NEWS AROUND THE LOCAL DECEMBER 2006
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RETIREE CHAIR REPORT January 2010

Happy New Year everyone. I hope that everyone will have a healthy and prosperous 2010. I can't believe what a wonderful country that we live in when you hear and see about the devastation that is going on around us. The earthquake in Haiti is unbelievable. No matter what channel you watch or paper that you read it is heartbreaking, I hope that when you say your prayers that you say one for all the people in Haiti.

I don't know how many seen the poll that was on the internet from CBC News Team at the National and Power & Politics team was chasing down answers to this weeks question from our federal politicians. There were four questions asked and you had to send your answers in by last Monday. It was very interesting to see the results of this poll, as the most asked question was, What will government do to protect the employees, pensioners and disabled workers who may be left without protection. 64% (70750) hit on this question.

The house may not be sitting, but you and the CBC News can keep this question period alive. You can go to Link to Your View to see other questions that are being asked. Updates on the Health Care Trust Fund are that we still haven't had a face to face meeting with the lawyers but are only being contacted through the internet with any updates.

The Superior Court has appointed the Honourable Justice Paul Perell as the case management judge for the class proceedings. Additional representative have been added to the Statement of Claim. An Actuarial model prepared by Towers Perrin which has been used by the CAW in running its various actuarial projections has been provided and will be provided to our actuarial expert. With parliament prorogued it is difficult to know when the income tax amendments supporting the health care trust agreements will be in place. I will keep you advised as matters move forward to the point that a meeting is going to take place will all of us named as defendants on this matter. If anyone would like to see the report that I have you can come after the meeting and I show it to you.

The National has sent us an email asking us to reaffiliate with the OFL, for the sole purpose of strengthening the labour movement in Ontario. This would also give us 2 positions on the board.

We attended a rally at the Hotel Dieu Hospital last Tuesday. Issues are job posting, seniority, critical issues of quality care and patient safety. They has 1100 post cards signed and they wheel barrelled them into the office of Debbie Sevenpifer.

Barb Abrams
Retiree Chair

DECEMBER 2006 ISSUE

CAW Local 199 Retirees Chapter hopes everyone got out and voted in the November 13th municipal elections. Members of our executive and a number of our more active members got directly involved in efforts to affect the outcome of these elections by participating in the work of the Union and Politics Committee (UPC). This was a valuable and worthwhile effort that restored CAW Local 199 as a major player in municipal politics in the Niagara Region. The work of the UPC gave us plenty to build on when the next set of municipal elections take place. We can play an even bigger role and achieve even more success in those elections. Organized labour, including the CAW, must help to elect the maximum number of people who have a strong and consistent labour agenda and will deliver for workers.

FirstOntario
Our members are very upset and concerned about the bitter strike at FirstOntario Credit Union in Hamilton and Stoney Creek. Management at FirstOntario clearly want to bust the union at these locations and we cannot tolerate their actions. Members of the CAW Local 199 Retirees Chapter have been going to the FirstOntario picket lines in Hamilton to show our strong support for the workers there who have been forced out on strike by management’s demands for drastic contract concessions. These workers have been getting support from members of other unions as well and especially from the United Steelworkers of America. The FirstOntario Credit Union in Hamilton used to be the Steelworkers’ Credit Union just like the locations here used to be the Autoworkers’Credit Union.

Last but not least, I want to again remind all of our retirees that our chapter’s general membership meeting is held at our hall at 2:00 pm on the third Wednesday of every month. We strongly encourage your participation. I also want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season.

The CAW Local 199 Retirees Chapter was well represented at the CAW Constitutional Convention in Vancouver the week of August 14, 2006. This was the case despite the fact that an emergency resolution to the convention calling for retiree delegates to be given voice and vote did not get to the convention floor to be debated and voted on. Our Local Union’s Executive Board is writing to the CAW National Office seeking an explanation of why this happened.

The convention was not very eventful. There was a heated debate on a resolution regarding the conflict in the Middle East. Some delegates took strong issues with CAW National President Buzz Hargrove’s statements defending Israel as well as with the content of the resolution.

All of the National Executive Board’s Officers who were up for re-election, including CAW National President Buzz Hargrove and CAW National Secretary Treasurer Jim O’Neil, were re-elected without opposition. So there were no contested elections. Most of the delegates quickly rose to their feet to give each member of the National Executive Board a standing ovation following their uncontested re-election.

Policy papers on Organizing and on Canadian Politics were debated extensively and voted on along with numerous resolutions. These documents were adopted with little opposition.

CAW Local 199 UPC
The Executive of the CAW Local 199 Retirees Chapter has also been playing a prominent role in our Local Union’s Union and Politics Committee (UPC).

This is a very important committee. It is only now realizing its potential with our participation being a major factor. We especially welcome the UPC’s current efforts to involve our Local Union much more deeply in Municipal politics in order to influence the outcome of this year’s Municipal Elections in Niagara. We would like to see as many retirees as possible get involved in this very important effort.

Finally, please keep in mind our monthly Retiree Chapter Meeting. These are held at 2:00 pm on the Third Wednesday of every month in Hall C at CAW Local 199 Union Hall. Your participation makes our Retiree Chapter strong.

At the time of this writing, there are several things to report form the CAW Local 199 Retired Workers Chapter.

Most notably, we had a great meeting in April that concluded with a big ham draw. Ham draws will become an annual event at chapter meetings immediately prior to the Easter weekend.

The Retirees Recreation committee held a very successful retirees Sports Banquet on the evening of Friday, May 5th. The event was enjoyed by all. The food and music were great. The turnout was excellent.

