NEWS AROUND THE LOCAL DECEMBER 2006
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For the past four years, your local union along with Bethlehem Projects of Niagara have worked at trying to alleviate some of the homelessness here in St. Catharines by working together to build a 40 unit affordable housing project. As you are aware ground has been broken and the construction is well on its way to completion with tenants expected to move in for the 1st of April 2007.

To date volunteers from the active 199 membership as well as the 199 retirees chapter have been solid in providing daily job site clean up and for the past several weekends the volunteers have been constructing a privacy fence around the perimeter of the property. The group this past weekend began planting trees and shrubbery and hope to finish planting and sodding before the snow flies.

The amount of work accomplished by our members so far is remarkable considering the nasty weather we have encountered as well as project deadlines.

Local 199 is getting the job done. However we need more help. Volunteers are required for a variety of tasks including drywallers, painters, handy people of all sorts and of course general clean up.

We ask all members to help us in this endeavour. Please contact myself, Malcolm Allen of anyone from the Community Services Committee. Together we can make a difference. On December 27/06 CAW Local 199 along with CAW Locals 676, 523 and 275 will host our annual community dinner. For further details please contact Mark Roy at 905-682-2611 or Roy York at 905-641-6559.

As this will be our last publication before the New Year, on behalf of my family and me, we extend to all of you the spirit of the season and the hopes for a prosperous New Year. Solidarity Forever.

CAW Local 199 = Community Commitment

OCTOBER 2006 ISSUE

Seems hard to believe that the summer of 2006 has come and gone. I hope you all had a safe, fun filled vacation period visiting with friends and family. From August 15-18 I had the privelege of attending the CAW 8th Constitutional Convention in Vancouver as a delegate on your behalf. As is the practice of constitutional conventions they are theme oriented. This years theme was “Making a Difference.” The theme reflects on our unions commitment to social unionism. We were all reminded of the CAW’s ongoing pursuit of creating healthy, vibrant communities as well as our determination to maintain and build better workplaces.

During Brother Hargrove’s opening address, he spoke on a broad range of issues facing working people from foreign crisis’ in the Middle East and Europe to domestic challenges in all sectors of our Company. Hargrove took direct shot at Stephen Harper for snubbing the HIV/AIDS conference in Toronto and then lambasted his government’s attempts to bring in a Canada/Korea Free Trade Agreement. Our President challenged our Politicians at all levels. To stand up for Canadian Sovereignty. He then cited a number of corporate iniatives such as Inco’s repeated attempts to sell-off to foreign interests and our Nation’s Capital for ignoring bombardier of Thunder Bay in favor of a Chinese Corporation to build new subway cars for the City of Ottawa. The true purpose of the constitutional convention is the election of our National President and Financial Secretary Treasurer and CAW TCA Quebec Director. To no ones surprise Buzz Hargrove, Jim O’Neil and Luc Desnoyers were all acclaimed to new 3-year term as the top elected positions within our Union.

I along with most of our delegates look forward to working with the established leadership. We also are looking around the top Leadership as to who will take over at the next Cnstitutional Convention. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. With the vast number of issues and concerns facing our Union moving forward, choosing our next top leaders will be highly contentious and, I for one look forward to the challenge. Stay tuned this will be very interesting to watch.

Staying on the social unionism aspect here locally, CAW Local 199 remains at the forefront of building a strong community presence. I urge you all to take a look at what’s happening at 151 King St. St. Catharines. Your Local Union in concert with Bethlehem projects is in the midst of constructing a 40 unit affordable housing project.. To date CAW Local volunteers have donated their time to help offset costs and give back to our Community in a way that money cannot do. We urge all our members to participate in this venture. I can tell you from experience how fulfilling it is to become part of this project. For further info on the Bethlehem Project please contact the Community Services Committee or myself.

See you next time. Solidarity Forever.

I will begin this month’s column by discussing our union’s campaign opposing the proposed Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement. You would think our federal government would be a little gun shy when it comes to NAFTA type trade agreements, but NO! In fact our government is aiming to reach a comprehensive free trade agreement with Korea based on the NAFTA model before the end of 2006.

