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OCTOBER LABOR VIEWS
Service awards to members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners for the month of October were presented to:
Roland Allard 30 yrs. Gordon Doak 30 yrs.
Edward Churilla 30 yrs. John Lamay 25 yrs.
Chester Drong 30 yrs. Kenneth Michel 25 yrs.
Timothy Livesey 30 yrs.
Congratulations!
BY-LAW COMMITTEE: At September’s Union meeting a by-law committee was chosen to address any future by-law changes. The committee consists of Steve Adams, Trish Grimshaw, Frank Tagliatela, and Adam Hunt. The Local is required to notify members by mail that we will be addressing possible by-law changes. For that reason, by-law changes will not be on the agenda until November’s meeting. Additionally, the Union membership needs to elect one steward for the graving dock area at the November meeting. Anyone interested in running for this position needs to attend that meeting.
The Union has polled its membership by seniority for the NSSF job at the sub base. The contract states that our senior members have the option to fill those titles at the sub base, and that requires us to poll our members annually.
INSURANCE: The open enrollment for insurance changes begins 10/30/06 and ends 11/17/06. If you need to add or remove family members to your medical, dental, or vision insurances, you are required to do so then. You may make these changes by phone using the number 1-888-432-3633, or you can do it in person at the benefits office.
SMOKING POLICY: MTC President Ken DelaCruz and MDA/U.A.W. President John Worobey have sent Electric Boat a letter regarding the new tobacco-free facility policy that the Company wants to put in place. Despite the fact that everyone agrees with the need for a healthy work environment, the affected unions feel that this is a negotiable item. One aspect of the negotiating process is that we attempt to gain something in exchange for something we have lost.
A memo was signed between the Company and the Union for road work in occupational titles affected by lay-offs. This memo does not affect any active employees. It is a confusing situation so let me use this example. A road job becomes available and the Company needs 75 carpenters. Fifty active carpenters agree to go. Twenty-five carpenters are still needed. The memo allows the Company to ask our laid off carpenters (in order of seniority) to fill those twenty-five positions. If the most senior person on the laid off list declines the offer to go, the next most senior member is asked. This process continues until all positions are filled. Then, when the road job ends, each of the previously laid off carpenters will gain the thirty months recall rights plus the number of months they worked on the road job. Any member higher up on the list who refused the offer to work the road job will have the same amount of recall rights as the person who filled the job. In other words, no one will lose seniority even if a less senior member supports the road work. If there are any questions, feel free to contact me. It is important that members who are being laid off provide the Union and the Company with current contact information. If we are unable to contact you, it will be impossible to offer you work.
VOTER REGISTRATION: I urge all members to vote in November’s election. If you are not registered, please register as soon as possible. Voting is an important right that we should not take for granted.
VETERAN’S DAY: As Veteran’s Day approaches I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all veterans especially the ones with whom we work on a daily basis.
Clearly, everyone appreciates the personal sacrifices they have made to defend our country and to protect the freedoms that we enjoy on a daily basis. At this time of conflict in other countries, we should stop to appreciate that we have peace at home, and that many of our fellow countrymen have sacrificed their lives for that. It is important that we keep veterans in our thoughts not only on Veteran’s Day but everyday.
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