Special Lockout Edition Conciliator

Special Lockout Edition | December 2019

IN THIS ISSUE:

Drunk With Power

Dissecting Scabs

It's Time

Who is Left

594 Swag

EXECUTIVE

President:

Kevin Bittman

Recording Secretary:

Carla McCrie

Treasurer:

Kaleena Baulin

Negotiating Chairperson:

Nathan Kraemer

Maintenance V.P.:

Jason Kelly

Process V.P.:

Avery Riche

Administration V.P.:

Lance Holowachuk

PDD V.P.:

David Limacher

Chief Shop Steward:

Richard Exner

Information Officer:

Ashlyn Heintz

Guide:

Brandon Mang

Sergeant at Arms:

Brandon Klatt

Trustees:

Daryl Nylen (19)

Amy Wisniewski (20)

Daryl Watch (21)

DRUNK WITH POWER

This situation is getting out of hand.

What is happening at the Co-op Refinery? The rock bottom morale and workplace atmosphere is unbearably unsustainable. Pressures are mounting and tensions have risen to an all-time high. The work environment is increasingly more difficult as each day goes by. And why is this? Why now during sustained record profits, would the company compromise the safety of workers and the community with their BCP?

These are the questions being asked of the decision makers at the Refinery. During a time when unionized workers are being held accountable for every little thing, why doesn’t that accountability extend to management and the consequences of their decisions?

Imagine for a moment if our current predicament was treated like a workplace incident? What if we compared the situations surrounding bargaining to the Company’s own Incident Classification Matrix, how would it line up?

Using the Company’s own criteria, their actions meet the standards of a level 3 incident in at least three different ways!

· Production Impact – Loss of Capacity >20% for 6 to 30 days.

· Near Miss – Potential for Injury.

· Near Miss – Potential Damage Estimated Between $50,000 - $100,000.

You could even include a Reputation incident as well. That involves any complaints related to CRC Operations from either an internal or external source. Level 2 would be substantiated complaints reported to regulatory authorities, which would be the case here. A Level 3 reputation incident would require the Company to take corrective action. But really, when has the Company ever been effective at policing themselves?

The Company’s approach to bargaining and their BCP are a level 3 workplace incident. And all employees know what that triggers, a piss test. Where is Wellpoint at?

Would the decision makers pass? Unsure, at best.

You can easily say they are drunk on power and making poor decisions because of it. Their vision is clouded with greed and it’s hurting people and relationships. Their decisions don’t make financial sense. We are making a billion dollars, and they are going to risk it all to flex their muscles at the union and their employees.

Any sober person could easily see that the pension savings the Company has proposed will be a drop in the bucket towards the sustainability they tout. Investing billions into capital improvements will be unaffected by gutting pensions and benefits of the employees. You can even argue that treating workers with respect gets you a step closer to sustainability as morale and productivity improve.

Our poisonous workplace is due to the intoxication of a few. An intervention is needed. The membership has had enough and want their old Co-op back because they have lost their way.

And someone at the top needs to be held accountable.

SHOP STEWARDS

Section IA:

Wade Schnell

Section IB:

Charles Brittner

Section II:

Chad Gettle

Section III:

Curtis Baht & Kevin Geiger

Section IV:

Ryan Jelinski

Section V:

Chad Thompson &

Andrew Murray

Building Maintenance:

Gary Gruell

MRP: Vacant

Pipefitters:

Shaun Jenkins & Karl Dahle

Mechanics:

Derek Kups

Stores:

Dallas Allen & Nathan Fafard

Electrical:

Les Bonkowski

Instrumentation:

Jaret McCloy &

Dave Mushynsky

Inspection:

Keith Britton

Fire & Safety:

Daryl Watch

Lab:

Scott Weber

Pumpers:

Ryan Dzioba

Decokers:

Jon Javorik

Welders:

Scott Wickland

Scaffolders:

Nelson Wagman

Construction:

Mike Pelzer

Boilerhouse:

Matt Wason

Insulators:

Luke McGeough &

Brandon Mang

PDD Office:

Andrew Fowlow

PDD Loading:

Dylan Bailey & Derek Emperingham

Packing & Blending,

Warehouse: vacant

Administration:

Tasha Davis &

Randy Guillemin

DISSECTING SCABS

It is a word that is politically and emotionally charged, and considered so vile and controversial, that it causes shame and anger. “Scab” used to be thrown into conversation like a bomb. While its power has diminished since its origins, the word scab garners attention to this day.