The retirees will once again be supporting the Injured Workers Day Rally on June 1st. The local rally will be held at the WSIB offices at the MTO building, 301 St. Paul St. in St. Catharines. Several CAW locals and the St. Catharines & District Labour Council are getting behind this event.

There will be no Chapter meeting in June. The next meeting will be at 2:00 p.m. on September 20th. In the meantime, we will be readying ourselves for a big turnout on Labour Day which will be on Monday, September 4th and your executive will be conducting the business of the Retirees Workers Chapter.
Have a great summer!

The CAW Local 199 Retirees’ Chapter was deeply saddened by the passing early this year of Brother Phil Reynolds. Phil served us well as the Chair of our Chapter and as a member of the CAW Local 199 Executive Board. Prior to his retirement, Phil had also served the membership as part of the in-plant leadership in the GM unit. Phil was a dedicated trade unionist whose contribution to our union was very significant indeed.

The CAW Local 199 Retirees Chapter will honour Phil by placing a framed photo of him on display in our center. We will locate it next to the photo of Jim Connell which has been on display since shortly after his passing. It will be on display as an ongoing gesture of appreciation for all that he did for us.

Our Chapter’s membership has been watching with great concern what has been happening to the CAW’s relationship with the NDP. We remain convinced that our continued affiliation with the NDP is in our own best interest and we will have more to say about this in the coming months.

At the beginning of January I had the pleasure of welcoming 103 new retirees at the retirement ceremony at the CAW Local 199 Hall. It certainly was great to see so many friends and fellow workers who I have known for many years successfully reaching retirement. I enjoyed being able to welcome them into our ranks. I am looking forward to their participation in our retiree’s chapter. I am also looking forward to seeing those who will follow their lead at the retirement ceremonies in February, March and April of this year.

The CAW Local 199 Retirees Chapter was well represented at the December 9 rally outside of the St. Catharines offices of the WSIB as part of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Day of Action. The weather was cold and uninviting but the rally was warm and inviting.

There were many good speeches. A clear message was sent to the Liberals at Queen’s Park to keep their promises to injured workers and make the legislative changes needed to give them the justice we so deserve. We will continue to support the struggle being waged by Ontario’s injured workers movement as we have in the past.

Finally I want to remind everyone to come out to our monthly Retiree’s Chapter Meeting at 2:00 pm on the third Wednesday of every month at the CAW Local 199 Hall.

Solidarity forever.

DECEMBER 2005 ISSUE

The CAW Local 199 Retirees Chapter held a press conference on Monday, November 7, 2005 to express our support for “Meals on Wheels”. We did this to publicly get behind this desperately needed service to our community and out of a desire to see other unions do the same. We also donated $1000. Meals on Wheels really needs the funds. But in our view what is really needed in ongoing government funding for the service Meals on Wheels provides and to a degree sufficient to realize the full potential of this valuable service.

Elsewhere our chapter is closely watching developments south of the border with great concern. We are alarmed by the attacks by the Big Three and Delphi on their workers and especially on their retired workers. Delphi is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to smash the gains won through many decades of struggle by UAW members and to cripple the union. If such attacks are successful it is just a matter of time before we find ourselves with a gun pointed at our head and being subjected to blackmail by corporations led by people who think pensions and income security should be things of the past.

Our next CAW Local 199 Retirees Chapter meeting is at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, December 21, 2005. We are looking forward to a large turnout.

I am writing this just after the announcement that the CAW’s strike target in 2005 negotiations with the Big 3 will be Ford. CAW Local 199’s Retirees Chapter is looking forward to a successful set of negotiations with Ford and we fully expect to see important gains made for all retired autoworkers. We also stand ready to lend our full support of the active membership in the GM Unit should GM decide it does not want to adhere to the pattern agreement.

I was privileged to represent the CAW Local 199 Retiree’s Chapter at this year’s Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Constitutional Convention in Montreal. I was especially pleased to see the strong support sister Carol Wall received in her bid to be elected CLC President. The support Carol Wall received sent a powerful message that we need a more militant and activist labour movement capable of turning back the many attacks on us by the corporations and their allies in government.

The one negative development at the convention occurred when Carol Wall was prevented from speaking to the CAW delegation to the convention. Denying her this opportunity was a violation of our democratic right to have equal access to the candidates and their views. It was also unfair to this sister who waged a courageous and historic fight for a stronger labour movement. This must never be allowed to happen again.

At the beginning of September I also attended the 2005 CAW Retiree’s Conference at the CAW Family Education Center in Port Elgin. I attended along with other members of our chapter and its executive. This was a most worthwhile event and a detailed report on it will be provided at our September general membership meeting.

Finally, I want to strongly encourage all of our retired members to attend our monthly meetings and get involved in our many activities. Your participation is the lifeblood of our chapter and is what makes it so good.

With each passing month, we draw closer to the Collective Bargaining Convention in Toronto and the start of contract talks with GM. Our members are showing a keen interest in what is going on and are very concerned.

I recently had the chance to discuss our concerns and priorities with GM Unit Chairperson and Master Bargaining Committee member brother Doug Orr. I was pleased to be assured that pensions and the protection of our benefits stand at the top of his list of priorities for our Master Bargaining Committee. In fact, I am optimistic that our negotiators will strive to regain losses we have experienced with respect to vision care and chiropractic benefits taken away by the Ontario Liberal government.

