Business Manager’s Report, November 2008
I want to thank the membership for their attendance at the November membership meeting. Conditions in the plants continue to improve.
There have been no layoffs since our last membership meeting.
There have been seven recalls. In Andover there was 1 Test B on 1st and 1 Assembly C on 3rd. The remaining 4 Millwright B’s were finally recalled. In Sudbury 1 Material B was recalled on 1st.
As Brother Aziz mentioned there are 6 new hires for the month. They are 2 Assembly C’s on days in Andover. 2 Millwright C’s on 2nd in Andover. And 2 Millwright C’s on 2nd in Sudbury.
As of Friday November 7th there were 21 open reqs.
In Andover 3 Test B’s on second shift. 4 Assembly C’s on second shift.
2 Material C’s on days. 2 Assembly C’s on third. 7 Assembly C’s on days.
In Tewksbury 2 millwright C’s on 2nd. And in Sudbury 1 millwright C on 2nd.
As the upcoming holidays draw near it is assumed that the hiring will slow down so as not to have to pay holidays.
OSHA Recordables:
There were six OSHA recordables for the month of October, five In Andover, one in Woburn. In Andover: A Test B injured their back while lifting. An Assembly B injured their knee when they tripped and fell. A Test C slipped and fell on a freshly washed floor. An Assembly C developed a rash from wearing latex gloves. And a Material B injured their back while lifting a box. In Woburn a carpenter hurt their back while lifting a heavy object.
As I stated last month our goal must be no accidents. There seems to be an increase in the number of back injuries. Please lift carefully. If the item seems heavy seek assistance. If needed ask your supervisor for protective equipment and learn to use the equipment properly. No one wants to have a back injury. My administration will insist that the company provide the proper equipment and training to help prevent these type injuries.
Recently there have been two members discharged for not following process sheets. This is a very serious matter. The process sheets are to be followed to the letter.
You may have heard that recently a supervisor told his employees to continue working without the proper process sheet. When your Union heard about this serious violation we demanded appropriate action be taken. Serious discipline was assessed in this matter. While we do not enjoy any person receiving discipline, the rules and penalties for violating the process sheets must apply to everyone, not just the workers.
As you have probably read the automotive industry has reached a critical position. They are declaring that unless they are bailed out they will go bankrupt. Many tens of thousands of good union jobs are at risk. This was not the fault of the union workers. The responsibility rests with a management that refused to adapt to the times. The companies were making massive profits and instead of developing new technologies to increase mileage, reduce costs and make their cars more attractive to the American buyer they continued to do business as usual and this is what they have caused.
Fidelity has announced that they may lay off as many as 4000 of their employees nationwide. Fidelity employees about 11,500 here in Massachusetts.
Barrack Obama won the presidential election. He has promised to make Labor issues a top priority in his new administration. For far too long the Department of Labor has thought of itself as the Department of Business. Most labor laws have been purposely misapplied to work against the employees and help big business. It is time that we return to an even playing field. If employees of a company want to unionize they should be allowed to do so without having to take on both the company and the Government. I can tell you that I have to deal with reams of regulations from the DOL that are designed to make it as difficult as possible to run a Local.
It is almost as difficult dealing with a Government agency that was designed to protect union workers rights as it is to deal with the company. I hope the new president lives up to his repeated promises to organized labor and reforms the Department of Labor.
Please do not forget your benefit’s enrollment.
The Officers and staff of Local 1505 wish all our members a happy Thanksgiving.
Respectfully submitted,
David Johnson
Business Manager
