POSTED December 20, 2011
The last 3 months has brought about a lot of changes for the Fort Wayne Plant. The front guard shack was tore down, and a new employee entrance was made. The barb wire fence along the employee walkway was taken down. The guard headquarters has been moved inside in the employee entrance. The Union office has moved again. We are now in the old gear engineering offices and that was remodeled. The entrance to Human Resources (Personnel) from the parking lot has been remodeled. They have installed 4 large fans in the wall that faces State Street that will blow air into Dept. 152 & 132 or suck air out of the plant. They sprayed all the ceiling windows on the outside with an oil based rubber membrane that will help preserve the metal frame. So it darkened the whole plant to the point that they are going to paint the windows white on the inside and upgrade the lights. We got 5 new Doosan’s that are in Dept. 151, they eliminated the broaches and the drill and tap. The area that used to be Dept. 359 along the main aisle going towards tool room is getting all the floor block tore up and then the floor will be polished and sealed for work from Marion called, pancake flanges. They are replacing all the rooftop air handlers with brand new ones that have chillers in them. In the summertime they will pump in air from the outside and cool it to 20* cooler than it is outside and pump it down where people are working. They are fixing all the bad concrete spots around the outside of the plant with new poured concrete. They are repairing close to 300,000 sq. ft. of roof by the end of this year. The rest of the roof is slated to be done in 2012. The Company is really cleaning up the plant to make it look more like a first class manufacturing facility. Now we just need the work to fill up the plant and get everybody back from layoff. We are trying to work on that issue. We have had a lot of work that was outsourced in the last 15 years, and we are trying to get some of that back in house.
To all the employees who are on layoff, leave of absences, vacation, and retirees, we would like to wish you a SAFE and HAPPY HOLIDAY!
Jesse Myers
Chairman of the Bargaining Committee
USW Local 903
Fort Wayne, IN
260-484-8816
POSTED September 9, 2011
The 34th International Constitutional Convention took place Aug. 15th thru the 18th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jim Bojrab and I attended. It was a very motivating convention. The theme was ‘Stand Up Fight Back’. On Monday Nancy Pelosi spoke to the delegates. By Monday night Fox news was criticizing her for her speech she gave us.
On Tuesday the steelworkers signed an alliance with the Los Mineros. That is the only true International Union in Mexico. The Exiled President of their International spoke to us thru an internet video hookup. He is in exile in Canada. He was supposed to join our convention but at the last minute his temporary visa to the United States was revoked because of some trumped up charge the Mexican government filed at the last minute. The Vice-president who was supposed to sign the alliance was removed from the plane right before it was to take off from Mexico, on a trumped up charge from the Mexican government. The Mexican government has been trying for years to destroy the Los Mineros Union because they have higher benefits, wages and a much safer workplace than the only other Union in Mexico. Which by the way is run by the Mexican government. His wife, two sons, daughter in law and grandchildren were here, he hasn’t seen them for five years. Then at the conclusion of Tuesday’s events they had everybody who has gone to Mexico to support the Los Mineros go up on stage and have a picture taken to publish in their paper back home.
On Wednesday they had 4 US Senators give speeches.That is a record number of senators to appear at any Convention. Bernie Sanders an Independent from Vermont gave a real fired up speech about the economy and jobs in the US. Then later that night he appeared on the Ed Schultz Show on MSNBC. Richard Trumka President of AFL-CIO spoke in the morning.
On Thursday Actor Danny Glover and Ed Schultz of the Ed Show on MSNBC were given the Paul Weltstone award. Ed delivered one the most stirring speeches of the convention. There were over 3000 delegates registered at the convention. If any member ever has the chance to go to the convention don’t ever hesitate about going. It is truly an experience that they will remember for a long time. We as a local union should find every way financially possible to send as many delegates as we are allowed to the convention.
POSTED AUGUST 1, 2011
Hello to everyone. Sorry this report has not been updated in a while.
Things are picking back up now. The schedules for the months of August, September, and October are strong. We have been calling back employees now for the last 3 weeks. We have roughly 30 people still on layoff status. Hopefully, we will be in a position to start looking to hire some people in the near future.