In the meantime, we can improve our ability to get our priorities met by showing up in greater numbers at our Chapter meetings and by showing up at the Collective Bargaining Convention in July. With the same in mind, we may also want to put on a public show of strength in the form of an information picket line designed to highlight our demands in 2005 contract negotiations.

Elsewhere, members of our executive attended the St. Catharines ceremony marking the National Day of Mourning for workers injured or killed on the job. We are also initiating a major public meeting to debate where the new hospital should be located and expect a large turnout.

Finally, I want to remind everyone that we meet at the Union Hall at 2:00 p.m. on the 3rd Wednesday of every month and will be having a meeting on Wednesday, June 15, 2005.

Have a happy and safe summer vacation.

Formal contract negotiations are just a short time away. GM has already started to put into effect its bargaining strategy. GM’s letter to our members telling us how much our benefits cost the company last year clearly showed this. It also showed that GM thinks it can bypass our negotiators and undermine them by communicating GM’s message directly to us. We cannot tolerate this. I want to tell GM in no uncertain terms that we see through what they are doing and will not be conned by them.

Furthermore, GM might as well know now that we will be taking our message that our benefits are the fruits of our struggles and cannot be taken away directly to this year’s CAW Collective Bargaining Convention. Our voice will be heard loud and clear.

By the time this edition of the 199 News is available, we will have had our March membership meeting. Sym Gill of the National Union will have been our guest speakers and will have offered us his perspective on benefit issues in this years’ contract negotiations. I have no doubt our members found his presentation most worthwhile.

The most unfortunate news of late comes out of our former St. Catharines Hydro unit. We lost the members of that unit thanks to St. Catharines City council’s support of the merger with Hamilton Hydro. This is a serious blow to our Local Union.

Those members of City Council who supported the merger must understand that this represents a blow to our community as well. We are losing good paying, public sector jobs to this community. Furthermore, those workers who did not lose their jobs will now be represented by a union that is not based in our community and has no loyalty to it. With a membership located mostly in Hamilton, the union representing these workers will not care about the well being of our community and will be inclined to make decisions based upon what is good for its members living in Hamilton. In addition, their dues dollars will now be going to Hamilton and will not be spent here in St. Catharines.

Those members of City Council who voted for the merger should think long and hard about these things. So should we, especially when municipal elections take place next year.

Finally, I want to strongly encourage all of the retired members who read this column to come out to our next meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20th. A strong turnout means a strong Retirees Chapter and a strong Retirees Chapter means an effective Retirees Chapter.

As we head into a brand new year I am very glad to report that all is well with the C.A.W. Local 199 Retired Workers Chapter as we are seeing more and more of our retired members turning our for our monthly meetings. Your new executive welcomes this increase in participation. We are committed to seeing it grow and grow.

The need for a stronger Retired Workers Chapter could hardly be clearer. We are now into 2005 when new collective agreements will be negotiated with the Big 3. We intend to make our voices heard loud and clear in this regard and have our needs addressed. I want to repeat that we expect to make progress this year and will not allow anyone to take us backwards.

GM had better understand this. It can whine all it wants about what it calls legacy costs. But we will not buy into their attempts to shape our thinking and manipulate our agenda. These legacy costs are actually the costs of preserving our economic security and material well-being. We earned our right to economic security and material well being. We will not compromise it. We have no doubt that our negotiators feel the same way and will hold to that view at the bargaining table and bring back collective agreements negotiated in the interests of the entire membership, including the retired membership.

GM also better understand that no form of two or three tier benefit packages will ever be accepted here. I say this because the UAW agreed to such a tiered benefit structure for retired workers at Caterpillar in its new six-year agreements. This shows why we are glad we are no longer members of the UAW.

At the time of this writing our Executive is preparing a motion to be brought to our January membership meeting. This motion will commit us to work to defeat those members of St. Catharines City Council who voted to allow Hamilton Hydro to swallow up St. Catharines Hydro. I will report more about this in my next column in the 199 News.

This being my first column as the Chairperson of CAW, Local 199 Retirees Chapter, I want to begin by expressing the thanks of all of the members of the new Executive for the confidence you have placed in us. We fully intend to do our very best in representing you and to make our Retirees Chapter one to be proud of.

There will be many things on our agenda. Making our voices clearly heard about the need to defend and strengthen our healthcare benefits and pensions in the next year’s contract negotiations will be at the very top of our list. We want to see real progress achieved.

Our chapter can also be counted on to play a major role in support of the struggles of other workers in our community.

Already we have played a prominent role in the fight to keep St. Catharines Hydro locally owned and controlled. Likewise, we will make ourselves heard regarding a wide variety of issues in the Niagara Region.

I would also like to clear up any misconceptions about the new Executive not maintaining the current recreational activities the members of our chapter take part in. The Recreation Committee will continue to function with the full co-operation of the Executive Board of the Chapter in the hope that this committee will prosper with a new elected Executive Board. Not only that, we will be increasing the number of turkeys we will give away at our December meeting from 25 to 40.

Come out to the December 15th meeting and win you and your family a turkey, courtesy of the CAW, Local 199 Retirees Chapter.

Hi everyone. I hope you have had a nice summer. Not much sun, lots of rain and fall nights. Can’t remember summer being like this before.

Things are in full swing once again in the retirees center. A new recreation committee has been elected and is open to new suggestions and ideas as to how to make things better. The new chairperson of the Recreation Committee is Garry Garrett. We are hoping to have a secretary and a vice chairperson by our September meeting. The exercise class went through the summer. Getting bigger every week. Golf league will continue until October. Below is a schedule of events for the 2004-2005 year and what times these events take place. Cut it out and put it on the fridge. Many members say that they do not know about our activities until they are over. All of the conveners will be selling tickets to the socials before they take place.

Even though we do not have meetings through the summer I still attend meetings at the local every 2 weeks with the local executive. Business as usual at the local with negotiations with small units, etc. We attended a Health Action Assembly & Teach In at Niagara on the Lake July 28th. This was when the Premiers were meeting in NOTL. Very interesting speakers describing the Health Care problems in their provinces. Rally was attended by hundreds, who voiced their concerns over the privatization of hospitals and health care. The Victoria Order of Nurses met with Minister Smitherman trying to get some understanding as to why the jobs are being dispersed to private companies. They came out of this meeting still disillusioned with the answers that they were given. The VON is a dedicated organization who have helped thousands of people in need.

Buses of our retirees and spouses participated in the Labour Day Parades in St. Catharines and Port Elgin. Thanks to all of you who attended. As I have said MANY times before YOU the membership make this chapter the success that it is. I’d like to thank Garry Garrett & his committee for their help with the jackets for Labour Day.

At our October membership meeting we will be having elections for the Retired Workers Executive and for a delegate to the NDP. Please plan to attend.

A new computer training course is being finalized by the National. Watch my column for details. Hopefully we can get the room downstairs in the retirees center back and have some computers set up there for our members to use.

Next meeting is October 20th at 2:00 pm. See you there.

Following are the times and places of the various sports programs:

Monday Bowling 5 Pin 1:15 pm Fairview Lanes
Monday Bowling 10 Pin 1:15 pm Parkway Lanes
Tuesday Shuffleboard 9:30 am Port Weller Ctr
Tuesday Cribbage & Pool 1:30 pm Retiree Ctr
Wednesday Crafts 9 - 11 am Retiree Ctr
Wednesday Euchre 1:30 pm Retiree Ctr
Thursday Darts 1:30 pm Retiree Ctr
Friday Snooker 1:00 pm Retiree Ctr
Friday Open Euchre 7:30 pm Retiree Ctr
Saturday Games Night 7:30 pm Retiree Ctr

Here is our schedule of Events for the coming season:

Sept. 18th BBQ, Corn & Games Night
Oct. 16th Octoberfest & Games Night
Nov. 20th Potluck & Bingo Night
Dec. 11th Christmas Party & Games
Dec. 31st New Year’s Eve Dinner Dance
Jan. 8th Potluck & Casino Night
Jan. 30th Super Bowl Sunday & Potluck Dinner
Feb. 12th Beef on a Bun & Games Night
Mar. 12th St. Patrick’s Day Potluck
Apr. 16th Beef on a Bun & Bingo Night
May 6th Annual Sports Banquet
May 28th Hamburg BBQ & Games Night
June 8th Annual Retirees Picnic
June 25th Closing Spaghetti Dinner & Casino Night

In my last article of the 199 News, dates were published for the computer training up until the end of July. Hopefully some time in the next few months a third course is going to be offered to our members. The computer training has been a great success with over 500 members and spouses taking advantage of this opportunity. Watch my column for any further details on future courses.

On April 3 our members and spouses attended a rally in Toronto on P3 hospitals and saving public Medicare. The provincial budget is coming on May 18. But after months of repeated deficit-slaying rhetoric from the premier, the government is quietly ushering in P3 hospitals that will cost more than public hospitals and threaten the sustainability of Medicare. A group of economists have spoken at open forums across Ontario in the last month. Petitions have been signed that will be submitted to the Ontario Legislature.

I attended CAW Council in April where many recommendations were debated. Health Care is on the minds of everyone. We do not want to have the health care system that the US does. There are millions of families in the US that do not have health care coverage. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund Protection is another hot topic. Immediate protection of accrued pensions benefits are needed for all active and retired employees in the Province of Ontario.

At our May meeting we presented and debated resolutions from our chapter that will go to the Retired Workers Conference in September. Elections were held for committees and conferences. At the time of writing this column (May 6), I do not have the results. Because we have to have this article in so early before it is sent out to our members some things change. The best way to follow up on events is to come to the retirees center or call.

On September 6, Labour Day, we will be sending a bus to Port Elgin for our members and spouses to participate in the only retiree’s Labour Day in Canada. This parade of retirees is getting bigger every year and is being recognized around the world. If you would like to join us for this day please call the hall and leave your name and number. Bus will leave the hall 7:00 am and return approximately 6:00 pm. Lunch will be provided at the Family Education Center. Members will also be participating in the Labour Day parade in Merritton along with the Local. Festivities will be held back at the hall for our members that participate in this parade. I do not know whether we will have tee shirts, jackets, etc . for this event. When you call the hall if you are going to participate in either the parade in Port Elgin or Merritton please leave your name, number, and size.

Have a safe summer. Next meeting September 15 at 2:00 pm. Election will be held October 20, 2004 for the Retired Workers Executive.

New dates have been scheduled for the computer training. Basic is April 20, 22, 27 & 29th, May 18, 20, 25 & 27, June 15, 17, 22 & 24, July 13 & 22. Introduction to the Internet is April 6, 8, 13 & 15, May 4, 6, 11 & 13, June 1, 3, 8 & 10, June 29, July 1, 6 & 8. No workshops in August. Registrations can be picked up at the CAW Union Hall. Spouses and surviving spouses of retirees are now allowed to take the course.

