Welcome to Local 16-O
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Brothers:
The cleanup and rebuilding of the mine-site continues. At present there are still twenty four employees on lay-off. The mine appears to be running at maximum production with one (1) shaft skipping. 21 conveyor was damaged beyond repair in the tornado and has been removed. Until there is a system set up to move product from number One Shaft to the storage areas production will be limited and manpower requirements will probably remain as is. We are all optimistic that the rebuilding of the damaged surface structures will be completed on schedule and with a good winter all of the laid off employees will be recalled eventually.
The Company has proposed a Tuesday to Saturday shift schedule for the Mining Department. This schedule would involve a three shift rotation with eight hour shifts and would include working every Saturday. This type of schedule would be very difficult on our union member's family life and the union is not supportive of the schedule at this time. The Union has proposed several extended shift schedules that give Saturday coverage but also provide more time off. The Union has established that these schedules do provide time off to spend with our families and also provide better production coverage including Saturdays. We will continue to work on developing shift schedules that combine the shift coverage that is required along with quality time off for the workforce.
Union leadership from the Unions that represent Compass Minerals employees throughout North America has gotten together in a series of meetings to discuss the treatment of employees of Compass Minerals. A Flyer was developed from these initial meetings that will be distributed to all locations across North America. To view the flyer go here. This act of solidarity between the Unions is a giant move forward and a necessary one.
The Union's Tornado Relief Fund has had its first meeting and the Committee is in the process of identifying individual members that may require assistance. Local 16-O would like to thank all of the Locals that have made donations to this fund.
In Solidarity,
Mark Bellinger Vice President C.E.P.
Local 16-O
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Brothers:
On Friday September 23, 2011 a number of 5-Crew postings went up in the Mining, Underground Maintenance and Surface departments. The postings have been removed and we believed that the awarding of these postings would begin. On Friday September 30, 2011 the Union was informed that the posting process is now on hold.
Part of the discussion that the Union had with the Company involved a Company proposed Tuesday to Saturday rotating three shift schedule. The Company has now informed the Union that the other schedules will be put on hold until there is an agreement on the Tuesday to Saturday schedule. At this time the Union is not prepared to accept this schedule due to a number of issues.
The Union has asked the Company on several recent occasions as to when more of the laid-off employees will be recalled. As of today we have not had a clear response. There are still bottlenecks with hoisting, surface storage and shipping that we believe is affecting the recall of theses employees.
The bussing of employees from the temporary parking lot at the Evaporator Plant still is problematic. There are now three (3) busses running and this has helped somewhat. We will continue to monitor the bussing and push for improvements in the scheduling and the parking area itself.
The three C.E.P. Locals that represent the employees at the Mine and the Evaporator Plant are in the process of forming a Tornado Relief Committee. This committee is being set up to assist unionized employees. Funds have been donated from other C.E.P. Locals and the National Union. At present Local 16-O is looking for one more volunteer to sit on this committee. This committee will allocate the funds that are collected to union members in need. If you or someone you know requires assistance please contact the union office.
In Solidarity,
Mark Bellinger Vice President C.E.P.
Local 16-O
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Brothers:
The second temporary ship loader is up and running and cleanup of the mine-site continues. At present there are 24 Miners on lay-off. The Company has not given any timelines for the recall of these employees. For numerous tornado related reasons the Mine is not yet back up to the production level that we were at before the tornado. In the event that the Union is notified of a recall of employees we will post this information on this web-site.
We have moved the Union office into a temporary location in the trailer beside the new dry. We have a temporary phone line and are in the process of getting our e-mail hooked up. The phone number is 519-441-1591.
A relief fund has been set up and is being administered by a joint Company/Union Committee, with donations being collected from other Compass Minerals sites. If you or someone you know is in need of financial assistance due to tornado related issues, the Union contact for C.E.P. Local 16-O members is Lawrence Lassaline. Please call the Union office with any inquiries regarding assistance. The Union is also in the process of establishing a relief fund as other C.E.P. Locals and our National Union have donated funds. You can also call the Union office for inquiries for assistance from this Fund.
At present mine employees are being bused from a parking lot set up at the Sifto Property on Maple Street between Cypress and Regent Street. Numerous legitimate issues and concerns have been brought forward by our members regarding the busing process. The Union will continue to voice these concerns to Company officials in hopes that this process can be improved upon. I am requesting that C.E.P. Local 16-O members bring their concerns regarding the busing forward to the Union Executives or Company officials. Do not give the bus drivers a hard time as they have nothing to do with the process.
I will continue to provide updates on the Union web-site as they are made available.
In Solidarity,
Mark Bellinger Vice President C.E.P.
Local 16-O
Friday, September 9, 2011
Brothers:
The Union has been informed by the Company that the recall of employees will continue next week. The remainder of the Maintenance Department employees will all be recalled on Monday September 12, 2011. The exact number of production employees recalled is not known but there will be less than 30 employees on temporary layoff next week. At this time it is unknown how long the remaining employees will be laid off.
