AUGUST MEMBERSHIP MEETING NOTICE
Agenda:
The Officers will report on recent meetings with the Company over major Plant issues.
Although it’s too early to speculate on the impact of the SERO Window, the Officers will explain the process and timelines during their reports.
Committee updates and general business matters will follow.
MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS AND TIMES ARE:Thursday, August 16, 2007 (All meetings)
7:20 a.m. (3rd Shift) 1:00 p.m. (2nd Shift) 3:20 p.m. (1st Shift)
2007-2011 UE-GE CONTRACT SIGNED
On Tuesday, July 31, 2007 UE negotiating committee and the GE negotiating committee met in Pittsburgh, Pa to sign the 2007-2011 National Agreement. The signing was the culmination of months of planning and carrying out an aggressive rank and file campaign to make sure the union could secure an agreement that was fair to current workers, retirees and future workers.
506 members began playing an active role in the contract process back in September 2006 by filling out the contract surveys used to develop bargaining goals. After that and throughout the period ending with the June 26, 2007 contract vote, 506 members were involved in a continuous stream of contract-related events and actions that showed support for the negotiating committee and the UE and CBC bargaining goals. Left to their own devices, 506 members and stewards once again proved to be very creative when it came down to expressing themselves and sending a clear message to the company about the union’s aims and goals.
The UE national union officers and staff played an important role in negotiations. President John Hovis, Secretary-Treasurer Bruce Klipple and Conference Board Secretary Steve Tormey all made trips to Erie to help build momentum leading up to the negotiations. In addition, they also participated with the rank and file members of the committee throughout negotiations. The national union also provided the resources and materials we needed to argue our positions. Further, UE Washington I.R. Chris Townsend and UE NEWS managing editor Al Hart are to be commended for their invaluable help in producing the daily web reports and for the variety of other duties they carried out while they were in New York. Working back at the national office, Rick Peduzzi and Gary Huck lent their talents to provide all of the technical and graphic work that went into tasks like keeping the website fresh and producing contract leaflets.
The Local 506-hosted CBC Rally was the largest and most important event held during the negotiations. It was a huge undertaking but it came off flawlessly thanks to the rally committee and the many 506 members who volunteered to work at the rally. The committee worked for months planning and carrying out literally hundreds of details to make the event one of the best ever. Committee Chairman Dennis McLaughlin along with Kevin Ireson, Roger Zaczyck and Matt McCracken were principally responsible for the success of the event. Kevin’s wife Becky Ireson also made an important contribution by producing the excellent video that was shown at the rally. From a grateful Local 506 membership – Thanks Becky.
CONTRACT T SHIRT SALE
They've served their purpose well but we have a pretty good sized inventory of 2007 Contract Shirts left to sell so we’re cutting the price to $5.00 each. They will be sold during membership meetings over the next couple of months. We have the following sizes available: Grey "All Aboard" (XL and 2XLs); Blue "Fighting For Our Future" (Small, Medium, Large, 2XL, 3XL and 4XL {No XL}) Both shirts have the Local 506 logo on the front with "70 Years Strong" printed below.
FROM THE CHIEF PLANT STEWARD
- By Mike Hayes
I would like to start out by thanking everyone for their hard work and the staunch unionism displayed during Contract talks. Because of your actions, I believe our Local served as a role model for many of the other unions. "When the going gets tuff", you have to Stand Up and Fight, and that’s exactly what we were ready to do.
When I was in New York for the conference board vote, I met some of the
representatives that were involved during the entire talks and, through
discussions with them, I can tell you this Contract was not cut and dry.
Without a doubt, our Local and the others were very lucky we had Frank and
Pat up there. These two guys did an outstanding job up there and, in my
opinion, along with Lynda Leech (618) and RAGE Chairman Ron Flowers, they
clearly led the charge for our wages, benefits and working conditions.
Our Step II Grievance meeting was on August 3, 2007. We had 25 new Cases and reviewed 4 that were on hold. Some of the cases were related to Payment Issues, Overtime, Job Posting, Discipline Issues and Discrimination. 22 of these cases were resolved.
Lean Issues - We have 2 grievances that just went to Step II –
Cases#38 and #39. The company meet over those issues on August 15th
– So maybe we can finally resolve those grievances as well.
