Hello MFD'ers,,,been away for a while(not prison) and have returned here to get the info flowing on the goings on of the new contract for Erin Mills and eventually Maplegrove\Ajax.
To bring you guys up to date on the rumour mill at the Grove it is as follows:
-7 to 10 year contract , 2 tier payscale , massive reductions in benefits , wage freeze for the duration , no Christmas bonus , just shy of $18\hr for 2nd tier top rate
-also heard a second version, 8 year deal ,small wage increase, everything else the same
Apparently Erin Mills has voted 96% against the contract, whatever it was, and a strike notification has been given. The company will be meeting again after Labour Day. I will once again add that this is all rumour at my end due to the fact that no info has been provided for us by the union at work. Can anyone provide more details please?????
quote:
been away for a while(not prison)
Prison never even cross'd anyone's mind. 
The dilemma for ufcw now is; how does it balance the 96% strike support and it's signed_in_worker's_blood commitment to the employer and labour's illustrious clique to keep the labour peace.
What a mess, if nothing else, you'd at least think that ufcw could belly up to the truth and allow people a place to begin - what a fucking mess!
Those terms are pretty much what we were told at the meeting. Yes, told. I also heard of the 8yr offer too. That is the one the Company and the Union both want us to accept as it would give the union a platform to say they "fought for us" and the company a platform that they were "generous". and we could all get back to work and not find out what Lederer and Corporan are up to. Its the same pattern for every negotiation since Corporan became prez. What a smoke screen. If we turn down a second offer Brian and Kevin will shit their pants. THAT...is what I'm hoping for. BALLS UP!! boys. If we talk half as tough to these offers as we do to each other than this could get really interesting.
Unless there are going to be some very generous increases over the course of an 8 or 10 year contract,the company and the union can lick my nut's.
With the amount of cash this company makes they have no right to ask anyone for any kind of concession,and the UFCW should not even entertain the idea by bringing it to the members,it is an insult!
Unless the UFCW 1000a can come up with a contract with substantial "across the board" increases and HUGE changes in contract language, the contract will be turned down at Maple Grove.
We have about 11 months left on our contract and I expect there to be a "decertification or (dispacement) application" filed with the "OLRB" when we enter our "open" period (if we don't get a GREAT contract)!
The members working at the Erin Mills and Surveyors Road Distribution Centers really need to stay together for this vote and not let Corperon and his goons push them into a shit contract.
If they go out on stike the workers at Maple Grove will "work to rule" and help to show Loblaws that we mean business and won't accept any more crap!
If the 96% that voted to strike stick together you will get what you want......
DeMoN 
What scares the hell out of me is that the union might try and sell an 8 year contract as a good thing, claiming that it ensures job security.
My dad works at Schnieders, and they just got out of a long term contract,it was anything but a good thing. They got screwed at every turn for the better part of a decade. While the cost of living went up in every area imagineable,their wages stayed the same, and what used to be concidered as good pay steadily turned to crap.
interesting read in todays Toronto star about the "job action". Brian Reid (UFCW warehouse rep) is quoted and his stance is the company is holding the bargaining chips. Namely the voluntary recognition of the UFCW in the new facility.
the article bb referred to-
loblaws warehouse staff...
There were some photocopies of the article put up around Maplegrove today.
I hope that people take the time to read it so that when the fit hit's the shan,they are not taken by surprise.
Many of us realized a long time ago that Loblaws was going to dangle the "voluntary rec." carrot in front of the union,and now I feel just slightly vindicated since it was admitted in public.
Thanks Brian
Ihate to say"I told you so" but,,ah fuck it, I like saying it! Here is a post of mine from May 11th on another thread:
What we have here,which I have stated before, is a carbon-copy of what transpired during the RCSS debacle. Much like that situation, we have a new facility being built in Ajax which is supposed to be staffed by the closing facility's employees.Same scenario as the RCSS stores which had employees from affected stores going to the new banner.Now, this is where the "concessions trap" comes into play. Loblaws threatens to go third party at the stores unless the UFCW gives in to the "RCSS Appendage".The union cries that if they don't do it,members will lose their jobs otherwise.They do it, without ratification, and the rest is stretched asshole history.
