Bargaining Committee Newsletter
January 14 2008
Your Bargaining Committee and Local 588 Union Structure welcomes everyone back from the layoff and Holiday Season. We hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 2008 will prove to be another very challenging year for us as a Local Union and for the industry in which we work. Let us all make the New Year resolution to stay focused on safety in 2008. We need to continuously remind ourselves that we are our brothers and sisters keepers. Everyone working here has someone who depends on them and they depend on you returning home safely. Let us also make the resolution as Union Brothers and Sisters to stick together during these rocky times. The company would love nothing more than to see us fighting amongst ourselves. Whether you're a production worker, a skilled trades person or a fork driver we all come here for the same reason. We all depend on each other to make this work. A divided group is a conquered group.
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Autoshow Tickets- With the approval from the National Parties autoshow tickets have been purchased utilizing the nickel-fund. Due to the upcoming layoffs, tickets will distributed with your paychecks on Thursday January 24th, 2008 for 1st and 3rd shifts and Friday January 25th for 2nd shift. The Chicago Autoshow is from February 9th thru the 17th. The show is a great way to see all the new and future products Ford Motor Company will be offering. We must continue to promote the products we build with our families, friends and neighbors through the A, X and Z plans. Promoting our products promotes our future. We will continue to hammer the company on their lack of advertising!
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Martin Luther King Holiday- Monday January 21, 2008 is a U.A.W. negotiated holiday. You must work or be excused on Tuesday Jan. 22nd to receive holiday pay.
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Upcoming Layoff- The upcoming three week layoff is for the weeks on January 28, February 4 and February 11. The layoff will be by inverse seniority. The deadline to have your (shift/seniority) cards updated is Friday January 18th. Indirect classifications will have the option to exercise their seniority and go back to production for these three weeks. If you wish to exercise your seniority you must fill out a slip in labor relations by Friday January 18th to be eligible. These cutbacks will only be for the above three weeks.
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Unemployment Sign Up- You will be able to sign up for unemployment at the Union Hall on Tuesday January 29th from 9 a.m. till 2 p.m.
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National Attendance Policy- UAW National Ford Department and Labor Affairs Staff have agreed that the new National Attendance Program implementation will be postponed again until mid- February, 2008. We will continue to operate under the attendance policy negotiated in the C.O.A. until we are given an exact date. Copies of the new National Attendance Policy can be found in the Committee Room. Please read it and make sure you understand it. Make sure to ask a Union rep. if you have any questions.
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Website- Remember to visit: UAW588.comAll Bargaining Committee reports and postings are on the site. There are also other committee reports, pictures from U.A.W. events and media reports pertaining to our industry. It is a valuable communication tool for the membership. If you see Brother Heath Grable be sure to thank him for all of his hard work as webmaster of the site.
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Buyouts- Our International Union and the National Ford department are continuing to negotiate the details of the second wave of buyouts. We are being told by our International Union that we should have information on the specifics of the buyouts by the end of January. As soon as we get any information we will share it with the membership.
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Gen 85% Option- The option of receiving 85% of your pay to stay at home rather than to report to the Gen pool should be ready for implementation by Feb. 1st. We are waiting for the final details from our International Union and will keep the Membership informed of all details as we receive them.
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Structure Reduction- Due to the reduced Membership numbers your Local Union Structure has been reduced per the National Agreement. Your Bargaining Committee utilized a 1990 letter of understanding on (pg. 252+253 Volume 4 of the National Agreement) to retain the top two Committee people. As all Union Reps. responsibilities have been expanded, please make sure to leave detailed messages so that we can respond in a timely fashion.
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D 385 Launch- The new Lincoln MKS launch is very important to our plant's future. Over the next few months we will start to run panels for the car. Let us all be extra diligent in doing our part to make the launch of this car a huge success. The spotlight is definitely on us as a stamping plant. Job 1 is May 11th. There is a link on UAW588.com that will take you to the Lincoln MKS website.
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W-2 Distribution- Active Employees W-2s will be delivered with the checks this week. Inactive Hourly will be distributed by payroll through U.S. Mail by Friday 1/18.
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National Contract- Skilled Trade consolidation update- Several meetings have taken place between your Union and the company to discuss and plan implementation of these agreements. 'Input from the affected trades has been helpful in identifying possible issues. The National parties will be visiting each plant to review plans to insure the initiatives are consistent with language from plant to plant. As of now, no firm date has been agreed to. We are close in some trades and as information is available it will be relayed to the affected skilled groups.
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Cleaning Transition- As the National parties agree on implementation schedules for the plants, we will keep the cleaners informed. Our cleaning department should be commended ans appreciated for the job they do. Even though they faced transition they continue to display pride and commitment for our Membership.
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Your Bargaining Committee
“The Ultimate measure of a man or woman is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love. 1963