Sisters and Brothers,

The year is upon us and we have already encountered some challenges here at the met site. We have some drying issues and have been without our thickener at tailings since January9th. All personnel involved are working diligently around the clock to rectify this issue as quickly and safely as possible.

The weather has also been more active than in recent years thus requiring more attention from our services group. This crew consists of some of our most experienced and senior members from our now torn down plants. Credit is due to these guys for all for their effort considering the huge area of responsibility in what is basically their first active winter so far.

Planning your 2012 vacation should be well under way with your 2 weeks prime time at the very least in the books.

This year our Benefits rep Don Janveau will be completing his final stages of accreditation and he continues to work with Gary Hrytsak. For any inquiries Don is in our town office every Monday and Tuesday located at 75 Balsam street south.

Finally, the CAW and CEP National Unions are in early discussions to see if there is a possibility of a merger and form a stronger voice in the labor movement. You can read more on this issue on the CAW national web site (www.caw.ca) or contact me for more literature.

In solidarity,
Paul Fillion

Sisters and Brothers,

Your Collective Agreements have arrived and will be distributed accordingly to all. Take a few minutes a day and read through it, I am sure it can serve its purpose in solving conflicts or misunderstandings at the initial stages.

We have several positions on the Executive Board that are vacant until we hold elections in May 2012. 1st and 2nd Vice-President, 1 Trustee and 1 Guide positions are still open. If there are any members that would like to sit on the Board until then, let us know.

Our Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee is now full with our services rep position being filled by Brian Catherwood.

The Concentrator is slated to run with a bare minimum crews for part of the Holiday Season due to mine shortfall. As 2011 is coming to an end, we must remain focused on our duties and tasks at hand. January 1st will re-clock our safety goals and aims. Together we will make 2012 our best year ever for safety.

On behalf of your Bargaining and Executive Board Committees I would like to wish each and every one of you a Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays.

Be safe and stay warm,
Paul Fillion
Local 599

You will have to copy and paste the above link in your web browser to watch (sorry)…….

Sisters and Brothers,

On November 17th, Dennis Couvrette relinquished his duties as President of Local 599. He has since severed all ties with Xstrata after 27 years of service.

His commitment, perseverance and dedication to this Local and the CAW will be greatly missed. On behalf of the Bargaining and Executive Committees, we wish Dennis all the best in the future.

Elections for the President and Executive Board positions will be held in May.

As the new winter season is upon us, the Kap Cold Testing Center is quickly ramping up to full production, while Timmins Nissan is very busy with their successful transition to the new product.

With today’s fast pace of society, it is very easy to cut corners in your busy schedules be it at home or at work. Please take the extra time needed to insure that SAFETY is always your number one priority.

In solidarity,
Paul Fillion (Local 599)

Updated 9 hours ago

Hundreds of employees at Xstrata Nickel’s Fraser and Nickel Rim South mines were sent home from the job Monday for what the company is calling a “short safety pause” after an increase in safety incidents at the two operations.

Mine Mill Local 598/CAW president Richard Paquin said about 300 workers at Fraser Mine have been told to think about safety for an “indefinite” period of time while the company devises a plan to make the mine safer.

About 250 employees at Nickel Rim South were sent home Monday after sitting through a four-hour safety talk, he said.

While Paquin said he has no problem with Xstrata wanting to draft a plan to make its workplaces safer, the question is whether members will be paid for the unexpected time off.

Union and Xstrata officials began talking Monday night and spent all day Tuesday discussing the issue, said Paquin.

He was waiting to hear from Xstrata on Wednesday about whether it intends to pay members or not. The union has sought legal advice on the matter.

Schumacher Lion’s Den
Reports
President’s Report
Executive Board Recommendations
Chair’s Report
Financial Report
Health & Safety Report
Questions and Answers

I am still working with Gary Hrytsak. We have some more claims going to appeal and some to the Tribunal. We also have resolved some concerns and claims for some of the members.

I would just like to say to the members if you have an injury or get hurt please come and let us know what is going on even if everything seems ok. Sometimes there are little details missing. It is much easier for us to help the members if we already know what is going on.

If anyone has any questions or would like to make an appointment to see me, you can call me at 705-268-4599, you can email me at djanveau@gmail.com or you can stop by the office. I am looking forward to working with the membership for their WSIB and Benefit issues.

In Solidarity
Don Janveau

Benefits Representative

On behalf of your Bargaining Committee I would like to thank the membership for a good turnout in both in the nomination process and the elections themselves. With your selections being voiced we can now continue to work with the Company on some important issues such as economics, manpower and especially safety.

Regarding to medical appointments, your B/C is urging all members to try and book them on your days off (shift workers), near the end or after your dayshift if at all possible. Try to provide plenty of notice to your supervisor, again if possible.

In saying that, the agreement for paid medical appointments is very clear. Therefore if any members are still asked to bring in documentation in order to be paid or asked to provide documentation every time you have an appointment, please call the site office at 7599.

In closing, on October 21st we lost one of our fellow workers. Don Gamble was 48 years old. I would often ask him “what kind of day did you have Don” and his answer was always the same. “We had a great day today.”

Let’s make every day A GREAT DAY.

In solidarity,
Paul Fillion

FULL TIME HEALTH AND SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE

TOTAL
VOTES

Brian Catherwood 5

Peter Corbiere 5

Shawn Connors 60

Gary Kader 26

Willie Morrish 23
119 Voter turnout = 75%
157 Total eligible voters
Bargaining Committee

Skilled Trades Rep
TOTAL
VOTES

Peter Clifford 38

Gilles Nugent 7

Spoiled ballots 1 46 voter turnout = 75%

61 total eligible voters

JOHSC
TOTAL
Skilled trades VOTES

Gary Kader 5

Terry Mclean 40

Spoiled ballots 1 46 total membership turnout = 75%
61 total eligible voters

ELECTION COMMITTEE POSTED
Brian Pontello- 235-8121 EXT.7925 Nov. 4th, 2011