In Household Words , Stephanie Smith draws a clear line from the one definition of scab to the other:

“From blemish … to strike-breaker, the history of the word scab … shows a displacement of meaning from the visceral or physical to the moral register … Just as a scab is a physical lesion, the strikebreaking scab disfigures the social body of labor—both the solidarity of workers and the dignity of work.”

With the trailers rolled in and set up east of Section V, a stone’s throw from millions of barrels of explosive hydrocarbons, the word “scab” is getting thrown around more and more.

So, are all replacement workers “scabs”? The answer is complex, but in short, the answer is no, they are not.

The answer is complicated because replacement workers cross picket lines for a variety of reasons and only one of those reasons meets the “scab” definition. Saskatoon’s BCP is stretched so incredibly thin that they are relying on a patch work of lesser skilled and often inexperienced people to act as “band-aids” to keep the Refinery ‘operational’ during potential job action. A combination of reluctant supervisors scared of termination, eager brown-nosers, disingenuous retirees who choose to turn their backs on their former brothers and sisters, unwitting contract workers, and professional heartless mercenaries that roam from work-site to work-site taking food off the table of skilled, unionized workers. It’s a lean option BCP has chosen to run our refinery and one with extreme risk.

The Company has been running an unseen-in-the-industry ratio of 1 manager to every 2 in-scope workers for the last four to five years, and solely for BCP purposes. It hasn’t made the refinery any more efficient or safe, it’s a pure power move to prepare for locking out the actual highly skilled and experienced workers that keep the plant safe everyday.

While most managers have no interest in abandoning their families and living in a shoddy trailer for months on end, they are forced to out of fear of losing their jobs or being ostracized to a dusty basement like Milton in Office Space. There are rumblings of lawsuits, medical exemptions, human rights violations, and even unionization to avoid being a pawn in Saskatoon’s little games. These are not scabs, they are at best Unwilling Slaves .

On the flipside of that coin there are some managers who can’t wait to cross the picket lines and will happily assist the Company as they race to the bottom in pension and benefits. They are excited to live on site and have been heard bragging to others in the hallways and hockey locker rooms about how much money they are going make. Although, those promises didn’t bear fruit last time, and in fact, their overall compensation package decreased since the last round of bargaining. These are not scabs who have a choice to cross or not, they are Kool-Aid Junkies .

Then you have the contract workers and the professionals. Hired for one purpose, and one purpose only, to do the work of the unionized employees fighting for the benefits and pay that drive the local economy and raise the standards for all workers. Make no mistake, these are scabs. They will say they are just doing a job, nothing personal, but how does a citizen lack basic ethics that they can walk past a group of brave workers, cross a picket line and still sleep at night? These are not people to be admired. There actions are shameful. These are Scabs .

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it does. The disingenuous retirees. They are former in-scope or out of scope employees of the Co-op that are choosing to “un-retire” while continuing to collect their hard earned DB pension plan, savings plans and other hard-fought benefits. In doing this, they are turning their backs on former brothers and sisters to help a Company that has reneged on promises and attempting to rip money from the pockets of its highly-skilled unionized workers. One can’t even imagine the twisted thought processes that must go on to justify these immoral, unethical acts to oneself. While they are hypocrites, they are best known as Super Scabs .

When you think about it, how will the Super Scabs mingle and work alongside the Unwilling Slaves who were forced into a weaker pension plans and had their retirement plans devastatingly altered. That could make for some tense interactions.

So scab or strike-breaker or replacement worker, call them what you want and feel how you wish. The truth is that Saskatoon is calling the shots. It was their directives that brought in the camp, that rejected the union’s reasonable offers, are refusing to negotiate and put us all in this position.

It is disrespectful to bring in scabs and also to force someone to act as a scab. We are refinery workers, and we deserve respect. We all know that there is more than enough profits to respect refinery workers.

IT'S TIME

This is the most critical junction in the history of our Union. It has been a long road to get to where we are right now. It’s time to begin our fight. The Company has given us 48-hour notice to lock us out of the plant. A plant that we have been running and maintaining for 77 years. A plant that the workers have saved from freeze ups, large scale fires, vapour releases and violent explosions. We are being rewarded for our loyalty with a “choice”: to not work or to agree to major concessions.

The Union is not being greedy. We are only trying to protect what we have, nothing more. Make no mistake, this battle is about more than money, it is about labour peace.

