GM CHAIRPERSON’S BARGAINING UNIT REPORT
January 19, 2023
Happy New Year!
Welcome Back – I want to welcome back everyone from Christmas and New Year holidays. I hope everyone was able to enjoy the holidays and were able to spend time with the ones you care about most. As we get back into the work routine, just remember to think and work safely in all you do at GM.
Transfer news – Monday January 23rd is the 4th Monday of month which is the date that NEW transfer list for 2023 goes active. If you had transfers in last year, now would be the time to renew them for 2023. The transfer list is updated every Wednesday. We can use the same QR code as last year to submit transfers. Contact your Rep if you have any questions. For New Hires, you must have 1 year of seniority to be eligible to submit your transfers. Tpts are ineligible to submit transfers. This process can be found in our Local Language – Supplement No.1 of the Local Seniority Agreement pg17.
GM & AUTO COUNCIL – Your Bargaining Committee was able to participate in GM and Auto Councils last week in Windsor. We were able to connect with the other GM Bargaining Units from Oshawa, Woodstock, and Cami to discuss GM specific issues, which we had many in common with each other. Eg, plant wide attendance issues, Skilled Trades retention and various working conditions were the common issues. We also continued discussions regarding Bargaining Preparedness & Timelines which we will communicate to the membership soon.
For those who don’t know, Auto Council is where GM Bargaining Unit connects with Ford and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) Bargaining Units to discuss trends and issues in the Auto industry affecting Unifor members today. We heard a presentation from Bernard Swiecki, Senior Director for the Center of Automotive Research who provided us an update on the Automotive Industry in North America and how the EV transition is maturing in the market and how that is impacting the Big 3 in North America. Canada is poised to play an important role in the EV transition for the Big 3 with a very important set of negotiations to take place later this year. Bernard spoke of the impact electric investments will have in Canada and how they will shape & change the industry over the next decade. To learn more on the EV transition and other automotive trends you can check out www.cargroup.org or Uniforautohub.ca
TPT – ESA 3 Hour Rule – The Union was successful establishing 3 hours pay as per the ESA for TPT’s who are scheduled to work, show up but are sent home by the Company for various reasons. This ensures some compensation as opposed to nothing for the TPTs. NOTE – if TPTs are asked to go home and they agree to go, then you are volunteering to leave, that is not the same as being sent home. When the Company doesn’t offer you the option, and you are sent home at the start of the shift, you should be compensated 3 hrs. This will function in the same way as the 4-hour rule for full time members.
Volumes
V6 – has taken a second week of layoff for one shift in assembly this week and canvassing has already begun for the same operating plan next week. Laid off Trades in V6 have returned to work this week. Machining is running 3 shifts. As inventory remains high for the V6 inventory corrections/layoffs could be more common if Lansing Delta doesn’t continue to pull from this inventory as expected since re-tooling earlier this month. The Union is working to mitigate layoffs with the Company for members in V6. As talks progress, we will keep the membership informed.
V8 – The V8 department is off to a strong start this year. The partial 3rd shift started up January 3rd with 10 people and as of this week it is up to 27 people. This temporary volume increase is good to see. Valves continue to be a supplied product that may still cause interruptions, but for now the supply seems good. Head Sub machines have been installed over the holidays. The Head Sub team is currently running in by-pass mode until these machines get dialed in which could take a couple more weeks.
GF6 – volumes in the GF6 are stable. One shift in assembly with 3 shifts in machining. We populate 3 shifts in machining to support our assembly operation to fulfill orders that San Luis Potosi Mexico has with us for multiple machined parts.
DCT – has stabilized their supply of parts to maintain 160 units/week. This has secured one full shift that runs on days. The second shift has been pushed back until further notice. This is due to the continual part supply challenges for Tremec who supplies us the DCT parts.
Union Awareness – Vince Guardari and his team of trainers have been teaching through Module 19. This mod speaks to workplace pensions, Government pensions, rights and benefits of a Unionized Workplace, some politics, and social media content. 758 members are eligible for this training, 322 have completed it, which is 43%. In the fall, it is anticipated a new module will be available which will include EV Update and Contract Review.
Issued by,
Trevor Longpre, GM Unit Plant Chairperson
On behalf of the Shop Committee: Stan Kuczma, Scott Little, Tony Verde
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