Thanks, thanks and many thanks. The recent national strike (the first since 1969) the local membership participated in was, from a morale standpoint, uplifting for me as well as many others. The membership usually underestimates the power they have to alter the decision making process. We as a society have been told, "Speaking out makes no difference, that the powers that be can and will do whatever they wish no matter what." Don’t buy into that baloney.

It is unfortunate the company forced us to take strike action; I for one do not take this action lightly. Sitting across the table from management and negotiating sometimes can be very frustrating given the state of things. As officers our words, as direct and demanding as they can be, carry just so much weight. When our collective voices speak, as yours did on the picket line, the company understands the power behind our words.

There will always be doubt as to the effectiveness of a strike only because the company will never tell you they have decided not to pursue a certain agenda for fear of the member’s response. No one can tell what the 2003 negotiations will bring but rest assured, without our sometime-militant approach, negotiations would have produced fewer results in the past.

The participation of our members and the support of the community was just fantastic. Folks stopped their cars, honked their horns or walked by and thanked us for taking up a cause they believe in as well. Yeah some flipped us off and others shouted, "get a real job", but they were outnumbered by far. Probably working on some miserable jobs somewhere and mad at the world, therefore making us an easy target for their expression of hopelessness.

My special thanks to the Chief Stewards and Board members who carried out the task of being gate captains for multiple four-hour shifts. Thanks also go to the Stewards for signing-up their departments and for volunteering themselves for picket duty. And of course, thanks to all members for being there. All of these commitments were carried out in some of the coldest weather we have seen in a long time and without the slightest complaint. I hope we do not have to repeat the strike lines in June but if we do we know and more importantly the company knows we are up to the task. I for one will be proud to stand side by side with you again if necessary.

As of February twelve grievances have been filed. Central Maintenance grievances concerning farmout of trades work continue to be processed. The trades groups are concerned over the amount of backlog work in the plant. The officers raised this concern with Union Relations who earlier stated that the businesses would have to live with the backlog of work since laying off trades workers. We feel that the backlog will become a problem when production management gets tired of waiting for the repairs and pressures maintenance management to farmout the work as an alternative. It will be interesting to see if the company lives up to it’s commitment not to farmout after they stated they believe the size of the maintenance crews are adequate.

February 13^th and 14^th, the local will participate in CBC discussions, in Washington DC, on upcoming contract negotiations. The discussions will be in the form of workshops on demands for contract language, benefits, wages and pensions. I will be on contract language and you can bet that, with our experience on job security issues, we will have plenty of suggested changes.

The membership meetings, from now until contract negotiations conclude, are extremely important. Certainly each and every Steward has the responsibility to attend and keep their members informed. However, the membership has a responsibility as well. Important issues come up at every meeting and you shouldn’t gripe you didn’t get a chance to voice your opinion if you don’t take the time to attend. See you at the meetings, thanks.

The results are in from the UE-GE Conference Board survey recently distributed throughout the shop. In this article, we will touch on the highlights but bear in mind that the contract surveys are just one of the tools we use to set our bargaining goals. At the January membership meetings, contract language and wage proposals from the floor were approved and on the February 20th meeting agenda, members will be given an opportunity to suggest pension and benefit changes they’d like to see. A compilation of proposals from all UE Locals must be submitted before the March Conference Board meeting.

GENERAL STATISTICS - At this point, after most of the surveys had been reviewed, we have determined the average respondent to be 50.4 years of age with 26.7 years of service. The ratio of pieceworker to dayworkers responding was 58% to 42%.

MEDICAL INSURANCE - 81% of members returning surveys belonged to the Health Care Preferred Plan, HCP, 17% to the GE (or company) Medical Benefit Plan, CMB and 2% to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Plan, UPMC. Not surprising, 85% of the respondents listed cost shifting as the single biggest concern or problem with respect to medical coverage.

PENSION - Also as could be expected, on questions of early retirement, most members replying to the survey said they would consider an early retirement, however 80% said their biggest priority with improving the pension plan was negotiating automatic Cost of Living Increase so they could afford to retire.

PAID TIME OFF - The survey results clearly indicated the need for more time off for all service ranges but especially for lower service, often-younger members.

JOB SECURITY - About half of the survey respondents experienced involuntary layoffs during the last three years so it’s understandably that 82% said that stopping farmouts and improving Job and Income security language was a priority.

Looking at the answers to other questions posed to members on the survey, we determined that Job and Income Security language improvements rank high on members’ priority lists. When asked to describe any general area of contract language that needed improvement, again a large number (73%) wanted improved language regarding jobs and outsourcing. Further, when listing the top three priorities for the 2003 negotiations, job security was number one.

CONCLUSION - Overall we feel that the survey results accurately reflect the concerns and needs of our membership. Given our demographics, a majority of us want to be able to retire before age 60 with better benefits and a hedge against inflation (COLA). As important as retirement issues are to members in this group, the survey results show that they are not strictly oriented to a single issue. In fact, all age and service groups put a strong emphasis on Job and Income Security. This obviously shows that even members approaching retirement are interested in preserving jobs for lower service workers and those to come.

While we concluded that job security topped the list of members’ concerns, affronting Company attempts to shift more medical costs during negotiations was not a distant second. Compared to three years ago, the recent survey shows a more interest in fairer wage package.

ODDS AND ENDS

Strike leftovers? - A blue and white cooler was left at the West Gate and a large stainless steel Thermos was left at the Main Gate. The owners can pick these items up at the Union Hall.

Our TAA appeal still hasn’t been decided. Even though benefits to laid off workers are at stake, it’s apparent the wheels of government turn very slow. Our UE guy in Washington, Chris Townsend, is turning up the heat on Senator Spector and Santorums’ staff to get some results.

Boycott Channel 24 - NABET members have paid ads on Erie buses urging everyone to switch off the local ABC affiliate. We understand their benefits, wages and even jobs are being attacked similar to Channel 35 workers, who were hit last fall.

UE Local 1159 members in Chicago are entering their fifth month in a strike against Azteca. Just a reminder, the boycott of Azteca tortilla products, which are sold locally, is still very much in effect. -P.R.

This is the second and final official notice that UE Local 506 will conduct nominations for all general offices during membership meetings on February 20, 2003 at the UE Local 506 Union Hall. Times for the meetings are 7:20 a.m. (third shift), 1 p.m. (2nd shift), and 3:20 p.m. (1st shift). Also, during the February meetings, the membership will select alternate-tellers for the General Election. Nominations for the following offices will be taken from the floor at each meeting. They are: Business Agent, President, Chief Plant Steward, Vice President, Local Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer, Executive Board Member at Large (three to be elected), Sergeant at Arms, Trustee (one to be elected) and Alternate-Trustee.

The election will take place on Thursday, March 20, 2003 at the UE Local 506 Union Hall. The polls will be open from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Voting machines will be used for all offices except Executive Board Member at Large, which will be by paper ballot.

Absentee ballots for those members scheduled for temporary military leave will be available on Wednesday, March 5, 2003 at the Union Hall and must be returned no later than Wednesday, March 19, 2003.

By virtue of this election, the Business Agent, President and Chief Plant Steward will be delegates to the District Six Council and to the UE National Convention.

SPORT SHORTS

The Sports Committee would like to remind members that applications are now available for the following annual events: