In Memorial

SEPTEMBER MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Members will vote on a Board recommendation to replace our current copier and Risograph with a single enhanced digital copier.

Delegates will report on the deliberations of the 66^th UE Convention this past week in Pittsburgh, Pa.

UE District Council Six President John Lambiase will be a guest speaker addressing all three meetings on the status of ongoing organizing and contract campaigns in the Erie area and throughout the District.

The officers will report on the progress made to reduce the number of announced layoffs and to resolve some of the warehouse issues.

MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS AND TIMES:

The Union’s grievance activity for the year stands at 46 cases filed compared to the 53 cases filed by this time last year. Of those 46 cases, 33 have been discussed at the Second Step level and twelve were referred to and discussed at the Third Step of the grievance procedure. Of the 33 grievances heard so far in 2001, there have been twenty settlements.

We had one case heard at our last step #3. It involved the discharge of a recently hired worker. The Union argued that the discharge should be rescinded, most importantly, because it was unfair for the company to hold the grievant to a more stringent discipline policy. The company insisted that the discharge was proper. Simply put, they knew, per the contract, that we couldn’t arbitrate a case for an employee with less than six months service.

Looking at issues across the plant, the Bldg. 63 Warehouse is still on the front burner. Shortly before shutdown, the company laid off the remaining workers affected by the "transfer of work" announcement. Prior to those layoffs, the Union argued that some of those workers should be retained because of an unexplained backlog of work. The workers were not retained and management went on to perform bargaining unit work during the shutdown. Rightfully so, all hell broke loose afterwards.

Over the course of several meetings on this issue, and several other outstanding issues, the company has attempted to resolve some of the Union’s concerns and we are continuing to meet and discuss the remaining issues. We have been very clear with the company where the warehouse is concerned, find a long-term solution to the issues!

Another plant wide issue is the introduction of E-Supervisor to the arsenal of weapons at the disposal of the employer. E-Supervisor enables the company to track each employee’s time and attendance and their discipline history on their current job as well as other jobs they’ve held in the Plant. This may make supervisors happy because the computer technology has made their job easier and it may make upper management happy because consistency is achieved. Our position remains - consistency is not always the best policy, each individual and each instance of absence should stand on its own merit. One-size fits all is not how they measure their customers and it should not be the way they always look at their employees.

A final thought. The CSF (Community Service Fund) drive will soon start here in the plant and each one of us will be asked to sign up as a new member or consider increasing your current pledge to the fund. As you know the money raised stays right here in our community and assists those who are less fortunate. Many of our past and present members use services funded by our donations. So please consider doing what you can to help out. Remember, we constantly hold the company responsible to be a good community member and we should not feel as though we are any less responsible in our community, Thanks

ODDS AND ENDS

Thanks go out to Erie City Councilman Chris Maras for sponsoring a resolution that urges Congress and the Senate to approve the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIW). H.B 2329 and S.B.250 would provide $12 billion over 10 years (states will match 20% of the project costs) with the proceeds going to upgrade existing rails, build new high speed lines and to purchase the high-speed trains needed to fulfill Amtrak’s 20-year capital improvement plan

Now that local, state and federal governments are serious about developing a high-speed rail infrastructure, GE should be serious about developing and building high-speed trains – but from what we’ve heard, they are not. Rather than lobbying the government, maybe we should lobby GE.

SERO Rumors are abound. Despite our best efforts to squash it, there has been a rumor floating around that there will be another SERO Replacement Feature "open window", for applicants. Unfortunately, I’m here to tell you that there is no validity to that rumor. However, a good number of members have been able to retiree this year on Regular SEROs, but those were directly due to layoffs. The earliest opportunity to negotiate another window won’t be until 2003.

The Erie Times News, in response to a letter to the editor, published that same day, recognized early tragedies such as Haymarket Riot, the Triangle Shirt Fire as well as bitter strikes, periodic depressions, sweatshops and lockouts. It was unfortunate, but not surprising though, that overall the Times found the letter to the editor to be a bit controversial. I did not, in fact I was glad to see labors history in print for a change, after all it’s not part of most curriculums.

The Times editorial implied that the letter dredged up bitter or guilty feelings about the past, my only criticism of the letter is that it didn’t conclude with the reason unions are necessary today. Sweatshops, lockouts and bitter strikes are every bit a reality today as they were in the early years. And labor unions are the only organizations fighting for workers rights. Maybe the Times should interview the TEMCO workers to see if there’s any bitterness out in North East. - P.R.