We at Local 199 must resist this agreement in the strongest possible terms. The sense of urgency on this issue cannot be downplayed. Plain and simple a Canada-Korea free trade agreement is clearly not in our best interests. For example Canadian bilateral trade deficit with Korea has averaged $3 billion I recent years resulting in the loss of 15,000 jobs. Or to put it another way, in 2005 Canada imported 130,000 vehicles from Korea yet we sold only 400 to Korea.

With a free trade agreement this will only get worse and will not only threaten the auto sector but ultimately create havoc in mainstay Canadian industries like steel and ship building.

Our campaign is well under way we are circulating a petition to be presented on June 29/06 in Ottawa. Our Local Union is committed to meet with the 5 area MPs to lobby for their support. We have targeted 25 local businesses to send letters to their MPs supporting the CAW in canceling the Free Trade Talks with Korea. As well we will meet with city councils and regional council seeking their endorsement of our campaign. We can all do our part in the campaign by signing and circulating the petitions provided and returning them ASAP to myself. Further we can all write letters to the editor of our local and national newspaper. I can provide all the necessary material to accomplish these tasks. We urge all our members to not ignore this campaign. Our jobs and communities depend on your participation.

As we move into the summer vacation period I wish you all happy healthy holidays.

Solidarity Forever.

APRIL 2006 ISSUE

Many of you will recall that for the past several years, our local union and Bethlehem Projects have been working together in an effort to create more affordable housing here in St. Catharines.

After countless meetings, hurdles, and hoops we appear to be on track to build a 40 unit complex at 151 James St. As it stands now contractors are to begin construction by April of this year. Our commitment to the project will be to provide some of the labour required for such things as dry walling, painting, hanging doors, etc. It is our hope to perform these tasks in the early part of 2006.

All of the work we will be required to do will be done strictly on a volunteer basis in much the same manner as how “Habitat for Humanity” operates. So between now and the fall we are asking all of our members to consider volunteering service of their time to this most worthy project.

We know from past experience how generous our membership can be when called upon to make financial contributions when disasters strike or in trying to assist those less fortunate than ourselves. In this case we thought we would try something different. Often as in the case of natural disasters after the spotlight has shifted to some other catastrophe we tend to forget about our contribution and move on.

It is our hope that by our hands-on approach with the Bethlehem Project we will build a permanent reminder to ourselves and the broader community what kind of membership we have here at Local 199. Join our vision, lets show St. Catharines that the CAW is truly committed to our community. For any inquiries about the project please contact myself or Malcolm Allen.

On December 27, 2005, our Local Union in concert with CAW Local’s 676, 275 and 523 hosted our 7th annual community dinner. Judging from the response from our guests, I would have to say that this years’ addition was an unqualified success. By our count, over 600 folks partook in the holiday festivities. An undertaking of a project of this size does not just happen, an awful lot of planning and preparation must occur before hand in order to pull this kind of event off. It is this kind of commitment from all our volunteers that I am most grateful for.

Roy York and myself thank all of you who helped us again this year. Special mention goes to our hall manager Linda Johnston, cook Ben Mandley and of course Percy. The local union executive board for their continued support for this event, Local 676 organizer Hugh McDonald and the executive board’s from the other 3 local unions.

St. Catharines & Niagara Falls Transit for once again providing transportation to and from our guests, Mark Osborne and Marty Allen for putting together an ad hoc jam session which provided the musical interlude and Doris Maxwell and the rest of the community services committee. You all did an outstanding job. We hope to see you all next year.

As we move into 2006, I join with my family in wishing all our members a healthy and prosperous new year.

Solidarity forever.

Does anyone remember a summer like we just experienced? The weather could not have been better. I hope you all enjoyed those hot and humid days, as I have a feeling we’re going to pay for it in the months ahead.

During the past several months I have had the privilege of representing you at the CLC Convention in Montreal this past June and again at the CAW 20th Anniversary celebrations and bargaining convention in Toronto in early July.

The CLC convention’s theme this year was “Unions make a difference in peoples lives.” For the most part the leadership instilled upon the delegates the need for the labour movement in Canada to reflect on the past and build for the future. Unions are not a thing of the past quite the contrary. As governments and corporations restructure, globalize and down load. Working people are forced to endure lower wages, part time employment, less benefits and a revolving door of uncertainty.