The plant is changing every day. The new employee entrance will soon be done. The Company is replacing every air handler makeup unit on the roof, with new ones that have chillers in them. This way they will be able to pump cooler air into the plant when it is so hot outside. During the winter, they will pump heat into the plant. The Company is wanting to pull capital from it's 2012 budget early, and use it in 2011. They want to replace the roof in the plant. The plant is beginning to take on a whole new look.
The Marion work has started to come into the plant. They moved the first set of 3 machines, called the Grob Machines. There are 9 total machines coming. They put them back in the shipping area. There is an oven and a washer scheduled to come, that is part of the 9 Grobs. All the work that is scheduled to come is supposed to be here by June of 2012.
POSTED APRIL 20, 2011
The past 4 months during contract negotiations have been difficult, different, strenuous, out of our control, and a bit humbling. The contract negotiations ended on March 4, 2011. We got a tentative agreement and all seven (7) USW Dana Plants voted on March 28. It was ratified by a vote of 552 to 530. The Company announced that they are going to close Marion, and move some of that work to Fort Wayne and some to Mexico. The work that is coming to Fort Wayne will bring Marion workers with it.
The new restrooms are all done in the plant. It’s nice to know that the Company has enough faith in the workforce in Fort Wayne to invest over $500,000.00 so we have clean restroom facilities. They have almost finished the new employee entrance, and will be starting on tearing down the guard shack. They have finished putting up new siding all across the front of the building.
The schedules have taken dip for next week. Ford called in this week and said they are shutting down next week. So that means there will be a temporary layoff of approximately 66 to 70 people effective 4-25-11. The main reason is because Ford doesn’t want to run completely out of parts they get from Japan. Since the tsunami they haven’t been able to get their usual supply of parts for their vehicles. We hear that Chrysler may be in the same boat, but they may just keep working until they eventually run out of foreign parts.
POSTED JANUARY 14, 2011
The schedules are strong for the first quarter of 2011. Hopefully we can get some more of our people called back. STILL NO WORD ON ANY NEW BUSINESS COMING INTO THE PLANT!!!
The bathrooms are coming along. Hopefully they will be ready soon. They have knocked a hole in the wall right behind the guard shack for the new employee entrance. The siding on the front of the building is progressing. The weather has hindered that project.
The Bargaining Committee will start negotiations January 24, 2011 in Detroit, MI. We are spending two weeks at the hall to prepare. It is very important that our productivity in the plant does not drop due to anything that our people can control. The people in the Fort Wayne plant have shown in the past 4 months that they can increase their productivity.
POSTED NOVEMER 15, 2010
The schedules are still staying strong for the months of November and December. Now they are telling us that the first quarter of next year is strong also. So hopefully we will be able to get our 47 laid off brothers and sisters back to work.
On November 22 & 23, the bargaining committee will be in Detroit at the Dana Unions Council, getting ready for the upcoming negotiations. We were supposed to do the local negotiations here starting December 13. That has been canceled due to some scheduling errors. It sounds like it will be after the first of next year. The Company wants all the labor contracts done by the end of the first quarter next year. Our contract doesn't expire until July 1, 2011.
We now have 10 Departments that have transitioned into non-incentive with 8 left to go. Productivity has not dropped but actually has increased. A great job goes out to everyone. Just another example of how our people step up to the plate when asked to!!!
Our new Plant Manager Bob Flynn has been making a real push to get the plant cleaned up. It has made a big difference. The plant has been neglected for so long that it seems like an insurmountable job. But he took it right on, and we are seeing results.
They are supposed to start construction on our new bathrooms today. They are building 6 new ones on the ground floor right under the old ones. They will be tearing out the guard shack and taking down the chain link fence on the employee entrance and making a new employee entrance. They will be siding the front of the building to make it more presentable to the community. They are fixing roughly 6 thousand broken windows out of 26 thousand windows in the plant. So there are a lot of changes going on in the plant.
It all goes back to the hard working people in the plant; if the corporate office doesn't have any confidence in us then they would not be investing any money in the plant. SO KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!
POSTED SEPTEMBER 10, 2010
The month of August saw a leveling of the manpower in the plant. The schedules are still strong for the months of September, & October. We are anticipating some type of call back to help cover those months. We have 2 Departments that have transitioned into non-incentive Dept. 121, & 181. On Monday Sept. 13 Dept. 191 will go non-incentive. Dept. 121’s productivity stayed the same. Which we knew it would since it is Heat Treat. Dept 181’s productivity has risen. That is a good thing!