Collective bargaining is always high stakes, but this round is about so much more. It is about ending this vicious cycle of putting your life on hold every three years. It is about stopping the disrespect from the Company demanding major concessions during record profits. It is about stopping a scab camp being built in order to lock us out. It is about our future.

Our Union came to the table with optimism. A fair deal should not have been out of the question with our Company’s strong financial successes. Still our Union compromised and proposed to take a concession and allow members the ability to switch to the DC plan.

During this round of bargaining our objective was to ensure pension security for our members. This meant allowing members to choose which pension plan they want to be on, and protecting that choice. This compromise is a concession and still not good enough for the Company.

We have been planning and saving for this moment for three years and all your work will pay off as we enter this battle with the greedy Company. This battle is not only about the issues, it is about respect, it is about protecting our future at the Co-op Refinery. It is about pushing back on a false narrative of sustainability during times of record profits.

Now is our time to stand up and say, enough is enough. The constant attacks need to end.

We need to stand together before we lose the ability to stand up at all.

Your calmness and professionalism in the lead up to this moment is commendable. You have stayed engaged and informed throughout the process and have made the bargaining committee’s job much easier in defending the attacks. The backing of the membership allows us to speak as one voice with the support of 730. Thank you.

We are entering an unknown and scary moment in our careers. Not being allowed to work by your employer and not receiving a regular paycheck is daunting. We are a family of 730 members. There will be lots of highs and lows in the coming months. We need to ensure we encourage each other when we are down. We need to look after each other and stick together as a team. There will be some who struggle emotionally and financially. We need to be there for them because tomorrow you could need that help too.

We have ways to make extra money if you and your family are hurting. Keep the UCP committee informed if you are struggling. We want everyone to be supported, if you do not need extra money, please allow those that do, the ability to pick up extra picketing shifts. In turn, if you will not be working your shifts, make sure they are posted as available.

The battle we are entering can only be won as a cohesive group. The only thing the Company cannot account for is us, the members. I have seen it for 23 years; our solidarity is unbelievable, unwavering and amazing to be apart of. The passion we have for our work and the Co-op system is directly related to the success of the Co-op Refinery and FCL. In the event of a lock out, we must turn the passion for our work into a passionate fight for our future at the Refinery.

This fight is about us resetting our workplace. A fight for respect. We just want to do our jobs and work for a company that does not create a stressful work environment every three years. This is a fight that will hopefully allow people to buy a house, start a family, and start building their future.

Our future begins now!

Your President

Kevin Bittman

WHO IS LEFT PICKING UP THE PIECES

All labour disputes end at some point, some last 2 hours, some last 2 years, but no matter how long they last, the landscape is always radically changed. In the lead up to a large-scale labour dispute like the one coming in 48 hours, it's hard to imagine what working at this plant will look like after this dispute ends. Once we are on the picket line there are going to be some difficult emotions to deal with. There will be resentment for some of your co-workers, your managers and especially the FCL executives who have forced us on the picket line.

The reality is your co-workers and managers will most likely still be working at the plant after this is done. The FCL executives who put them, and us, through this will either be fired or will simply retire to their houses in Arizona or Palm Springs, and relish in their manipulation of you the worker (both Union and Management). They will enjoy their massive bonuses and severance packages that we all earned for them, regardless of their reckless abandon in putting us on the picket line.

These FCL executives are the reason this all happened. Their ego and their decision making have been what will put you on the line for a long time. They don’t care about hurting you, your family and your friends. FCL executives are the ones who have put you on the street. These people are making upwards of a million dollars per year and they are trying to destroy your financial future. They don’t care about you and they don’t respect you. Their financial future is set for their families for generations.

It will be awkward when we return for not only you but for the managers who have been forced to do your jobs. Remember the company has forced the managers to do this. They didn’t want to; we could very well be bargaining for their ability to keep their pension.

All labour disputes end. When this labour dispute does, regardless of what happens, we will have to return to work. Some people will quit. Some people will never recover from the disrespect the company has shown them.

Vicious attacks like the Co-op has done to this membership and the managers at the plant will have long lasting effects. It will put a workforce (both union and management) lower in morale than we were before, which is hard to imagine.

It will be us left picking up the pieces. It will be us who need to get past the dispute and move on. Life will go on and we will get back to working together and resolving our issues. If FCL thinks they can continue to operate this way and bargain in this manner it will result in the destruction of the retail system and the downfall of the Co-op refinery.

People can only take so much.

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