News & Events Archived Newsletters CONTACT 2007 May 4, 2007Shaping Our Future With Technology
Delegates from all over the country had the chance to discuss and better understand the latest advances in technology and how they are shaping CAW workplaces at the CAW 2007 New Technology Conference -Technological Change and the Skilled Trades: 'Shaping the Future'. The conference was held in Port Elgin, Ontario April 24 -26.
With the theme of 'Shaping The Future', the conference featured presentations from the union's rail, aerospace, auto parts and auto assembly sectors, as well as presentations by Peter Frise of the Canadian government automotive research initiative Auto 21 and Mike Treder, Executive Director of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, based in Brooklyn, New York.
"Our union has always been at the forefront of new technologies entering the workforce - this week's example of nanotechnology is no different," said Jim Mitchell, President of the National Skilled Trades Council and member of the CAW National Executive Board. "If it is to be part of our workplaces in the future, we need to make it a priority to understand the technology and how it may affect our members."
Coming out of the follow-up CAW National Skilled Trades Council, April 27-29, was a new technology resolution that will be presented to delegates at the Skilled Trades Bargaining Conference in February 2008.
Day of Mourning Message
The following are excerpts from CAW President Buzz Hargrove's Day of Mourning message:
"On April 28th, we remember the over 2 million workers who died, the more than 1.2 million who are injured and the more than 160 million who fall ill each year due to unsafe or unhealthy work and workplaces globally. According to data collected by the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada, 1,097 workplace fatalities were recorded in Canada in 2005, up 45 per cent from 758 in 1993 and 18 per cent from 958 in 2004".
".Asbestos is the biggest industrial killer of all time, and kills thousands from cancer every single week, no less than one death every five minutes. In addition, asbestos-caused cancers account for 80% of the increase in Canadian worker fatalities over the past decade. 95% of Canadian asbestos is exported to developing countries where community and worker exposures are horrendous, laying the groundwork for an ongoing epidemic of cancer."
".We must pressure the federal government to stop the export of chrysotile asbestos and lobby all provincial governments to ban and have all forms of asbestos removed from our workplaces.'
Local 2458 Sends Message at Extendicare
CAW Local 2458 held an information picket recently that brought attention to the drastic reductions in hours of direct care for the residents at Extendicare Tecumseh just outside Windsor, Ontario. The employer, a for-profit nursing home operator, announced last month that it would remove more than 100 hours of nursing and personal care per week, despite recent increases to base funding and funding that takes into account resident needs.
CAW Local 2458 Vice President Darlene Prouse says that this leaves the home to operate with only 2.29 hours of care, per resident, per day. "This is of course on a good day when they are not working short."
The previous minimum of 2.5 hours was removed by the Ontario Tory Government in1995 but the CAW has been advocating for a minimum staffing level of 3.5 hours per resident per day. After the success of the recent information picket, Prouse remains confident and says the CAW will continue to pressure the employer to re-implement the hours they cut.
Organizing New Members a Priority for CAW/TCA
Organizing new members was the focus during the TCA Quebec Council on April 27-29 in Quebec City. In his address to the 150 members in attendance, CAW Quebec Director Luc Desnoyers spoke of the necessity of bringing new non-unionized members into the fold. "It is easier to recruit those who are already unionized - they share the same principles as we do," said Desnoyers. "But it is much more important to reach out to those without a union."
The current manufacturing crisis has also hit the province with great force, causing a loss of 125,000 jobs in less than five years. Many saw the absence of a buy domestic policy as being closely linked to this economic disaster. Members stood up to voice their outrage at both federal and provincial government funds constantly leaving the country for foreign products that could be made on domestic soil. Many advocated for a buy domestic policy at all levels of government.
Closely related is the campaign to keep the Becancourt magnesium plant, Norsk Hydro, up and running - the company having received hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funding. On April 13, 2007 the magnesium production and recycling operation closed, putting 380 people at CAW Local 6055 out of work.
Desnoyers told the delegates that the outpouring of support that workers have experienced since the closure announcement was a fine example of community solidarity. "The Norsk Hydro plant may now be closed, but this struggle is important and it is not yet finished," Desnoyers said.
CAW and Alcan Ratify Tentative Agreement in Kitimat
CAW Local 2301 and Alcan in Kitimat B.C. have ratified a new agreement with 61 per cent voting in favour.
The new agreement, which covers 1300 production and maintenance workers, is structured for the modernization of the aging 55 year old Kitimat aluminum smelter and the ratification should clear the way for a $2 billion investment.
The agreement will ensure labour stability during the lengthy construction period expected to be concluded by 2011. The modernization project will ensure the long-term future and stability of the community and CAW Local 2301 members.
Along with setting the stage for investment, the agreement establishes gains on key issues such as wages, benefits, quality of work life issues, job security, health benefits for current and future retirees and transition issues in the momentous potential change from old to new technology.
CAW Pride Conference Creating Safe Workplaces
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) activists joined forces with allies for the CAW Pride Conference in Port Elgin, April 20-22, to strategize on the conference theme of, Creating Safer Workplaces. Among the 90 participants was CAW leadership including a member of the NEB, staff representatives, and Carol Phillips, Assistant to the CAW President.
The weekend included the successful launch of the informative new allies booklet, 'Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans Issues . . . well, maybe not everything.'
Conference workshops focused on understanding the issues and what role allies and leadership can take in making workplaces safer. Also discussed were the basic bargaining needs of LGBT members and ways that the union can better reflect, represent and protect their members.
On May 17, LGBT activists and allies around the globe will also commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia," with the wide support of the Canadian labour movement. To order copies of the allies booklet, contact cawpride@caw.ca
New Members Join the CAW/TCA Family
Two hundred workers at bus manufacturer Novabus in St-Eustache, Quebec certified with the CAW and will soon be negotiating a first agreement with their employer.
