroom reno-vations and they look quite nice.Our new custodian is on the job andis fitting in quite nicely. The secre-tary has been kept very busy thismonth with all the standing commit-tees getting back into action andcoming up with plans for the fallseason. Donna gets the brunt of theworkload for those committees.

The W.S.I.B. case load is alwaysgrowing and many appeals are await-ing a hearing date. Remember, ifyou have any problems withW.S.I.B., E.I. or C.P.P., don’t hesitateto come and see me any time. Don’twait until it is too late, come in assoon as your problems appear.

To everyone, have a HappyThanksgiving and enjoy our beauti-ful fall. Remember what is to fol-low!!!

Jim Farrell

Physical Effects of AlcoholRecent studies indicate that moderate drinking (no more than 1 or

2 per day), helps to prevent coronary-artery disease and chronic drink-ing leads to health problems and diseases. Up to 30% of all hospitaliza-tions in Canada are related to the physical effects of too much drinking.Heavy drinking can shorten the average life span by 10 years.

Some short-term effects are acid stomach, dehydration, fatigue,muscle weakness, poor co-ordination and increased heart rate (alcoholconstricts arteries going to the heart) as well as high blood pressure.

Heavy drinking can lead to health problems over time, such as liverdisease (a top ten killer in North America), malnutrition, disease of thedigestive system, Cancer (75% of oral cancers stem from combined useof alcohol and tobacco), heart disease (alcohol weakens the heart mus-cle and heavy drinkers are 300times more likely to have astroke) and premature aging ofthe brain causing disorientation,impaired memory, and psychosis.

Unfortunately, many heavydrinkers do not become aware ofthese physical problems until it istoo late.

Joe ReadGM Substance Abuse Rep

10

SKILLED TRADES REPORTOn April 4th, 5th, and 6th, an

election was held for the CanadianSkilled Trades Executive Board andStanding Committees. The resultsare as follows:

Executive BoardPresident ..................... Dennis Wray

(elected Nov 2002)Vice President .......... Bert Dejardins

(143 elected)..................... Joe Elsworthy (32)

Financial Secretary ....... Dave Felice(acclaimed)

Recording Secretary .... Jim Mitchell(acclaimed)

Trustees 3 (all acclaimed).......................... Percy Rounding .................................... Phil Fryer .................................. Ray Hamel

Sargent-at-Arms ........... Mike Devine (acclaimed)

Standing CommitteesApprenticeship (all acclaimed)

................................Don Lawson

..........................Jack McEachern

............................Ivan Plavinskis...............................Darcy Roland..................................Mike Smith

Resolutions (all acclaimed)..........................Terry McDonald..............................Joe Elsworthy..................................Dave Tveut

Bylaws (all acclaimed)...................................John Grills...................................Al Gregory...............................Ernie Munger

Credentials (all acclaimed).............................Pat Blackwood...............................Harold Zavitz..............................Randy Regier

Publicity (all acclaimed)..........................David K. Passon................................Darren Heidt

New Tech (all acclaimed).............................Paul McManus......................................Jim Gow.................................Don Lawton

I would like to congratulate RayHamel from our area council forbeing elected to the Canadian SkilledTrades Council Executive Board. Iam pleased to report that we nowhave skilled trade flags at the Localto be used at local events. Duringthe April meetings, we had a reportfrom Brother Charles Cowel fromChatham area council on the closureof Navistar truck plant to take effectJuly 19, 2003, and that this would behis last council meeting he would beable to attend. He thanked every-body for their support. OnSeptember 12th, 13th, and 14th,2003, he stood before us and report-ed that the Navistar Truck Plantwould not be closing and is slated for$27 million in up grades. Also, thegovernment was going to invest $67million. This all happened 3 daysafter the provincial election wascalled.

A big issue at the last two coun-cil meetings was apprenticeships andhow the government spent _ milliondollars to consult on the availabilityof apprentices. What a waste. Therewas a lot of discussion re: the short-age of trades’ persons in years tocome and that we need incentives foremployers to hire apprentices. Also,we need to negotiate apprentices intoour agreements. Brother Ray Hamelfrom CAMI stood to tell us that thisshortage is here now. His companycannot find trades people it needs.

We heard a report form BritishColumbia, that the B.C. governmentdeveloped a new Training AdvisoryBoard and appointed 9 members withall company owners and no trades’people. They want to allow appren-tices to schedule all of their own

training. To top it all off, the B.C.government wants to contract outRed Seal Testing, this puts it all intocorporation’s hands and it is veryimportant that we keep apprentice-ship standards recognized across thiscountry.

The National reported that thereis a pension funding crisis brewingand are going to be calling for a cre-ation of a task force to begin lookingat not only funding issues but also belooking at the responsibility of gov-ernments in this area. The SkilledTrades web site was a big topic. Itseems that we lost everything fromthe site and we have to start fromscratch to develop a new web site.We hope to have a web site by nextcouncil in December.

In closing, if there is anyone whowould like to apply for their SkilledTrades card, please contact methrough the CAW Hall.

Cory Ross, Representative

HUMAN RIGHTSCOMMITTEE

The Human Rights Committeeis once again offering an essay

contest bursary award forGrade 8 students.

The theme is InternationalHuman Rights Day.

For more information pleasesee your In-Plant Union

Bulletin Board.

RECREATION COMMITTEE

RETIREE’S REPORT

The future will see us organizingthe Christmas banquet, etc. Our hallcustodian and friend John Bryanretired on August 21, 2003, and wewish him good health and a happyretirement.

A special wish and congratula-tions goes to Gord and GeorginaSimmons and William (Bill) andEileen Hawkins on the occasion oftheir 60th wedding anniversary.Many happy returns.

An invitation goes to all ournewly retired Brothers and Sisters tocome and join us and have some fun.To our members who are ill or shut-ins, best wishes for a speedy recov-ery and our bereaved families, weextend our sincerest sympathy onyour loss.

Erich Ruettinger, President

I hope you all had a good sum-mer and you are in good health. OurJune banquet was a full successagain. In August, we hosted theRegional Competition in euchre andshuffleboard of the Ontario SeniorGames. Our Labour Day bus trip toPort Elgin was a big success onceagain and the great jackets will keepyou warm throughout the fall, thanksto our generous local 636.

Our normal activities are under-way already with floor shuffleboardevery Tuesday and Thursday morn-ings. The recreation day is every2nd Wednesday and every 3rdWednesday we have a short meetingfollowed by a bingo game, 50\50draw and either potluck supper orbrought-in meal.

We had two delegates at the PortElgin Retiree’s Conference and theirreport was given at the September 17meeting. Upcoming reports and top-ics will be at future meetings. Comeout and stay informed.

11

Now that summer is over and fall is just around the corner, the RecreationCommittee has various activities to offer. The 2003-2004 Saturday afternooneuchre tournaments are set to begin October 18, 2003. As well, the friendshipdances are getting good turnouts with lots of fun. Although attendance wasdown this year at Family Day, there was lots of food and entertainment foreveryone. The Recreation Committee will again be holding Thanksgivingdinner at the hall October 13, 2003. Just a quick note that the New Year’sDance this year will have a D.J. and tickets will be available in earlyDecember. Keep looking for our notices on your bulletin boards for up-to-dateinformation.

Scott Bradford, Chairperson

12Printed by Commercial Printers (Stratford) Ltd.Paper contains minimum 50% recycled material including 10% post-consumer fibre.

PLEASERECYCLE!

ATTENTION: LOCAL MEETINGNOV. 27 - 8:00 P.M.

Family Day ~ September 7th, 2003Family Day ~ September 7th, 2003