On April 3rd we had a bus of retirees and spouses attend a rally in Toronto to stop the private hospitals. Along with members of the Ontario Health Coalition and members of other locals this rally was a great success. Ontario’s government is considering seven more private P3 hospitals on top of the Brampton & Ottawa privatizations. They are moving closer to signing these deals. They said that they were opposed to privatization and now they have reneged on their pre-election promises. We cannot let the future of our hospitals be controlled by for-profit corporations. OUR VOICES HAVE TO BE HEARD! Thanks to all who attended this rally.

Volunteers are needed for the Ontario Senior Games from August 16-18. Call 905-688-3300 if you are interested in volunteering. Any amount of time will be appreciated. Bowling, euchre, darts, cribbage, bocce, swimming, golf, horseshoes, shuffleboard, lawn bowling, etc. are just a few of the events that are going on. Call for more details.

On June 7th we will be having a bus going to Port Elgin for the day. Many of our retirees have stated they have never seen our Family Education Center and would like to tour it. The Chapter will pay for the bus and lunch will be provided at a cost of $14 each. If you are interested in going, please call the union hall (905-682-2611) and leave your name and number.

At our May membership meeting we will have election for the United Senior Citizens Ontario, National Pensioners, Congress of Union Retirees & Retired Workers Conferences. Elections for the Recreation Committee will also take place.

June 3rd will be our Annual Retirees Day hosted by CAW Local 199. This is always a great day, seeing many of our fellow workers that we worked with for so many years. Many of our members have moved away but always come back for this day.

Our golf league will be starting up again. Sign up sheets are in the Centre if you have not already registered. Our exercise class will also continue throughout the summer months for those who wish to attend. Bowling and shuffleboard finish with our annual sports banquet but the center remains open until the end of June with cribbage, euchre, darts and pool, whatever you want to do. Come out and enjoy.

Next meeting is Wednesday, April 21st @ 2 pm. See you there.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe holiday. At our December meeting, we had quite a turnout, standing room only. I wish we could fill the hall like that every month. In December, it was announced that our spouses could take the computer training. If you have already taken it and would like to take it again, you can do so. If your spouse has already taken it and you would like to take it with them, you can. We only ask that we have some kind of identification stating that you are a CAW member or spouse of a CAW member. Associate members are not allowed to take it. In the New Year we are planning to have two (2) computers set up in the room downstairs for our members to use. I don’t know how we will police it but we will figure out something.

I’d like to thank anyone who brought non-perishable food items to the hall. Along with all the gifts from our Xmas party, mittens, hats, scarves and socks, we have made Xmas for a few families a little bit brighter. There has been a definite increase in families requesting assistance this year.

I attended CAW Council in Toronto in December where we adopted a resolution dealing with the future of our health care system. The resolution calls on Ontario’s Liberal government to honour its pledges to cancel the proposed P3 hospitals and end the creeping privatization of health care. The introduction of more and more private for profit ownership and operations in the health care system is a dangerous threat to the future of Medicare. It was a cold and windy day but there was a good turnout from retirees.

We also passed a resolution at Council that all local unions support legislation in all jurisdictions in Canada to guarantee pensions and further recommend that Ontario Locals campaign to improve the coverage in Ontario under the Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund.

Meetings have been held in St. Catharines regarding the location of the new hospital that is going to be built. There are a lot of pros and cons regarding the site. We certainly do not want the Hotel Dieu and General Hospitals to close. These hospitals are central and concerned citizens would like to keep the hospital in the heart of the city. I’m sure that we will hear more about this in the future.

Our exercise program is growing and seeing new retirees coming down to the Centre is encouraging. The Centre is there for you and your partner to enjoy. Come out and get involved. We need new ideas to keep the Centre active.

Some of our members are having trouble with the new system at the credit union. We are planning to have staff from the credit union at our meetings to answer any questions that you have.

Next meeting is February 18, 2004 @ 2:00 pm. See you there!

Our computer program is going great. We will be having new classes starting in December. I’ve had a few calls asking if we can take the course more than once. No, you can only take the basic and the internet course once. We are hoping that by the end of the year our spouses will be able to take the courses also. This will have to be approved by the NEB. We will have a lot of happy spouses, as they have wanted to take the course from day one. Registration forms are in the Retirees Center and in the main office of Local 199. Proposed dates: Internet: Dec. 2, 4, 9 & 11, 12:30 - 3:30 pm;
Basic: Jan. 13, 15, 20 & 22, 12:30 - 3:30 pm;
Internet: Feb. 3, 5, 10 & 12, 12:30 - 3:30 pm;
Basic: Feb. 17, 19, 24 & 26, 12:30 - 3:30 pm.

The Craft Ladies have set up a mitten tree in the Retirees Center for mittens, scarves, hats and socks, etc. It is truly sad when you read in the paper as to how many children go without hats and mitts throughout the winter months. These articles will be given to Community Care.

Requests have been made regarding purchasing a CAW ring. If you are interested you can call Barron Insignia in Windsor at: 1-(519)-944-4089 and I’m sure that they will send you a catalogue.

On October 29 Len Harrison gave a submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in Toronto regarding prescription drug issues on behalf of all of us. We did not want the pharmaceutical industry to dominate the hearing. It is important that our voices are heard on these very important issues.

On November 6, I along with other retirees attended the dinner for the Night of a 1000 Dinners, sponsored by the Canadian Landmine Foundation, Ploughshares, CAW Local 199, and the Peace & Disarmament Committee. Guest speakers were Bob White and Chris Gallagher. Hats off to the members of this committee for a job well done.

