From the President

So far it’s been an extremely busy month and it’s only going to get busier as we near May 1st. We held the first of two information sessions for all members in the first two weeks of April. These sessions were held in order to provide some clarity and a mutual understanding of the key items in the new agreement. We also attempted to answer any questions or concerns you may have and also using this opportunity to address any issues on items that we didn’t think of before. I believe all of the sessions went fairly smoothly and some very legitimate concerns were raised. The next set of information sessions will address those concerns and will be more specific to each department and crew. As I have said to most of you, if you are in opposition to the agreement and the future of this mill please don’t stand in the way of those that want to make this work.

If you have visited this blog site then you should be aware of the temporary problem with the new payroll program and the ability to properly assess each member for National Dues, specifically shift workers on the 5 shift schedule. The people building the new program did say that the problem should be fixed by the end of June. In the mean time you may not have national dues deducted from your pay for the first two months but it will be reconciled in July.

At last month’s General Meeting we were scheduled to hold nominations for the Trustee’s position made vacant by the retirement of Dal Gulstene. Again we did not have a quorum so the position will be filled by appointment. There’s not much more a person can say that hasn’t already been said about the importance of our members getting involved in the business of Local 592. It is your choice what direction this local takes in the future, but if you choose not to get involved and not to give the Executive some direction then please don’t bitch about where we end up at the end of the day. It is YOUR union and it will work for you if you want it to. Get involved and come to a General Meeting and make yourself be heard.

On May 1st the new agreement will be fully implemented and you will be doing your job very differently than in the past. What ever the specific tasks may be in your job, they must be done safely. As this whole new process evolves you may be trained to perform tasks that you have never done before. Your safety is the first concern before the importance of completing any task. Please don’t get hurt.

Pete Rayburn