The Employee’s Community Service Fund of GE (CSF) Administrator elections for Buildings 7, 12, 63, 6-1, and 18 are scheduled for October 25, 2001. Nomination will be accepted for these buildings from October 1^st through October 5^th. Nominating posters will be found in these buildings at each CSF Bulletin board and other prominent areas. Additional posters will be found at the UE 506 Union Hall and on the Kiosk through out the plant. After the nomination period, should an election be necessary, election notices listing the nominees and voting times and locations will be posted on Monday, October 22. Each Administrator will serve a two-year term expiring December 31, 2003. Nominees must be a member of the CSF and work in the represented areas. Those accepting nomination must commit to the responsibilities of a CSF Administrator.

FAST TRACK AND LOST JOBS     By Randy Majewski

When Congress returns from recess, an important part of legislation will be looked at. This proposed piece of legislation deals with the Fast Track – Free Trade Act. As we all know, there is nothing to free trade as evidenced by the NAFTA and FTAA agreements. It is not fair trade, as they would like us to believe.

If this piece of legislation passes, it will give the President full authority without consulting with the House or Senate. The Economic Policy Institute study has revealed that the fast track of NAFTA has drained over 766,000 jobs in the USA as well as 276,000 jobs in Canada. In Pennsylvania alone, we lost 35,000 jobs to these fast track schemes. This is why we URGE you to contact our Congressmen and Senators to end this selling of American jobs. Remember the jobs you save with this effort could be yours.

MOTION ON WORK TRIPS DEFEATED

A motion, submitted at the 1^st shift meeting in July, was defeated in August. The motion stated, "no Local 506 Member may take Company paid trips to Mexico." Before the vote, at the third shift meeting, the maker of the motion asked to amend his motion to exclude members who go to Mexico to perform warranty or wreck work. The member seconding the original motion was not present to accept the amendments therefore the original motion stood.

INDEPENDENCE AND DEMOCRACY "A PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE"

UE General President John Hovis attended the three membership meetings on August 20, 2001 to explain a national financial plan designed to bring stability and give the Union an opportunity to grow. John told Local 506 Members that, "The decisions in front of us are difficult ones. In a Union run by the members, these decisions should be made by the members." John went on to detail the proposed plan developed through input and studies by the national officers, a special financial task force, the general executive board and UE District delegates from all over the country. A capsulated review of John’s presentation follows:

Corporate Agenda Puts New Pressure on all Workers and all Unions – Economics and political forces squeezing working people and their unions are formidable. The erosion of worker’s rights has made organizing more difficult and globalization has eliminated manufacturing jobs. The UE was hard hit in the 80’s when de-industrialization cut our membership in half.

Smaller Unions Merging – Many smaller and mid-sized unions have decided they can’t make it on their own in the tough environment described above. But merging doesn’t ensure lower dues and enhanced resources. In fact the opposite has occurred as a result of most of the mergers.

UE Chooses to Fight for its future – The General Executive Board, made up of 15 District and National leaders along with three trustees, has chosen to fight for our independence and for our democratic form of member-run rank and file unionism. They support the plan because our principals are worth preserving, principals that make us unique in the U.S. labor movement. They also support the plan because the Union still provides a myriad of services that may be lost if we have to merge. Legal, leadership training, education, research, arbitrations, political action and contract negotiations are just some of the many resources available to UE members and Locals through the national.

Investments and Deficit Spending – Losing half of our membership in the 80’s brought a steep decline in the per capita (dues) paid to the national union. At that time the union had a large enough reserve fund to offset the lost per capita through returns on investments.

About 10 years ago, the return on investments stopped being enough to shore up the general fund and we began running a deficit. Knowing, of course that UE could not run deficits indefinitely, the membership voted to take steps to try and put our financial house in order. We cut expenses by moving the national office, going to a self-insured dental plan, reducing staff and eliminating subsidies to districts. Per capita increases were also approved and to build our numbers back up we intensified our organizing efforts, all in an effort to seek financial relief.

Per Capita Increases – Our current per capita to the national is $12.00 per month. Had we increased that amount to adjust for inflation, we would be paying $15.16 per capita, per month to the National. Every year, even if we don’t buy another paper clip, the national’s costs increase by well over $100,000 simply due to inflation.