Unions and Labour Councils need to focus on this reality in order to ensure the survival of our movement. Our task as leadership is to reach out to the disadvantaged, the under-employed, the elderly and most importantly the young, or those just entering the workforce.

What the labour movement is doing with Wal Mart is an example of what the union needs to be doing as we move forward. At the CAW bargaining convention we celebrated 20 years since the birth of our union. During Brother Hargrove’s opening remarks, he asked all delegates who were not members of UAW prior to 1985 to stand up. It was remarkable to see over two-thirds of the 1500 delegates stand up. Our union has almost tripled in size since our founding 20 years ago, that is an amazing achievement given the way capital and the neo-liberal agenda have been attacking workers and workers rights for the past 20 years.

While other unions fade, our union continues to grow and prosper. Which is a tribute to our leaders but more importantly it is a testament of our members. Without the resolve of our members there would be no gains and no future.

As we move into bargaining with the big 3 in September our union will face some very challenging issues to be sure. However with our bargaining teams in place and the resources of our national union along with determination of our membership we will reach an agreement with GM that will serve us all well.

Solidarity Forever.

WHO’S SIDE ARE YOU ON?

At the time of writing, it is almost certain that Canadians will be going to the polls for a spring election. The Conservatives and Bloc Alliance are determined to bring down the Liberals minority, despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of Canadians are in no mood for an election less then a year since our last trip to the polls.

Most polls taken after last years’ Federal election indicated Canadians were quite happy with a minority government. Most felt the Liberals had been punished by being denied a majority and the expectations were for the minority government to get on with the business of running the country.

Working people were relieved that both the Liberals and the Conservatives had been denied majority mandates. The fowl stench of Mulroney era had not been forgotten by Canadians. We remembered the free trade debate and how it was implemented, despite a majority opposing it. We remember Stephen Harper being ashamed to be a Canadian because of our refusal to join the Americans in their war against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Working people were disgusted by the revelations of corruption, cronyism and perhaps even criminal activity associated with the sponsorship scandal in Quebec.

Canadians wanted to know how this could happen. The Gomery inquiry was struck and the picture becomes clearer every day.

With all this going on, Canadians remain steadfast in their opinion, run the business governing the country. We don’t want an election. Jack Layton and the NDP deserve our respect and applause for taking the high ground and listening to what we want. Canadians want more money for social programs, a fairer tax system, a rollback on the corporate agenda, secure medicare, affordable housing, pension reform and a sustainable economic platform that takes the environment into consideration, is what Canadian want.

When the writ does finally drop and the campaign begins, remember to ask yourself who’s side are you on. Political opportunism is no reason to force and election.

Medicare became a reality under a minority government with NDP support. When the candidates come to your door, ask them who’s side they’re on.

As we move into the vacation period, I hope you and your family enjoy a happy and safe summer.

Solidarity forever!

Mainstream media along with large multi-national corporations have for many years sought out strategies which undermine the rights of working people. None of this is a surprise to anyone. What I find surprising is how far they are willing to go in terms of shirking their legal and moral obligations to both their active and retired employees, but how the courts and elected officials are so willing to help them in their quest.

In the case of Enron Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection allowed for millions of dollars to be paid to creditors and upper end executives and the same time screwing thousands of employees out of their retirement, severance and benefit packages. Chapter 11 allowed those workers to be raped and pillaged while the perpetrators pointed fingers and walked away with full pockets.

In Canada our version of Chapter 11 is the CCAA (Companies Creditors Arrangement Act). This legislation was created in 1917 and it allows a judge the authority to overrule collective agreement, H&S legislations and much more. In short, a company under protection of CCAA can order concessions on workers and their unions that companies might not ever be able to achieve at the bargaining table.

In the case of Stelco, the company has recorded record profits since it sought protection under the CCAA and yet the workers and retirees face a very uncertain financial future.

At the Big 3, currently there is no talk of insolvency. However, there is plenty of talk about legacy costs, health care costs and of course, competitiveness.