The fact that the Mine is back into production after the damage that was sustained in the tornado is truly amazing. The first boat was finished being loaded by the temporary ship loader on Thursday and another vessel is being loaded today. The hope is that is that the remainder of the laid off employees will be recalled as production increases and the hoisting and shipping continues to run smoothly. A second temporary ship loader is being assembled and will increase the speed at which the vessels can be loaded.
The Records of Employment have been sent to Services Canada by the Company so EI claims can now be processed. Several other issues relating to Employment Insurance are being looked into by our national Rep.
There is still no phone or e-mail in our temporary Union office. We are hoping to have both services up sometime next week.
We will continue to update our members on developments at the Mine on this website.
In Solidarity,
Mark Bellinger Vice President C.E.P.
Local 16-O
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Brothers:
We will be holding an information meeting for Union members at 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 at the Legion in Goderich. The meeting will be held in the upstairs meeting room. This meeting is to update our members on the most recent developments at the Mine. There will still be a regular Union meeting later this month, the location will be announced later. Our National representative Glenn Sonier will be attending this meeting.
The power has been restored at the Mine and approximately 160 unionized employees are working both underground and on surface. If the power up continues successfully underground we are hoping that more employees will be recalled soon.
The Union trailer was damaged beyond repair during the tornado and we are presently relocating to a temporary location in the trailer beside the new dry. At this time we do not have telephones or e-mail hooked up. I do check my e-mail daily and will respond to your inquiries. My e-mail is vpcep16@cabletv.on.ca.
On Wednesday September 7, Angelo Brisimitzakis the President and CEO of Compass Minerals will be visiting the Mine. Sifto Canada Corp. is a subsidiary of Compass Minerals. The Union executive will be meeting with Angelo.
The Union executive will be updating our members at the meeting on Wednesday as well as through our web-site as information is made available to us.
In Solidarity,
Mark Bellinger Vice President C.E.P.
Local 16-O
Monday, September 5, 2011
Brothers:
We will be holding an information meeting for Union members at 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 at the Legion in Goderich.
I have been in contact with Cathy Farrugia, from the company, FirstOnSite. This company is presently looking to hire to help in the clean up from the aftermath of the tornado. If interested, please email her directly at the following email address: cfarrugia@firstonsite.ca. This is a potential opportunity for employment until the mine is back up and running. Hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday, we will be able to give our members that are still currently laid off an idea of how long they will be off.
I will be updating this web page tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon with more information as we receive it.
In Solidarity,
Mark Bellinger Vice President C.E.P.
Local 16-O
Friday, September 2, 2011
Brothers:
I would like to update our members on the progress that has been made in the efforts to get the Mine back into production.
There are approximately 310 employees on temporary lay-off. At present there are several Hoistmen, Electricians, Millwrights and Mechanics working. A small number of Surface Operations employees are also on-site. The members of the Mine Rescue team are on-site on standby until further notice.
We have been informed that the electrical power will be restored to the Mine sometime today. A partial recall of more Maintenance and Production employees is underway. A temporary ship loader is on-site and being assembled. These are important steps in getting more of our members back to work. I cannot give out the exact number of employees that are being recalled at this time. However if the power up is successful on both surface and underground we anticipate more recalls in the near future.
The last two weeks have been chaotic and stressful for all of us dealing with this disaster and the loss of our Brother Norm. Many of our members have suffered property loss as well as the uncertainty of their future employment.
A counseling service is being provided for all employees and their families to help deal with the impact of the tornado and its aftermath. If you or one of your family members would like to talk to a counselor please call 1-800-663-1142.
In the aftermath of the tornado the Union had very limited communication resources as the Union Trailer was hit and our e-mail and phones were knocked out. We are slowly getting back up and running and this web-site is our main source of getting information out at this time. We are planning on holding an information meeting sometime next week if we can arrange a meeting place. As of today we are having trouble finding a place to hold the meeting as meeting space in the town of Goderich is limited. If and when we go ahead with the meeting the date, time and location will be posted on this web-site. However the Union will continue to update this web-site as more information is provided to us regarding the recall of employees and the status of the Mine. I will continue to respond to e-mails sent to me at vpcep16@cabletv.on.ca and I can now be reached by mobile phone @ 519-524-0273.
In Solidarity,
Mark Bellinger Vice President C.E.P.
Local 16-O
August 31, 2011
Health & Safety Report
Brothers:
First of all I would like to express my sympathies to all of you as a result of the loss of our Brother Norm. Norm's accident is being investigated by the Ministry of Labour. Hopefully, some preventative measures will be developed as a result, so that we will get more warning when storm warnings are released.
I would also like to compliment the Mine Rescue Team on the very professional job they did during a very trying time. We all tend to take our Mine Rescue people for granted until we have a disaster. Next time you see a team member, give him a pat on the back for a job well done.
The event that just happened is almost impossible to predict, but it was great to see everyone pull together and work together from Union and Company to get the mine cleaned up, repaired and running again.
Hopefully none of us will have to experience such a terrible event again. If any of you have any questions or suggestions about the investigation, please contact me at 519-357-3506.
Take care
Al Robb