The bus-train will participate in the St. Catharines, Thorold and Niagara on the Lake Santa Claus parades. Flyers will be posted in the Hall as to what time the bus-train will be taking people to these parades.

We will have barrels set up in the Hall and in the Retirees Center for non-perishable food items to be collected at our December meeting. We will have a light lunch after the meeting and a turkey draw for 25 lucky members. The Local Christmas Party for the Children will be held on December 14th.

Registration forms were in the October 199 News. These have to be filled out and returned to the Hall.

Our exercise program is getting bigger every week. We now have equipment to work with. Come out and do what you can. No pressure is put on anyone.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. All the best in 2004.

Next meeting is December 17th at 2:00 pm, and then January 21, 2004 at 2:00 pm. See you there!

I hope everyone had a save summer and survived the 2003 blackout. Sure was scary. Our Retiree’s Centre is in full swing again. The recreation committee have had a meeting and have planned this year’s events. Watch for the list in the 199 News. Cut it out and put it on your fridge because the 199 News does not come out every month. We have had a busy summer even though the center has been closed. I have attended many meeting both locally and nationally. At the time of writing this column we have not had a membership meeting but I am looking forward seeing you all back at the meetings. We will have guest speakers throughout the year.

Local 199 submitted Percy McKay’s name to the National as a nomination for the Outstanding Retired Worker of the Year Award. Fourteen (14) names were submitted for this award but only one can be chosen. Brother John Redko from Local 222 Oshawa was chosen for this year’s award. All the members that had their names submitted are all deserving of this award. We were proud to have submitted Percy name. This award will be given out at the Retired Worker’s Conference.

Our Labour Day Parade in St. Catharine’s was attended by a bus of our retirees and spouses. We also had a bus of our retirees and spouses attend the Labour Day Parade in Port Elgin. Thanks to all of you who attended. I’d like to thank Ted Fauteux and his committee and Angelo Pizzacalla for looking after the jackets for our members. The Big 3 Fund paid for the bus for our members to attend the parade in Port Elgin.

I wrote a letter on behalf of all retirees and spouses to Ernie Eves, Premier of Ontario regarding proposed changes under the guise of helping seniors and homeowners cope with the high cost of housing. These moves such as refunds of some of the educational part of property taxes and returns of some mortgage interest are only attempts to get re-elected. The majority recipient of these government vote grabs will be high earners and those with higher priced homes. There is a crisis in the lack of reasonable priced housing for lower income Canadians and Home Care and Long Term Care. We feel that the money that would be used on their proposals should be used on Home Care and Long Term Care and to rescind the increase on Seniors in Nursing Homes. I don’t know if this letter will do any good but we have to try.

Our exercise class is in full swing. We will probably have to move the wall to accommodate all of us in September. Come out and participate in this great program. Monday and Thursday morning from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Remember, if you have any ideas or suggestions, please get in touch with one of the executive or the Recreation Committee. We are always open to new suggestions. All you NEW RETIREES, come out and participate and get involved. Next Meeting: October 15, 2003 at 2:00 p.m.

See you there!

All our activities are starting to come to a close. Golf will be starting on May 2. We have many new golfers this year and a spare list. Spares get to golf quite often, so if you have signed up for a spare I’m sure that you will be called with people going on holidays etc. I have signed up for a spare and am looking forward to getting a few games in myself. Our Sports Banquet was a great success thanks to the recreation committee and Ben for a job well done. In April and May we had more of our members retire. The retirees double the amount of active members we still have in the plant. This is scary as to what is happening with the auto industry in St. Catharines. Ronal just announced that it is closing their facilities in Stevensville throwing about 130 of our members out onto the street. (Shame). It was good to hear that GM is cancelling their contract with Ronal and are not going to use there wheels and rims and hopefully Ford will do the same.

I have just come back from meeting with the National Retired Workers Executive and GOOD NEWS. The Computer program has been approved and will be starting soon for all CAW Retirees. This program will be held at the Adult Learning Centre on Lake St. with 2 courses being offered, Basic and Internet. Watch my column or call the hall for more details. This course has been a long time coming, 2 years of fighting with the National.

As this might be the last 199 News till September, keep in mind these upcoming events. “Labour Day Parade” in St. Catharines “buses provided”. We will be having a bus going to Port Elgin if you are interested in participating in the “Labour Day Parade” at Port Elgin. To receive a tee shirt etc. you must participate in the parade. “Fantasy Island” Local 199 Picnic, due to the lack of participation last year, (8 members), we will not be sending a bus “unless” more members sign up. If you are interested in attending any one of these parades, please call the hall and leave you name, size and phone number.

At the time of writing this column, I do not know the results of our elections. Will publish results later. I will be attending the Collective Bargaining Conference in August. This conference deals with any changes that we are requesting and updated in the constitution. We have had a few changes and additions to our bylaws, which had to be approved by the National. Remember, you the membership, has the final say in any changes, approvals or additions to the bylaws. Some retirees chapters do not have any bylaws, but Local 199 Retired Workers Chapter have always gone strictly by the book and will continue to do so.

I hope everyone will have a safe summer. Hopefully it won’t be as hot as last summer. Remember, if you know of anyone who is in need of any information or help, please contact one of us.

See you in September!

Next meeting: September 17th, 2003 at 2:00 p.m.

In February and March we had approximately 150 new retirees come out of the plant. Congratulations to all of you. Hope to see you and your spouse or partner down at the Retirees Center. It is there for you to enjoy. We have attended many rallies over the past few months. Fleet, Niagara Motors, Ronal, Washington Mills and Tim Hudak’s office in Stevensville. Thanks to all who came out and showed their support for these rallies. As Jack Layton our new NDP Leader said “Not Taking Action Is The Same As Approving”, and we certainly do not approve as to what is happening in the Niagara Area with out auto industry.