The companies all argue that it is these huge costs that are crippling the industry and must be brought under control. In a recent Globe and Mail article, GM states they paid $1,400 per worker in health care costs in the U.S. Do you really think GM would pass along any cost savings to the consumer, assuming that figure is correct on the sticker price of a new vehicle?

And whose fault is it that pension plans and legacy costs are so high. It’s not the workers who make the decisions on these issues.

As we move into bargaining at the Big 3 this September, remember who is responsible for what. All the propaganda is going to attempt to blame the workers and make dire predictions of the future if we won’t fall in line.

Our bargaining committee is certainly up to the challenge. As rank and file members, we can educate ourselves on the issues like CCAA, legacy costs, etc. Lobby our elected officials for worker friendly changes, support our leadership and above all else, remember whose side you’re on.

On December 27, 2004 CAW Locals 199, 676, 523 and 275 hosted our 6th Annual Community Dinner. This years’ event was by far the largest yet. The fact our dinner keeps growing is proof positive of economic and social decay of the region. Good paying jobs are being replaced daily by low paying bottom end, nowhere to go jobs. Imagine working 2 or 3 jobs in an effort to keep a roof over your head and food on the table and yet fall short every month forcing you to rely on food banks and soup kitchens to survive. And all the while our leaders piss ass around on such important issues as even more tax breaks for the wealthy or further cutbacks in our social safety net.

However, this article is not about how cruel our society has become. This report will instead focus on what is important in our lives and our communities.

This years’ community dinner saw us serve over 800 dinners from 1:00 pm. to 6:00 p.m. An undertaking of this type does not just happen. Hours of preparation and manpower are required to feed and entertain a group of this size. Remarkably all of the preparation and elbow grease came from a volunteer network that keeps growing every year.

All of our hall staff, most notably, our cook Ben Mandley and hall manager Linda Johnson are to be commended as they worked their rear ends off to ensure all the goods were in place, then direct the volunteer in the preparation.

The 4 Local Union executives involved should be acknowledged for their full support, as well as all of our suppliers and members who donated goods and services at not cost. Also, our area transit and bus companies for providing free transportation, the “Bandits and Wiggles”, the clown who entertained our guests, Community Care, Ozanham, The Salvation Army and other related social services for their expertise and finally, to all our volunteers who gave of their time to ensure our guests received a holiday experience second to none, the event organizers, Hugh McDonald (Local 676), Gord Chatwin (Local 523), Ed Ogle (Local 275), Roy York & myself (Local 199).

Thank you for your support of this event and wish all a prosperous New Year.

Solidarity forever!

Moving into the holiday season is always a stressful experience even in the best of times. Visiting with family and friends is the easy part. Figuring out who’s hosting dinner, who do we invite, should we buy something for that far off aunt and uncle? And what about their kids? This is where it gets tricky, at least at my house anyway. By the end of it all, most of us are just glad it’s over for another year.

Try to imagine the stress levels of these who are a lot less fortunate than ourselves. Many within our community are already stressed out working two & three minimum wage jobs to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. The holiday season only compounds the problem, even if it’s only for one day. We at the Local Union in concert with other area CAW Locals have and will do our part to relieve some of the above mentioned stress.

Since 1999, Local 199 along with others in our area have hosted a community dinner the day after Boxing Day. This year will be no different. The generosity of our suppliers, Local Transit authorities, St. John’s Ambulance, the United Way, our Local Executive Board and of course, the many volunteers from within our Local Union and the surrounding areas all work together to make this event the overwhelming success it has become. Our social partners at Community Care, Out of the Cold and others are most thankful for our efforts. When we hold our event, they get a much deserved break, for while doing our dinner is only one day. They are on call 24/7/364 days a year.

This year’s dinner will be held on Monday, December 27, 2004 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Our guests will enjoy a turkey dinner with all the fixings. They will also be entertained by our own musical volunteers and the children will find games and videos at their disposal. As our guests depart, they will all receive a personal hygiene kit (courtesy of the hosts). Anyone wishing to help out with this event is asked to contact Mark Roy or Roy York at 905-682-2611. We also ask you to watch for further information on the bulletin boards as we move closer to the holiday period.