Membership Levels and Organizing Efforts – The number of Members in the UE has remained relatively flat for the last 10 years but not because of a lack of new organizing, there have been plenty of success stories there. Our organizing work would have increased our membership numbers and improved our financial situation if it we weren’t one other harsh reality. Every year hundreds and sometimes a thousand or more UE members exit by plant closings and layoffs. Last year we finished with almost the same number of members we had ten years ago. The good news is that we have held our own for ten years now. That’s more than many unions can say.

We Have a Healthy Reserve Fund but its not Enough – The National Strike and Defense Fund is healthy but it will not remain so if we can’t produce more revenue and produce greater spending cuts (spending cut recommendations outlined in plan details). Last year alone, the members approved a $1.3 million transfer from the Strike and Defense fund to meet the 2001 budget.

Do Nothing or Tackle the Problem – Considering the current deficit spending trends, if we do nothing we cease to exist in about seven years. Doing nothing would obviously be irresponsible. That’s why UE leaders throughout the country developed the plan – well in advance of reaching any crisis point for our union.

Financial Plan: Goals – The initial goal of the plan is to get the deficit under a million in one year and under $500,000 in 3 to 4 years. All while trying to avoid further cuts in field staff and maintaining a strong defense fund. In doing so, it is hoped that we can stabilize finances and secure UE’s future.

Cut spending by $542, 000 – The proposed financial plan calls for total spending cuts of $542, 000 over the next three fiscal years. These cuts will be accomplished through: a one-year pay freeze for all staff and officers, eliminating some of the field and office staff, reducing the number of UE NEWS issues and moving the national and Washington offices to save on rent. A task force will also look at going from annual to biennial conventions

Increase Per Capita – The plan calls for annual per capita increases over the next three years. Note that the following increases are on a per-month basis, not per week:

Fiscal Year 2002 - $3.00, Fiscal Year 2003 - $2.00, Fiscal Year 2004 - $1.00

Link Per Capita to inflation – The financial plan calls for the formation of a special task force to study and recommend a way to develop a formula for basing national and district per capita on hourly pay. The advantage would be that per capita would automatically be linked to increases in the cost of living. The task force would make its recommendations next fall at the 2002 convention.

Accountability – To ensure success, a key part of the proposed plan is to enhance accountability. First a new line item budgeting process has already been implemented. The second part of the budgeting process will be a review of the proposed annual budgets by the union’s General Executive Board. Third, the national officers will submit the budget to an additional semi-annual review by the GEB halfway through the fiscal year in January. Finally UE National Convention action would be required each year to authorize transfers from the national’s defense fund which are needed to make the plan work. This would mean that convention delegates would play a key role in holding the union accountable to the plan.

In summary, the overall plan being proposed to the 66^th National UE Convention this week, and explained to members attending the August 22^nd membership meetings, will keep our union strong, maintain our independence and promote democracy and democratic trade unionism. The plan will also allow us an opportunity to grow and to push forward - even when other unions have chosen other paths.

The goal is to secure the future of this union for the next generation of members and leader - As early UE Members did for all of us, we believe we must endeavor to keep the UE alive for those who come after us.

Earlier this summer, Karen O’Neil and Carol Goodman, Officers in the Veterans Administration Volunteer Office, presented two American flags to the Local 506 Membership in recognition of the Sports Committee’s long standing commitment to the residents of the VA Hospital.

The VA representatives stated that the VA was very fortunate to have Local 506 since the VA budget does not incorporate enough money for many of the special projects.

Thanks to the Local 506 Sports Committee over $35,000 has been donated and has been spent to buy TVs for resident’s rooms, provided expenses for participants in the VA Wheel Chair games, to build a new pavilion, and to support various sporting and educational programs. The VA also appreciates the volunteer time dedicated to the Committee’s various events citing that 120 volunteers are involved, just in the annual VA walk/run each year. That translates to over 1500 volunteer hours.

Thanks to everyone who made the Annual Local 506 Golf Tournament a success.

Turkey Tournament Set - The annual Turkey Volleyball Tournament has been announced and will be held on November 25, 2001.

Basket of Cheer tickets will be available in the upcoming months. The drawing will be held immediately following the December 19, 2001 1^st shift membership meeting.

SAFETY COORDINATORS ELECTION

Nominations for all safety coordinators will be posted in each building during Fiscal Week 39. The elections, for a 2-year term, will be held during Fiscal Week 41. Safety coordinators and members of the steering committee will be available should anyone need additional information.

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