On February 25 we had our first new Medication Awareness Class. It was attended by 22 of our members and spouses. Dean Lindsay, Co-Coordinator of the Big 3 Retired Workers Fund came down and presented the new program to our members. We will be having another class as soon as we get at least 18 people signed up. If you are interested in attending the class please call the hall and leave your name and phone number. We will determine a date after that and will be touch with those who have signed up. Call 905-682-2611 or sign up at the hall. First 18 signed up will be called. This is a one-day course with lunch provided. At our first class we had a nutritionist speak to us. Different speakers will be at our classes.

In the final Romanow Report, Canadians have reflected what they want in terms of saving Medicare. It seems that the Federal and Provincial levels of government are ignoring what Canadians want. We have to let them know what we think. If we remain silent politicians, we will continue to expand the privatization of our health care services and the principles of Medicare will be lost. Letters from our National President, Buzz Hargrove have gone out to the Prime Minister on Protecting and Strengthening Public Health Care in Canada. Our voices have to be heard.

At our February meeting Daniel Peat spoke to us on the Rozanski report. We also passed by-law changes and additions regarding finances. These will have to go to the National for their approval. Local 199 delegate to the United Senior Citizens of Ontario is Ron Boyer. Ron will represent Local 199 RWC at these meetings.

The Niagara Area Council along with CAW Local 199 Retired Worker’s Chapter have sent another letter to Buzz Hargrove regarding a computer training course to be set up at our local. When we were at Port Elgin for the Retired Worker’s Conference, we had 2 nights of training on the computer if you were interested. Both nights were filled, not enough computers for those who wanted to take the training. This is one of the courses that could be paid for out of the 2-cent fund that was negotiated in our contract with the Big 3. Many members are interested in this training, so we hope to hear from the National soon regarding this program. Watch my column for details. I will let everyone know when we hear something.

Next meeting: April 16, 2003 at 2:00 p.m.

Hope to see you there.

Happy New Year. I hope everyone has a safe and prosperous year to come. We had 18 of our members and spouses attend a lobby in Ottawa along with members from other locals and the Canadian Health Coalition. Thanks to all who attended. We still must mount massive pressure on our governments to support the recommendations in the Romanow report.

I wrote a letter to the Canadian Employment Insurance commission regarding a recommendation that was defeated with a vote of non concurrent at the Canadian Congress of Retirees Conference, re: investing more and more of our CPP funds in the equity market. Recent reports have indicated that billions of dollars of the Canada Pension Plans funds have been lost on the equity stock market.

Carolyn Szacas and I attended the Medication Awareness class in Port Elgin. This program has been revamped and will be taught here at the hall this year. It will be a one-day session with lunch provided.

At CAW Council, 10 recommendations along with emergency resolutions were passed with a lot of debate. Buzz Hargrove’s report was very interesting and covered various issues from coast to coast. We debated issues ranging from the pressing need for an auto policy for Canada to the Romanow Report on the future of public health care, to the war on Iraq.

CAW has filed bad faith bargaining charges against Ronal Canada Inc. 39 of our members have been locked out since October 31, 2002 and are maintaining picket lines at the plant. If you can spare an hour or so, please show your support to these workers.

Our exercise class is in full swing. Our instructor Brier is doing a great job. Soon we will have to use the full hall. Come on out. She gives us a great workout and you work at your own pace. Monday and Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at the CAW Union Hall.

Congratulations to all who won a turkey at our December meeting. It was a full house again with chairs lining the wall at the back of the hall. It was nice to see our new retirees in attendance. Thanks to Ben for a lovely lunch and the woman’s Auxiliary for their help. Thanks to everyone who brought a non-perishable food item to be donated to Community Care.

Next meeting is February 19th @ 2:00 pm. See you there.

The Big 3 has just finished negotiating a new 3 year contract for General Motors. This was not a pension year but we still benefit from the improvements that were negotiated. Hats off to the negotiating committee. I know that they did not get everything that they wanted as far as jobs were concerned but hopefully G.M. will get more business and our laid off members will be recalled.

The 199 News has been reduced to 5 issues a year now. Publication will be in February, April, June, September and November.

At time of writing this article, we are trying to get a group of our members to attend a rally in Brampton on October 19, 2002. This rally is in support of stopping the privatization of our public hospitals. Rallies will be held in Brampton and Ottawa.

We have started our exercise class on Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m. at the CAW hall ‘A’. This class will be every Thursday at 9:00 a.m. Come out and join us, it’s great. I have sent the names into the National regarding Medication Awareness Training and have requested financing for the exercise class. The golf league had their party and prize day on September 27th. We were rained out that day but went ahead with the party and prizes. Winners will be determined on October 4th after they golf, weather permitting. Thanks to Ted, Bud and Gerry for all they did this year and thanks to Denise and Sylvia for the prize table. Everyone got a prize.

I’m sure that everyone is complaining about their hydro bill. As I stated before, I have written a letter to the Premier regarding the privatization of hydro. I hope everyone has done the same. Our voices have to be heard. Complaining to one another doesn’t do anything.

At our October meeting, we had a speaker from the Shaver Hospital. Bob Bell spoke to us on the facility and explained the programs that are offered at the Shaver. A lot of rehabilitation is offered. At our November meeting we will have an election for the delegates to represent us at the Niagara Area Council.