On behalf of my family, I wish you all the spirit of the season and a prosperous, peaceful New Year.

Solidarity forever.

Aside from the nasty weather this summer brought us, I hope that you had a safe and enjoyable vacation period.

From August 27 to 29/04 Local 199 CAW Council delegates joined with 900 other CAW Council delegates for the Joint CAW Council / Quebec Council meeting in Montreal. Over the course of the 3 day meeting we debated two very important policy papers and heard several outstanding speakers including Federal NDP leader Jack Layton, Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe and Doug Cameron, National Secretary of Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

Brother Don Milner of CAW Local 444 who continues to courageously battle back from life threatening injuries he received when he was run down by a hired goon at the Navistar picket line, received a thunderous standing ovation when he was introduced to the delegates. Brother Milner’s situation gives us all an excellent reason to support the return of Anti-Scab legislation across this country. While Don stood with his brothers and sisters on the picket line helping to preserve jobs, he was ruthlessly run over by a coward in a “security vehicle” as it plowed into the crowd of workers. To date Brother Milner has endured over 30 operations to repair his broken body with more to follow on his road to recovery. Don Milner was recognized for his bravery by our National President Buzz Hargrove as well as NDP leader Jack Layton and former CAW / CLC President Bob White. Don’s message to all of us was simple, the body can be broken but not the spirit.

As I mentioned earlier the Joint Council debated two important policy papers, they were: Canadian Politics After the Election - Seizing the Opportunity, and Ten Years After NAFTA - Past Lessons, Future Challenges. Both of these papers were well received and highlighted by guest speakers. Both Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe pointed out the opportunity we now have with a minority federal government to influence public policy on such key issues as renewed medicare with national standards, a national child care program, reform of unemployment insurance, pension reform, industrial strategies, the Kyoto Accord and the environment, and of course Canada/US relations.

As for the NAFTA paper, Doug Cameron from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union highlighted the fears Australian workers have as they enter a Free Trade Agreement with the US that sounds identical to the fears Canadians had 10 years ago which have now turned from fears to reality. Just as the Canadian government did under Mulroney, the Australian government is moving ahead with Free Trade despite a massive campaign against it. Soft wood lumber and the Mad Cow crisis are just the latest examples of why NAFTA is a bad deal for Canada. Despite ruling after ruling against our US neighbors they continue their protectionist policies. In short, they want free trade only when it suits them. As a Union we must continue to lobby our governments at all levels for “Fair Trade”. Until this is achieved there can be no Free Trade.

Finally I join with the rest of membership in congratulating Les Bartley in his decision to retire. Les has worked tirelessly on behalf of the membership his whole working life. His wisdom and dedication will be sorely missed. However there is no one more deserving than Brother Les Bartley. I wish Les and his family many years of joy and happiness. Solidarity forever.

If I have said it once, I’ve said it a 100 times, the only positive action that I can recall Jean Chretien doing while sitting as Prime Minister was; “say no to the American war in Iraq.”

A little over a year ago, this was not a very popular position with many Canadians. The talk show hosts were stampeded with folks were ashamed to be Canadian. The Stephen Harpers of the political right said we had a moral obligation to join arms with our neighbours to the south, in their efforts to save the world from the weapons of mass destruction.

The C.D. Howe and Frazier institutes all agree that George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfield knew more then the UN and countries like France and Germany about the threat posed by the Iraqis. Now a year later, how things have changed. No weapons of mass destruction, no links to Osama Bin Laden.

The American occupation of Iraq is slowly slipping into a quagmire of chaos. How long will it be before we see images of helicopters picking up desperate Americans off the roof top of the American Embassy in Bagdad?

In the wake of 911, the world mourned for those lost in the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. We embraced our neighbours as they grieved. We supported the war on terror. We still support the war on terror. What we don’t support is the Bush regime’s fixation on Iraq.

