news letter

January, 2006 Bedford, IN 47421 Phone #279-1113 Home Page http://www.iue-cwalocal84907.com LOCAL IUE-CWA REPORTS Union Meeting The next regularly scheduled Union meeting will be held Wednesday, January 4, 2006 at the UAW Hall in Bedford. Meeting times are: Day Shift: 4:00 pm Night Shift: 1:00 am (Tuesday after work) Midnight Shift may attend either of the above meetings. IN MEMORIAM Edsel Riley Hire in date: 1-27-61 Retirement date: 1-31-91 Edsel passed away in early December 2005. He had last worked as a Hi-Lo driver and retired after 30 years of service. We send out our condolences to the Riley family. New Name, New Year A quick thank you, again, to Ray “Radar” Fleetwood for his winning entry for our “Name the Newsletter” contest. We appreciate his taking the time and effort to be creative and come up with a great new name. We also want to thank all of you who participated in our contest. Even though there could only be one final winner, we think you all are winners! Thanks, again. From the desk of the President As we reported in the December, 2005 newsletter, the CWA Research Department and Conference Board did revise the COLA calculations as ruled on by Arbitrator Redner. On December 21, 2005, I received a fax from the Conference Board reflecting their revised dollar amount of award owed to our members. The revised award amount is $473,231.60. This new information is currently being forwarded to Attorney Alman, who will then present it to Arbitrator Redner for a final determination. It is my hope Arbitrator Redner will rule on this matter in a timely manner. We all wish to settle this dispute as soon as possible. I will continue to keep you apprised of all future developments. Thank you, David Baker President IUE CWA Local 907 Judge Michael Robbins to Speak on January 4 We are pleased to announce that Judge Michael Robbins of Lawrence Superior Court 1 has agreed to be our guest speaker at our shift meetings on Wednesday, January 4, 2006. Judge Robbins, a Lawrence County native born and raised in Oolitic (where his mother still resides), is a former Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney. He also practiced law in Bedford from 1972 until the mid 1980s. Judge Robbins then joined his brother Patrick in co-managing ConvaCare Services, Inc, their locally-owned family business employing 150+ people. Judge Robbins was appointed by the late Governor Frank O’Bannon to fill the vacancy in the Lawrence Superior Court 1 in October, 2002. Since taking office, Judge Robbins has been committed to restoring the reputation and efficiency of the court, with the goal of bringing the highest of ethical standards to the court. His experience in running a large Lawrence County business has enabled him to make significant improvements in the budgeting and case management of the court. As a result, the court has made significant progress in moving cases through the system under his direction. In addition, Judge Robbins has managed to institute a number of programs which have helped make the court more accessible to the people of Lawrence County, all without increasing the court’s budget. For example, Judge Robbins was instrumental in creating a nonviolent treatment program for those convicted of battery or domestic battery. He has recently initiated a dialogue with faith-based leaders of the community to provide programs to support families in the community. He has personally financed customer service training and goal-setting retreats for court personnel, all with a view toward making the court more user-friendly for the people of Lawrence County. Judge Robbins’ hobbies include riding his Harley, hunting, and hanging out with his grandson. We look forward to having Judge Robbins join us on January 4th. Judge Robbins is labor friendly and graciously stood by our Local 907 in 2004. He is a firm believer in peoples right to collective bargaining. The first 15 minutes of our union meeting is set aside for his presentation and questions and answers session. Reminder of scholarship info Just a note to remind you about the IUE-CWA 2006-2007 scholarships being offered to deserving members and their children and grandchildren. These are worth between $1,000 and $3,000 and are in addition to the CWA Joseph Beirne scholarships. NOTE: Applications will only be taken on-line. Anyone wishing to apply must use the following e-mail address: www.iue-cwa.org Remember, these scholarships are a benefit of membership and should be taken advantage of. They are available based on union membership and career interest, not finances. If you, your child or grandchild plan on attending college, take time to apply. All applications for the 2006-2007 awards must be submitted no later than March 31, 2006. There are actually 17 different scholarships to be awarded. A copy of the full information sheet is posted in the Union glass bulletin boards for your information. Also, all details are on the website. Grievance update Second Step The most recent second step grievance committee meeting was held on Thursday, December 15, 2005. There are currently about 29 grievances in the second step process. Third Step The most recent third step grievance committee meeting was held on Thursday, December 8, 2005. There are 125 grievances left in the third step stage at this time. Flu shots still available for Visteon plant employees Even though many of you have taken advantage of the medical department’s flu vaccine shots, Jackie Dodd, RN, Senior Occupational Health Nurse, informed us that there was approximately 