Congratulations to CAW, Local 222 Oshawa. The “Retired Workers Chapter” celebrated their 50th anniversary on October 8, 2002. CONGRATULATIONS!

If anyone knows of any retiree who is sick or in the hospital, please call Mary McKay at 905-934-4917 and let her know. Mary is our sick visiting committeeperson and is doing a great job at it.

The next meeting is Wednesday, November 20th at 2:00 p.m. See you there.

SEPTEMBER 2002 ISSUE

On July 1, 2002 we had 64 new retirees come out of the plant. Congratulations to all of you on your retirement.

We are still continuing to fight to save Public Medicare. In the past few weeks (at the time of writing this article) we are fighting the government on the increase of Nursing Home Payments. $2,560.00 per year increase is outrageous. Seniors on fixed income cannot afford this ridiculous increase. Rocking Chair demonstrations have taken place across the province. Thanks to all who participated in these protests. These protests are intended to raise awareness and stop the government’s sneaky, new 15% user fee on seniors living in nursing homes.

In the past 2 months I have written letters to the Premier of Ontario regarding Private for Profit Hospitals in Ontario and to undertake some positive measurers to ease the shortage of doctors in Ontario. I also sent the premier a letter re: Privatization of Hydro One. Since then, the chief executive officer has been fired. I also urged the Premier and his government to rescind the privatization of Hydro One.

August 17 was our Local Picnic at “Fantasy Island.” A busload of our retirees and spouses attended the picnic. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. Labour Day was a great success with our local chapter and the retired workers participating in the parade in Merritton. I hope everyone enjoyed the activities that were available at the hall after the parade. We will be starting an exercise class at the hall. Come out and shed the few excess pounds that we have put on during the summer months. The girl that I was hoping to teach the exercise has prior commitments. Details to follow. The Computer Training program is still in the hands of the National. Another proposal has been presented to the National for their consideration. Hopefully we can get this program started soon. Our Local and the National Retired Worker’s executive are very supportive of this program but the National has the final say. This program will be funded through the Big 3 Retired Worker’s Fund that was negotiated at the last set of negotiations. Dean Lindsay our co-coordinator of the Big 3 Fund is willing to help us in any way he can. The Medication Awareness has been revamped and should be up and running. I am waiting for a call letter on this so I can submit the names of the people that would like to be involved in this program. I have sent the National a list of suggestions of programs that we could use the money from this fund for. As soon as I hear from the National we will let the membership know.

The Retired Worker’s Centre has opened up as of September 3 and all activities have already started. I hope everyone has got themselves involved. I always encourage the new retirees to come out and get involved. We need new ideas and members to get involved.

The golf league will be coming to an end in October. Thanks to Ted, Bud and Gerry for a great season of golf. This league was only started a year ago and has proved to be a great success. This is why we need new ideas for our activities. If we do not offer something that you would like to do, make the suggestion and with your help we can make it happen. This is how the golf league got started.

On June 6th we had our Annual Retirees Day. I’d like to thank the Local for putting this event on for us again this year and all of those who were involved in the planning. The music by Memories added to the festivities for the evening. Some of the retirees and their spouses sure can kick up their heels to a great tune. If you weren’t dancing, it was nice to watch. This social gives us the opportunity to reminisce with many of the people that we worked with for many years. It’s sad when you lose contact with your colleagues after spending so much time with them in the plant. A group of the girls I worked with all golf together every week so we can keep in contact.

On May 3rd we had 13 more retirees come out of the plant. I met with these retirees and showed them the Centre that we have for their convenience. Some had never been down to the Center before and were quite impressed. Some voiced new ideas that will be padded on to the Recreation Committee for future consideration.

The Niagara Health Coalition had a booth set up at the Pen Centre on April 17th to have petitions signed and information to be distributed on saving public medicare. We were not allowed to have the petition signed or hand out information. Only when people approached the table were we allowed to hand out information, but no petition could be signed. Saving Public Medicare is very important!

In April we met with the National Retired Workers Executive in London. The computer program was discussed at great length. A new proposal will be sent to the National for their consideration. The National thinks that this is a great idea but were concerned about a third part. The Retired Workers Executive will be requesting a meeting with the National regarding this if we do not get an answer soon.

The Medical Awareness Program is ready to start again. A call letter will be coming out for training peer counselors. I will be submitting the names that I have. This will be a one day program. Watch my column for details.

I also have been in touch with one of the active members who does exercises. She is willing to do an exercise program here at the hall for our members. A day has not been determined as of yet as I will have to ask the membership for their approval.

There are a lot of programs being offered but we have to get them off the ground first and we cannot do it by ourselves. A lot of people want to be involved but when it comes to helping they shy away. I know we all have busy schedules. Don’t be afraid, we can help one another.

The Retirees Centre will close on June 29th after our closing BBQ. It will re-open for 2 days a week in August. (Aug. 7 & 9, 14 & 16, 21 & 23 and 28 & 30) and will re-open September 3rd for normal functions.

Hopefully we will be able to send a bus of retirees and their spouses to Port Elgin for the Labour Day Parade as we did last year. Buses come from London, Oshawa as well as St. Catharines to participate in the parade. The members that went last year sure enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to attending again this year. This is the only retired workers labour day parade in Canada that we now of and it’s getting bigger and bigger ever year.

Delegates elected to the CLC Convention are: Barb Abrams and Henry Wiebe

Have a safe summer everyone.

Next meeting is September 18th @ 2:00 p.m. See you there!