In the interest of World Peace, our government must encourage the U.S. to seek UN intervention before the damage done is irreparable. The future of the middle east is at stake. Not to mention the lives of all those involved with the conflict, American and Iraqis alike. Canada has long been the voice of reason on the world scene. We have a reputation for being reliable peace keepers. We need to fulfill this role now. We must consider world opinion and argue for UN involvement in this crisis. Hopefully, our friends to the south will agree. No one wants another Vietnam. Only through dialogue at the highest levels can this be achieved. We can make a difference, we must continue to speak out against Imperialism. The road to peace is not unilateral. It is however multi-lateral.

At this time, I would like to wish all our members a safe and happy vacation period. See you in September. Solidarity forever.

March 26, 2004 the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice will ask fellow Ontarians to join with them for a province wide lobby day.

One only has to pick up a newspaper to realize that the newly elected liberals are backing away from most of their pre-election promises. Why?

Dalton McGinty’s are quick to point the finger at 8 years of Tory rule and how they have been left with a $5.6 billion deficit. This argument when looked at closely does not hold up. While the liberals were in opposition, they clearly understood that years of tax cuts had put the provinces’ finances in peril. On many occasions they were quite vocal on this both in the “House” and in the press. When the Tories released their “Magna Budget”, the McGinty Liberals joined many experts in condemning it and knew it was flawed and based on bad accounting. In short, they knew there was a financial crisis looming. The $5.6 billion deficit was no surprise.

In the October election, Ontarians voted for change and handed the Liberals a majority government. They campaigned for a strong health care system, reasonable class sizes, safe water, accessible post secondary education, affordable housing and a social assistance system that ensures no one has to choose between the rent or eating. Instead of complaining about a deficit they knew about, they should be figuring ways to increase government revenues. After years of slash and cut policies that by and large benefited the rich, the time has come to demand the changes Ontarians voted for in October.

We need to lobby MPPs of all stripes for the government to raise taxes to the levels they were prior to the Tory tax cuts. In 2002-03 alone, the government lost $11.9 billion in revenue. Corporate taxes could be increased to 2000 levels. Businesses in Ontario benefit hugely from our health care system. Why not increase the employee health tax?

Despite the rhetoric, there are options available at present they choose to ignore. Without revenue increases, we will face longer waits for MRI’s, more crowded classrooms and of course, more of us on the streets with no place to call home.

Join with the OCSJ and send your MPP a little send emails letter to the editor. We need to tell them we expect the government to find ways of increasing public services, not the opposite. Don’t let the Liberals short change us.

Solidarity forever.

Happy New Year Brothers and Sisters. I hope that you all enjoyed the holiday season and may we all have a healthy & prosperous 2004.

On December 27th, your local union as well as CAW Locals 676, 523 and 275 hosted our 5th Annual Community Dinner. For the second year in a row, we served well over 600 guests. The next time you hear a politician talk about the 1,000’s of jobs his or her government have created, ask them where. Further, what jobs they have created. Are of the “McJob” variety as witnessed by the vast majority of those who partook of our hospitality on the 27th. As I spoke with some of our guests, I was somewhat surprised to find that many of them were working 2 and 3 jobs at minimum wage. Although for those of us who are fortunate enough to have well paying jobs, a growing number of the citizens are forced to take any job at all regardless of what it pays. It’s imperative that our elected leaders take this issue on. Honest hard working people are barely surviving and CEO’s make ridiculously high salaries, grind every nickel out of their firms then walk away with absurd buyout packages. Something has to give and when it does, those rich bastards will wish they had been a bit more generous to those who actually worked to create the wealth in the first place. Anyway, back to dinner. I want to thank all those who gave of their time for the day. I thank the many suppliers who donated goods and services. I thank the band who entertained us for the day. I thank the Executive Board who have allowed us to organize this event year after year. And a special thank you to our hall manager, Linda Johnston and our cook, Ben Mandley for without them, our community dinner would never have taken place.

And to you Les Bartley, stay positive & get well soon.

Solidarity forever.

However for an ever increasing number of people the holiday season has become a symbol of loneliness and despair. The working poor, those with mental illness, the elderly and all those who feel left out of the main stream have no reason to celebrate as their circumstances prevent them from enjoying the simple pleasures of the season. They can barely afford the necessities of life let alone a turkey with all the trimmings.

We here at Local 199 have understood this for many years and 5 years ago we decided to try and do something about it. The “CAW Community Dinner” was born. From that first year when we served 150 people to last year when we served 650 people. We tried to make a difference.