125 shots available for our active employees on a first come, first serve basis. If you wish to receive a flu shot, you may do so any time the medical department is open, as long as it is not on company time. You need to go to the medical department before or after you shift, depending on the shift you work. Insurance info Vice-President Phyllis Gassaway and Financial Secretary Donna Daniels recently had a meeting with Tom Ayres, the Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative. The following information was given to them: Office visits co-pays: If you visited your doctor and paid a $30 co-pay and it should have only been $20, and have not received credit for the difference or been reimbursed, you need to personally contact the provider of your service (your doctor). Daniels: Laws deterred Colgate INDIANAPOLIS—Gov. Mitch Daniels recently stated that the state failed in its bid to keep the Colgate-Palmolive Co. toothpaste factory in Indiana because it doesn’t have right-to-work legislation. “We did absolutely everything we could do, and I think they’d tell you that,” Daniels said of Colgate, which plans to close its 475 employee factory in Clarksville by January 2008. “I talked a couple of times myself to the CEO and to other leadership. We made an offer we believe was competitive in every other respect.” But, he said at a news conference, “they (Colgate) want to be in a right-to-work state.” Under right-to-work laws, employees can’t be required to join a union—thus making union organizing more difficult. Kentucky and Indiana do not have such laws, and analysts have predicted that Colgate’s new plant will almost surely be in a right-to-work state. That would make it easier to hold labor costs down, they said and reduce the potential for a strike or problems with union contracts. Colgate did not respond to a request for comment on Daniels’ remarks. After Colgate announced in October that the plant will close, elected leaders in Clarksville and Jeffersonville proposed locations for a new factory and offered the company financial incentives. Greg Fitzloff, president of the Southern Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said that Colgate considered a total of 60 sites in 10 states, and that Southern Indiana was among four finalists. He said that information, provided to him by Colgate officials, demonstrates that the area remains competitive despite not having a right-to-work law. A spokesman for Daniels would not say whether the governor intends to push lawmakers to adopt a right-to-work law or whether he has ever publicly endorsed the concept. The state had a right-to-work law that was repealed in 1965. Daniels said Colgate officials “like Indiana, and they had a good experience with the work force.” But he said the state’s union situation is one that was “beyond our power obviously to change.” Weston Sedgwick, spokesman for the Indiana Economic Development Corp., said that the state “hasn’t completely closed the books” on a deal with the company. Sedgwick would not reveal details of the state’s offer of incentives to the company, and the agency isn’t required to do so until negotiations are completely closed. But he said it is an “extremely, extremely competitive incentive package.” “We’re talking a great deal of tax credits, training grants, infrastructure improvements—all across the gamut as far as incentives are concerned,” he said. “It’s a package that would be competitive (with) if not better than anything we’ve offered to other companies of relatively comparable size and magnitude of project.” Information reprinted from: Lesley Stedman Weidenbener at lstedman@courier-journal.com and Alex David at alexdavis@courier-journal.com Christmas for kids 2005 The 2005 IUE-CWA Local 907 Christmas for Kids program was a big success. This was the 4th annual project for our union. Twenty nine children met with about 20 Union members at K-Mart on Saturday, December 17th. They were served breakfast of sausage, hash browns and orange juice, which was donated by McDonalds of Bedford. They each had the chance to sit on Santa’s lap and have a chat about what they wanted for Christmas. They each received a picture with Santa. The names of the children were obtained from local schools, churches and township trustees. Each child received $150.00 in clothing and toys. I would like to thank all of you for your efforts to make this year’s program such a success. I apologize to anyone I may have missed. The IUE-CWA Executive Board The IUE-CWA membership David Baker Phyllis Gassaway Donna Daniels Judy Borden Jerry Bailey Marla Bailey Gladys Bailey Jane Carroll Lola Megnin Sandy Butler J. D. McPike Terri McPike Greg Tyree Stephanie Davis Bill Blackwell Kathy Rodman David Haste Janie Haste Sherry England Debby Hauer Debbie Daughrity Randy Phelix McDonalds of Bedford Thanks again to everyone who helped in any way. We plan to continue this program next year. Our goal is to keep this program growing so more of the community’s children will have a better Christmas. If you would like to participate in this rewarding effort, you can contact me at extension # 1152. Terry Kirk Health and Safety Representative Chairman of IUE-CWA Local 907 Christmas for Kids Welcome to 2006 We hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday and would like to wish all of you the best in the new year. Remember to think of others as well as yourself. Our Union is like a family. We are there for each other in the good times and the bad times. IUE-CWA Officers E-Board N Newsletter Staff