At the warehouses the same ploy is being put into play. The company is threatening third party at the new warehouse.The union is "off the hook" because they can cry about job security again when Loblaws comes to us with a contract. As an added bonus for this little game, Loblaws has third partied the transport division to add to the scare of the warehouse employees. All of this is going on while the majority of the workers have been without a contract since October of '04. I would also like to add that in response to this, our beloved union has not organized ONE SINGLE FUCKING JOB ACTION of any type. In fact, for the entire 4 years I have been a 1000a member, not once has there ever been an organized job action outside of maybe 3 guys on a shift slowing down for a couple of days.
I would love to share with all of you here what we have heard so far on what the company is looking for or what the union is asking for but I can't! For some reason or another, we are told that we cannot be told because that is "bargaining in bad faith". See how much longer that bullshit flies with guys that are going on their 8th month without a contract without even a whisper of what lies ahead in the future. I bet that if you guys in charge keep this uncertainty going , you could probably scare people into taking whatever shite contract you can dream up!
Sound familiar to what is happening today???? Sometimes being right really blows!
Well "Saints preserve Us!!!", her comes our first job action 10 months after the contract expires. To be perfectly honest, this action is moot without any bargaining power which the UFCW lost when they agreed to have the Groves grandfathered contract from the mill expire in '06 instead of with the Mill's. Regardless of the people who say "they can't afford to train a bunch of new guys for Ajax", the company is within its rights to not offer the Mill a contract. Without the voluntary rec for Ajax, the union will have to push a shit contract, or Loblaws can simply close the doors and say" its over." I would like to end with a quote from
sportysports:So that it is.
When a superior contract is negotiated what are you going to do?
When you look back six or eight years from now I want you to remember..........
Things are so bad at MG, but you never say what they are. Why so negative? You have created this big deal that everything at your workplace is crap. You have never really explained that.
So that is it!
Well Sporty,would you like to expand on your ideas of what a superior contract is? I do not call a 10 year wage freeze,two tier payscale, RCSS benefits, no COLA and the loss of my christmas bonus superior. Maybe its like what our old friend "Happy" says about the Erin Mills drivers who were third partied. He said they deserved it " cuz they were greedy"!!!!!
Reid said the company is still trying to determine if the planned warehouse will be run by Loblaw or a third party.
"If they do run the warehouse, then they'll be able to offer our members jobs, but if they don't, then they won't," said Reid. "The problem is they've been holding this over our heads like a carrot in our negotiations." The Mississauga warehouses will close once the new warehouse in Ajax opens in 2007.
I dont understand the recognition part, either the warehouse is run by Loblaws or its run by someone else, says nothing about recognising the union, or not recognising it. Loblaws doesnt want outside Union.Likes its friendly UFCW
If Loblaws decides to let the Erin mills and surveyors rd. employees have Ajax (and most believe they will, for a price) then the UFCW will be granted voluntary recognition in that building.
Loblaws has worked too hard over the years shaping and molding this union to be exactly what they want it to be,they are not going to take a chance in the workers choosing another union at Ajax.
The big deal about recognition is that we,at the Grove, are 1000a members not by choice. There is a clause in our contract,which was inherited from the Mill, that gives 1000a voluntary recognition for any new Loblaws warehouse. This warehouse has conveniently been put off until our contract expires. Thus, Loblaws holds all the chips when it comes to the Mill guys. Without an agreement in place for Ajax ,they have nowhere to go. Its all a grand concessionary dance where the members get thier feet stepped on. Loblaws is in control of this negotiation ,being that they have the manpower and facilities still under contract to cover the Mills work. Just imagine if the union had some forsight to make the Grove contract expire with the Mill. We would hold all the chips instead.
"""Reid said the company is still trying to determine if the planned warehouse will be run by Loblaw or a third party.""""
Because I am a Federaly Regulated employee I always think of Fed Regs and my first thought regarding 3rd Party Outsourcing was "What about 'successor rights' even if it goes to a 3rd party?"
Where is the Perterborough work going? Who is performing it? How can the Missaugaus be ditched?
P.S.= I am not naive and understand only too well how the Union troughfers will deal.
=========
part iV
continuity of employment
Sale, etc., of business
9. (1) If an employer sells a business or a part of a business and the purchaser employs an employee of the seller, the employment of the employee shall be deemed not to have been terminated or severed for the purposes of this Act and his or her employment with the seller shall be deemed to have been employment with the purchaser for the purpose of any subsequent calculation of the employee's length or period of employment. 2000, c. 41, s. 9 (1).