Our dinner has become a symbol of what working people can achieve if we all work together for the common good. To all of those who volunteer their time, to all our suppliers who donate their goods, to the area transit companies and their associated unions. To the other CAW local unions in the area who give of themselves and to anyone else, I may have over looked who make our Community Dinner the special event it has become. Our guests thank you for allowing them to feel the joy of the season. For any of you who wish to volunteer for this year’s dinner it will be held Saturday, December 27, 2003.

Please call the union hall at 905-682-2611 and ask to be put on the volunteer list or you can speak to any of the Community Services Committee, Roy York, Jackie Gregoire or Mike Cosby.

May the spirit of the season be with you.

Solidarity Forever!

From August 19-22, 2003 I had the privilege of representing our local union at the C.A.W. 7th Constitutional Convention in Toronto.

To no ones surprise Buzz Hargrove, Jim O’Neil and Luc Desnoyer were all re-elected by acclamation to 3-year terms of office.

The theme of this year’s convention was “Union’s Resistance and Renewal”. This was also the main policy paper discussed during the convention.

In my mind the basic concept the paper deals with is that today’s strength is no guarantee of tomorrows vitality and our union and the labour movement as a whole has to be constantly rebuilt.

As this local union has shown in the past, in order for the labour movement to prosper we must continue to build coalitions with other like minded groups and the new “Social Movements” of today need unions. We offer among other things organizational discipline, financial support and the leadership prospective on tackling the every increasing corporate power. The new social movements have been instrumental in bringing to the “masses” such important issues as the erosion of our environment, the sell off of our publically owned utilities and our opposition to emerging trade organizations and deals such as the WTO, the FTAA and of course N.A.F.T.A. only by Fighting Back can we make a difference.

By far the best speaker of the week was Stephan Lewis who is the Canadian special envoy to the United Nations. Lewis’s speech centred around Africa and the death of a continent. In Africa 30 million people between the ages of 15 and 49 are living with the Aids virus. He told the convention stories of school children constantly attending funerals and the devastating impact on entire generations and sectors of society virtually being wiped out.

People starve because there is no one to tend the fields, children remain illiterate as the teachers have all died. Aids in Africa is a panademic with the greatest percentage being women. The result of this is between 10 to 14 million orphans because of the virus. This crisis is “Beyond Belief” especially due to the fact that science and medical knowledge exist in today’s world to if not eradicate the disease but certainly turn it around.

But alas, big drug companies don’t make much money off poor Africans. To the credit of the CAW, our union has committed itself to the campaign to end aids in Africa.

Finally, on a personal note, I hope that all of you enjoyed a safe and happy vacation period with family and friends. I look forward to working with all of you to make our union stronger and our communities a better place to live for all of us.

Solidarity Forever!

You may recall that several months ago, I mentioned that Local 199 partnered with several local agencies in an effort to provide affordable housing to those in need around the St. Catharines area.

To date, we continue to explore the possibilities. The first two sites that we have targeted unfortunately did not work out. The first site, which had the most potential (Stokes Seeds on James St.) became unavailable as it was sold to developers. The second building we had targeted was deemed unacceptable when an engineer and architect had a look at the inside of the facility. The structural repairs and renovations would have made the costs prohibitive for our purpose.

Although we are disappointed in the fact these sites did not work out. We are continuing the search for a suitable piece of property.

From the burocratic side of this project we seem to be doing very well. Bethlehem House has agreed to provide the managerial staff to run the facility which is a very big plus for us.

Various government agencies have stepped up to the plate to provide funding including the federal government. In fact, discussions of this project has reached the ears of Claudette Bradshaw who is the federal Minister of Labour and the chair of Federal Action Plan on Homelessness. On July 10th, the Minister has requested a meeting with our committee because of its unique approach to the issue. Nowhere else in Canada has a coalition of this sort been attempted. As we move forward with this initiative, we will continue to keep you abreast of the situation. When the time comes to put this project in motion your input will be invaluable. We are going to require volunteers of all kinds from pipe fitters to drywallers. We have the opportunity through our collective efforts to show St. Catharines and the rest of the country that the CAW Local 199 membership is truly committed to building a vibrant productive community. Stay tuned for further details as they become available.

