Financial Secretary Report
Lary Greenhalgh

E Mail Larry Greenhalgh
Union Hall Office: 905-682-2611 ext 227

Recession won't end until people go back to work

We've heard an awful lot in the last couple of months that the recession is now behind us. But I don't agree. We may have come out of a paper recession but a job recession we have not. Early in January, we had yet another plant closure, CAW Dana brothers and sisters in Brantford, who have been there a long time. This news just sickens me.

We have government spokespeople going all over the world telling everyone we're in great shape, yet we literally have hundreds of thousands of people out of work; the unofficial jobless rate is over 17%! What's even sadder is that many of these people are now finding out that their pensions are in jeopardy too. Nortel sent that message loud and clear. These were people who thought they were going to have something at the end of the rainbow and it's not there. At the same time, Nortel gave fat bonuses to their executives while the workers' pensions were being reduced. Clearly there's something wrong here and we have to do something to address these problems.

If there's anything we need in this country, it's pension reform, to ensure that folks who have contributed to a pension plan are going to receive something when they stop working and it's not going to be only 50% of what they put in. These people were not the investors in their company, they were people who went to work every day and did everything right and at the end of the day the company put them at risk through no fault of their own. There's something wrong with that picture!

What we need is a national pension insurance plan. The government needs to ensure that if companies go bankrupt, the pension plans of these people are protected. How do we pay for it? Through the pension plans themselves, by a premium! Think of it: we pay a premium for car insurance, for house insurance, for life insurance. We need this protection now!

For those of us without a pension plan, we need real changes in old age security and in CPP. We need this in order to keep up with the rising cost of living so that as we get older we don't slip into poverty. But instead of increasing these benefits, many government are now saying that it's okay to work beyond your 65th birthday. This is crazy - we've got to open up those job markets to our young people. We've done our bit and we've got to step aside and the only way we can do that is with some dignity. Just how do we get that dignity? It means not having to go to food banks. It's having the means to enjoy our retirement and look after ourselves. To make that possible, the government has to ensure that our pensions are looked after. We are in a crisis and this needs to occur now!

We need a government that will put in place a strategy to put Canadians back to work. We need to start manufacturing again. When we manufacture, we create employment and we create wealth for all Canadians.

We are coming into a very special time - elections! Is your government working for you?

Think before you vote!

Over the past year to keep our union hall financially sound the Executive board has had to make some hard decisions. I thought I would mention some of our decisions:

1. cancel 199 News
2. decrease delegates to all conferences and conventions
3. decreased amount of yearly councils
4. decreased donations made

These are a few examples,but we must do more to stay valuable.

One option is to go on direct deposit with FirstOntario Credit Union where all members receiving payment will have money deposited to FirstOntario and then they can transfer from there. This would mean everyone receiving a payment from your Local must sign up an account with FirstOntario. There would be a time frame for this to be done in.

We are also looking at paying bi-weekly. This would save time for staff and time saves money.

CAW CLOTHING

We have a variety of union made clothes, male and female, shirts and jackets available for purchase, the purchase price is our cost. Drop by the Union Hall to check these out.

VACATION TIME

The union hall will be closed for the two week shutdown, same as General Motors. This allows our staff time to spend with their families and this is the least busy time at our hall.

JUST FOR FUN

I thought I would share a recipe with everyone: French Onion Soup
4 cans Beef Broth (consomme) soup
4 tablespoons butter
4 large Spanish onions
2 teaspoons worchestire sauce
1/2 cup red wine

Thinly slice onions and place in large pot with butter. Cook onions until tender. Add soup, worchestire sauce and wine. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes, upto to 2 1/2 hours. Let sit.

Place croutons in soup bowls, fill bowls with soup and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.

Let me know if you have a recipe you would like to share and I will add it to my article when space allows.

In Solidarity
Larry Greenhalgh