Exception
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the day on which the purchaser hires the employee is more than 13 weeks after the earlier of his or her last day of employment with the seller and the day of the sale. 2000, c. 41, s. 9 (2).
Definitions
(3) In this section,
'sells' includes leases, transfers or disposes of in any other manner, and 'sale' has a corresponding meaning. 2000, c. 41, s. 9 (3).
Predecessor Acts
(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), employment with the seller includes any employment attributed to the seller under this section or a provision of a predecessor Act dealing with sales of businesses. 2000, c. 41, s. 9 (4).
New building services provider
10. (1) This section applies if the building services provider for a building is replaced by a new provider and an employee of the replaced provider is employed by the new provider. 2000, c. 41, s. 10 (1).
No termination or severance
(2) The employment of the employee shall be deemed not to have been terminated or severed for the purposes of this Act and his or her employment with the replaced provider shall be deemed to have been employment with the new provider for the purpose of any subsequent calculation of the employee's length or period of employment. 2000, c. 41, s. 10 (2).
Exception
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the day on which the new provider hires the employee is more than 13 weeks after the earlier of his or her last day of employment with the replaced provider and the day on which the new provider began servicing the premises. 2000, c. 41, s. 10 (3).
Predecessor Acts
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2), employment with the replaced provider includes any employment attributed to the replaced provider under this section or under a provision of a predecessor Act dealing with building services providers. 2000, c. 41, s. 10 (4).
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Statutes/English/00e41_e.htm#BK11
The only way to get LCE to listen is to shut it down. UFCW has waited too long IMO to strike. 10 months is Pathetic. And then to have a strike durring LCE's slowest periods September through November, WOW. Then for the Company to offer what they did is a slap in the face to ALL warehouse employee's. They haven't even offically told us at the Grove what is going on. Our negotating committee is tight lipped about what is going on, and all we are getting is second hand. The UFCW to me sounds like they either don't want to play hardball or don't know how. Even the now Posted 90 day "stand-down" peroid for the stores. Take a hint guy's LCE don't want to talk they want to dictate terms to all. Time to stand up collectively stores and warehouse and take it to Loblaws. I wonder if the UFCW has thought about that? Or would it just be to much like unionism.
Do not underestimate the Union.
They are educated in their field. Concessions and growing the dues base.
Their main goal is not what you think it is.
They want to get recognition for the UFCW in the new warehouse...and will give up anything we have to get it.
The only roadblock for the Company/Union is the ability to ratify. That is the reason for all the fear mongering.
Why doesnt the Union mobilize the membership...work to rule ...urge employees not to work overtime or Sundays. File grievences and arbitrate them??
It's not easy these day's to organize a work to rule effort. So many people are over extended in their finances and in debt up to their eyeballs,it is difficult for them to turn down overtime or incentive money.
One thing is for sure though, we can't depend on the UFCW to act in our best interest because they have too many interests of their own.
If we are to pull through this contract with our balls still in tact it won't be for the efforts of our mighty leaders.
the ufcw better do something for erinmills .if they do not they will lose maplegove and erinmills(ajax) because guys on the floor are not happy with the ufcw. they are aware of open period.thanks to maplegrove and the guys from kitchner.
Unfortunatly our open period is over for this year,however I believe we have another one next year in the last 3 months of our contract,that's if we choose to turn down whatever the mill get's forced to take.
Erin mills won't have an open period for quite some time,but it might be worth looking in to.
We've already been down this road and lost. Now with the UFCW transfers from Survayors and Pinebush the 24 vote gape just increased by at least 100.
Our membership at Maplegrove choose to be blind and ignorant to the UFCW's way's, and do not wish to be educated in unionism nor wish to act in these way's because it would mean that they have to think of others and possiably have to give something or do something that they may not want to do cause it doesn't benifit them.
If you are in debt or stretching you finance' then do what the company is threating with us, and go third party. Go to a temp agency. They are looking for people with our warehouse experience to do the same work. some places pay that day and other by the week or two weeks. It's less money which means more hours but for those who wish to make a point and show that they will not be slaves to Loblaws or the UFCW they will do what is nessary.
I know a lot of the people that voted for the UFCW only did so because they wanted to see what kind of contract they could get for us, for the moment it looks like that contract will stink.
I don't want to get too ahead of myself or get anybody's hopes up,but this debacle they call negotiating might help us down the road
© 2024 Members for Democracy