Skilled Trades Association, CAW Local 199 St. Catharines (General Motors Unit) | ||||||
| ||||||
What are we doing continued... As I said before our immediate focus was to get back to work. As we progress through the growth of this association we realize our energy and focus can help bring about other more long lasting positive changes for all trades and production, by helping to strengthen our union and by WORKING SMART-WORKING SAFE. Our leadership needs our ideas and full backing if they are to help us achieve any real, long lasting change. We need management to be responsible for their mismanagement. Don't kick the dog just because you stubbed your toe. If you screwed your budget up, don't send us home as your first attempt to repair it. We have been willing to help in many creative ways. We have come up with positive suggestions to appendix R. We need to support and demand superior apprenticeship programs not only for GM's future but also for the future of our kids throughout Ontario and Canada. We need appropriate training to keep up with changing times, and retraining to assist other trades in time of layoffs. We need to support the movement to improve Canadian content in all products. We need major improvements in the retirement package and make them 100% protected. Companies must not be aloud to use or refuse this money, which is ours. We need smart overtime management. If you continuously need to force in, then hire more people. Your manpower can be arranged more effectively without constantly keeping threats of layoffs over everyone's heads. If we weren't continually under the stress of unemployment, who knows, we may even be more concerned about your products and time schedules. If you want someone to care about you then you must first show you care about him or her. "Do Unto Others" We demand respect for our years of training and commitment to GM. Just because our hands are dirty doesn't mean you can treat us like dirt. I have said in the past that GM and I square up every Thursday and GM doesn't owe me a living. The lowest seniority people on lay-offs have 15 years. They have been instrumental in the success of this facility. Because of our dedicated service, GM St. Catharines enjoys top marks in quality, is putting out numerous products in a timely manner and is slated for great things. I now firmly believe, that as long as these facts remain true, GM does owe us a living. We ask for nothing more than we deserve. If GM is flourishing at our facility, then we should also. The Skilled Trades Association is now maturing into something more than a fight-back group. We have had a successful program to let the appropriate people know who we are and what we are doing by writing letters. The WORK SMART-WORK SAFE program is a life long commitment to showing management everywhere that Skilled Trades are diligent, smart, honorable and respectable people. We are dedicated to the welfare of all Trades and we will not be divided. Skilled Trades will continue to improve dialog with, and respect for each other and will no longer allow management, their "divide and conquer" agenda. We are sharing our ideas with other Trades who have been laid off from other companies. Many of our issues are similar to theirs. With the help of people still working and the WORK SMART-WORK SAFE program management may start to get the idea. It is time for Canadian workers, both Trades and production, to WS-WS. This will save jobs and save lives. Your association is taking on a life of it's own. Everyone we have spoken to has come on board and we hope you will too. Thanks from your friends in the Skilled Trades Association | ||||||
| ||||||