We also have Lean pay issues in Bldgs. #6, #12, and #18 that have gone on
way too long. After visiting these buildings and seeing what the workers are
doing, I couldn’t find a good reason for the Lean codes or the grandfather
rates not to have begun. We’ve have been addressing the Lean code issues
with the company with the intent of settling them soon.
ODDS AND ENDS
A United CBC- I’ve served on the UE-GE negotiating committee for five contracts and co-chaired large tables during four of those negotiations. I can tell you from my experience that I’ve never seen a more unified CBC. It was a real pleasure to work with representatives from all of the 13 CBC Unions. I attribute the revitalized CBC with overcoming most of the "new hire" issues and securing SERO Windows.
The August Labor Notes magazine reprinted much of a story that appeared in the last UE National NEWS about the actions the CBC engaged in to secure a fair contract. Local 506 is mentioned prominently in the article that’s posted on www.labornotes.org
When negotiations ended, I had a chance to catch up on the past Times News articles and Letters to the Editor that pertained to our Local and I have to say the letters submitted by our members were great. It showed me that "Union Pride" is alive and well in UE Local 506 and now the Erie community is aware of it.
The sacrifices we make for our Union. You’ve heard how bad it is to fly in and out of the Philly airport, the last trip back home from negotiations Local 618 President Lynda Leech and I flew from NYC to Philly to catch a connecting flight to Erie. Our plane was supposed to take off around 3pm but due to weather delays we didn’t board until 8pm. Once boarded, on the small, extremely stuffy commuter plane, we sat on the runway for over 6 hours before being returned to the terminal to refuel. We finally did take off about 4am and arrived in Erie in time to make the 7 am E-Board meeting. It could have been worse; the rest of the 506 Conference Board Delegates had to stay over in Philly and never made it home until 3pm the next day. Travelers be warned – stay away from that airport.
Thank you Dave Volk and Benny Randolph for serving as General Election Tellers. I’m sorry for omitting your names in the last 506 NEWS.
September Membership Meetings – Please note that due to the 70th UE Convention dates, the September 506 Membership Meetings will be held on Tuesday, September 11th at the regular times.
By now, everyone eligible for the SERO Window feature should have received an application in the mail along with materials explaining the process, the timelines and how to access a pension estimate. Please note that the completed forms must be submitted to the Company by August 31, 2007.
Retirement Seminars Scheduled for
August 18th and September 15th
GE Corporate Benefits Specialist Smitty Brumbly will conduct pension seminars on Saturday, August 18th and Saturday, September 15th. As explained on the reservation form on this page, there will be one morning session and another in the afternoon to facilitate the anticipated large number of interested people. Members eligible for the 2007 SERO Window and those members planning a regular retirement in the near future should attend.
The Pension Seminars will be held at Iroquois High School Auditorium
On August 18th and September 15
Morning Sessions 8am to 11:30am – Afternoon Sessions 1:00pm to 4:30pm
As with past SERO Windows, the officers encourage prospective retirees to learn as much as they can about their retirement benefits, as early as possible, so they can make a timely decision if and when they are offered a SERO.SERO RETIREMENT SEMINAR
If you plan to retire under the SERO window, you should plan to attend this seminar.
Retirement seminars will be conducted by a Corporate Representative at the Iroquois High School auditorium on Saturday, August 18th and September 15th. There will be morning and afternoon sessions approximately 3.5 hours each. The seminar will address pension benefits, social security, Savings and Security, insurance and retirement forms.
CONVENTION DELEGATES ELECTED
The following UE Local 506 members were elected to serve as rank and file delegates to the 70th UE National Convention.
Dan Bojarski – Building 7
Don Brown– Building 63
Mike Krugger – Building 10
Tim Newara – Building 10
The Convention will take place in Pittsburgh, Pa from September 16th through September 20, 2007. The Rank and File delegates will attend the Convention with the Officers along with Executive Board members: Nora Carnahan, Cyndy Casey, Patte Dillen, Todd Johnson, Dennis McLaughlin and Roger Zaczyk.
In Sympathy
The Officers and Executive Board Members of UE Local 506 wish to extend their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Kathy Hall, Bldg. 63, who passed away August 2, 2007.