As we move into the vacation period, I hope you all have a great summer with family and friends. Just remember, “be careful out there”. See you in September.
Solidarity forever.

Walking together with people to make our community a better place to live and prosper. It’s a proud tradition of Local 199. Throughout our history, 199 has participated in a number of community projects. Through our financial support, we have helped to fund such projects as: the construction of Brock University Medical Building, FAC facility, etc. Our money has been directed to help purchase medical equipment like CAT scans and MRI’s. Our direct contributions to organizations like Community Care and the United Way are the highlights of their respective fundraising drives.

The membership of Local 199 has never been shy with the coin as long as it was for a good cause. We should be proud of this and continue to practice indefinitely.

CAW, Local199 now has the opportunity to contribute to our community in a far more significant manner.

If all goes well in the next several weeks, Local 199 will partner with the City of St. Catharines, Human Resources Development Corporation, Opportunities Niagara, Niagara Homelessness committee and others to renovate/remodel a suitable property(s) in St. Catharines which would help to address the chronic housing problems for those in poverty and the working poor.

We propose that Caw, Local 199 provide the labour and services in kind for the project. CAW, Local 199 would have no financial liability, however, we would be full partner pertaining to the project. Further, Local 199 would maintain an active role in the partnership by means of seats on the governance board.

The partners also agree to the CAW philosophical position that this initiative would not be a profit driven enterprise. The facility would operate on a co-op type business model. With an organization perhaps Bethlehem House overseeing the day-to-day operations.

There are currently two (2) building here in St. Catharines that we have targeted as ideal for our purposes.

It is now time to put up or shut up. This project does not fly without each and everyone of us from Local 199.

Before we commit to such an exciting project, we will need to be certain we can commit to provide the labour.

Currently, we are looking at Habitat for Humanity type scenario to form our labour pool but we’re open to ideas. In the next few weeks meetings will be held with all of our Standing Committees and of course, our very talented Retirees Chapter and rank and file.

Before we embark on this adventure, we will need to make absolutely sure the necessary labour pool exists. I encourage you all to think about this proposal. There will be a tremendous amount of work involved with this should we proceed. However, the benefits such a facility would bring to our community would be enormous. Working people working together to build a community where we can all grow and prosper.

Watch the bulletin boards for future updates. At present, please direct all your questions and comments to myself and Roy York from the Community Services Committee.

Solidarity forever.

FEBRUARY 2003 ISSUE

On behalf of all the organizers of this year’s Community Dinner, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the many volunteers who once again made our event the great success it was.

For the fourth year now we have opened our hall and our hearts to the less fortunate among us. Somewhere between 600 & 650 of our friends and neighbours sat down for a hot meal and fellowship, proving once again that with a little effort we can all make a difference.

Special thanks to CAW, Locals 676, 275 & 523 as well as our hall staff for without their commitment this event would never have got off the ground. Our suppliers, the local transit companies and their unions, Community Care, Salvation Army, Out of the Cold , Ozanam Center and of course, the United Way also deserve a nod of appreciation for providing us with the expertise in taking on such a project. So once again, thanks to all those involved and we hope to see you again next year.

As we move forward into the new year, two of our units remain in protracted labour disputes. Ronal remains in a lockout situation and Niagara Motors is on strike trying to get a 1st Agreement. Both of these employers are determined to demoralize and destroy our member’s ways of life. They seek to undermine their support of the union and its faith in the leadership in a variety of ways, most notably bad faith bargaining and scabbing the workplace. To date, our members remain strong in their resolve for a fair and equitable contract. We need to support our brothers and sisters in whatever way we can. So far, there has been solidarity pickets at both locations and the Labour Solidarity Kitchen has made a stop at Ronal.

We urge all of our members to take some time out of your busy schedules to support our fellow workers on the picket line. Keep your eyes on the bulletin boards for upcoming solidarity events. We cannot allow these employees to beat our members into submission. We need to encourage and support our members for as long as it takes. We will not be defeated.

Solidarity forever.