From the President

#3 Paper Machine

The rumor that A3 has been sold appears to be true. Ron Buchhorn did confirm that there were discussions with prospective buyers and the specific details were still to be worked out. He also confirmed that if and when the machine is to be dismantled and crated, that JVDI would be contracted and that the company would employ some of our laid-off members working under our collective agreement. We will keep you up to date as we get more information.

Shop Stewards Meetings

Shop Stewards meetings resume Tuesday Sept. 4th at 7PM at the hall. Please try to make every effort to attend and get the latest information on the business of the local. Also we may have to adjust the current Shop Steward representation to reflect the current size of our local. I'm sure that John, Bob and Dan will be discussing this at the Shop Steward Meeting.

Wage Delegates / Ron Buchhorn Discussions

We are tentatively scheduled to resume talks on Friday Sept. 7th. Kim Pedersen will also be in attendance for the duration of these talks along with Dale Shimell, Krista Tremblay, Ron Buchhorn and facilitator Bert Painter. We hope this meeting will lead into continuous talks to try and come to a successful outcome for a long term future as a 2 machine operation.

Inappropriate Literature

To the person or persons responsible for the latest edition of the "Crapalyst Journal" please be warned that this type of material is totally unacceptable by any bodies standards. I'm sure the company has a copy by now and if you are discovered, you're on your own. We may be able to argue violations of our collective agreement but not civil law and violations of human rights legislation.

These times are tough on all of us but if you have to shed your frustration somewhere then please do it in a respectful fashion and at the proper venue such as the next General Meeting on the 3rd Monday in September.

Pete Rayburn

From the President

To All Members of Local 592

We have received notice from Ron Buchhorn that we will not be meeting on Aug. 22nd and 23rd as previously planned due to the absences of some of the major players that have previous commitments. We will be meeting on Sept. 6th and 7th to continue discussions when all the parties are available. Until then we will be working on the issues surrounding the shut down of #4 PM and the impending lay-offs. Please remain focused and stay safe during the next few weeks as we head into the shut down. We will keep you informed on the progress of our discussions as much as possible.

Pete

From the President

For Clarification on Possible Negotiated Severances

Please be advised that Ron Buchhorn has assured us that if we have any members that are contemplating retiring but waiting to see if there will be any severances as a result our our talks, will be included in any offering as a result of coming to an agreement on the future of #4 PM.

For example:

If you are 60 years old, you are already entitled to bridging as per our collective agreement and the retiree benefits that go with that. Under this proposal you would be able to retire now or in the near future (depending on your birth date) and you would also receive contractual severance if and when that became available depending on the outcome of the talks. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding of Ron Buchhorn's proposal.

Pete

Comments on the Blog

We have again enabled "comments" to be posted on the Local592 Blog, in a moderated version. We would ask that any comments be respectful to the opinions of the other commenter's. And we also ask that you please post your name if you are wanting a reply to your comments. We will not post your comments that appear to be disrespectful of others and will not reply to comments without knowing who we are replying to. This can be a great tool for information and answering your concerns if it is utilized in a civilized manner. So let's try it one more time.

Thanks,
CEP Local 592

From the President

I have been made aware that there may be some concerns from some of our members about the current Executive structure and the appointment of an alternate Wage Delegate.



As most of you are aware Jim VanDusen has left for temporary employment in Crofton and has resigned as a Wage Delegate for Local 592. Our membership numbers under the current Wage Caucus Rules of Order, entitle us, by per capita representation, to three voting Wage Delegates. Therefore it was not necessary to replace Jim. After the announcement of #4 Paper Machine curtailment and the decision to enter into talks with the Company, Tim Thompson advised the Executive that he and his family were on vacation and would not be available for the early stages of these talks. It was decided that I would appoint another Executive member to sit as an alternate Wage Delegate and for continuity this person would continue to participate until the talks conclude. I decided to appoint Phil Guild as an alternate Wage Delegate for the duration of these talks. The decision to appoint Phil was an easy one, due to Phil's long time service on the Executive and his experience in past negotiations. Jim had appointed Phil as an alternate Wage Delegate back in the fall of 2006 for the first set of discussions and Phil has taken part in the last two sets of talks since. Phil's experience and knowledge of the issues that we know we will be dealing with, is going to be an asset going into these talks. The decision to appoint Phil was discussed, moved, seconded and carried by the Executive and was reported to the Membership at the last General meeting with no concerns expressed from the membership at that time.



One other perceived issue that should be addressed is my status as President. When we decided to start talks with Ron Buchhorn, I asked Mike Putzke for an extended book-off so that I would have the time to deal with all the issues that surround the impending lay-offs and also the time required for discussions and negotiations on the future of #4 Paper Machine. Because I'm a shift worker, it was next to impossible to dedicate the time necessary to deal with these tasks. The fact is, I am not a full time president. I am on an extended book-off until Sept. 1st or until talks conclude, and that now looks like we will be going into November. There is no financial burden on the Local as the company is covering my wages, and my absence creates a full time opportunity for a junior person to get hours. Hopefully this has given some clarification for those members that may have some concern on these topics.



Also for clarification, the next scheduled talks are August 22nd and 23rd, not the 28th as I previously posted. (Yeah, I do make some mistakes). We will get any new information out as soon as possible. I can only hope that everyone remains focused and stays safe during these very uncertain times.



Pete Rayburn