On August 17, President Denny Leazier, Materials Manager Brian Gaze, Lean Facilitator Ron Derry, & myself were invited to Perrysburg, Ohio to speak at a workshop for all of Dana’s North America Plant Managers and Human Resource Managers. We talked about our past negioations with the company. The different approach the company and the union used. The talks were open, honest, and they really centered on the Toyota production system. How to make the plant more viable. If you really grasp that system it will improve your plant in every aspect.On August 30, & 31 Pres. Leazier, & myself were in Detroit for the Dana Unions Council. All the locals gave a report on the status of their respective plants. A recurring theme was heard by everybody “ NO STOCK, MACHINES DOWN, NO MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP. & BRUCKNER! Corporate Leadership came in on the 30th and gave a presentation on the state of the Company, Presidents Marty Bryant, Mark Wallace, Vice President Joe Futcher, Director of Human Resources David Benson, & Labor Relations Representative Darryl Cummings. The Company is headed in the right direction. They were supposed to make a presentation on the state of the Company on Wall Street the week of 9/06.POSTED JULY 06, 2010
The plant has been undergoing some changes recently. There were 13 items that the Bargaining Committee had tentatively agreed to, and the membership voted in those changes back in April. We are having the vote on the Incentive Transition Proposal for the Fort Wayne plant on Tuesday, July, 06, 2010. If the membership votes this in, that will help set this plant up to move forward with the Dana Operating System (DOS). The membership has been asked to make some really tough decisions the last few months. The Bargaining Committee feels between the focus groups and the plant wide meetings, that there has been some really informative questions asked. My hat is off to the membership for stepping up to the plate when asked to, with very little information. This is why we consider the Fort Wayne plant the leader.
We have had steady callbacks for the last 5 weeks. Most of our customers are down the 1st and 2nd weeks of July, except for Chrysler. They are shutting down the 1st week of August.
POSTED MAY 28, 2010
The plant schedules are still strong thru the month of June. Chrysler isn't shutting down till the first week of Aug. We had another meeting with Dr. Schuster on May 20, 2010. We have a 4 person sub-committee that is meeting with Dr. Schuster. We are making positive progress. During this whole process Dr. Schuster's assistant, Dee Hoffman, is conducting an interview, discussion, survey with a random selection of employee's (hourly & management). She is trying to get a feel for the culture we have here. According to her, these meetings have been very successful. We have 2 more meeting with Dr. Schuster scheduled for June 8, & 15, 2010.
POSTED APRIL 30, 2010
On Tuesday, April 27th, some of the Bargaining Committee got to meet Joe Futcher, our new Vice President of Operations. He gave us a brief history of his work background, and believes that the Fort Wayne Plant is heading in the right direction. He made a statement that I thought made a positive impact on our discussions; “If it’s sold in the U.S., it should be made in the U.S.”. That’s the kind of thinking we need at the top.
Schedules are holding strong for the month of May. We were told on Tuesday that Chryslers JK is only shutting down the first week of August. Plus, they are working over time the months of June and July. The rest of our customers are scheduled to shutdown the second week of July.
Mike Esselburn, our H.R. Manager, is retiring today after 33 years. He came up through the ranks, from an hourly worker to H.R. He starts his new position Monday as the new H.R. Manager for the City of Fort Wayne. We wish him well….
POSTED OCTOBER 13, 2009
There was a layoff of 31 people effective 9-12-2009.The reason was Chrysler called in and scheduled a down week. So the company adjusted their manpower for the remaining weeks of October. If the schedules stay strong through November, then there might be a call-back for November. Decembers schedule still looks weak.
During the last 14 weeks or so the bargaining committee has been meeting with the company to discuss the problems the plant has been experiencing with productivity and maintenance. These discussions have been open and informative. The company has openly said that they have a list of 15 things that they feel are a hindrance to the plant. We have openly asked the company to tell us what they think the problems are with productivity. The Bargaining Committee feels that we have machines that are constantly down or always going down, or we don't have the parts to run if the machines are running.
We, as a committee, have decided that we will institute a zone maintenance program, and an expanded role that the group leaders will have in manning, maintaining, and running their departments. This will only take place in the gear division for now. If it works out, then we will look at expanding it plant wide. We have told the company that in the zone maintenance, the craft that are assigned to the zone will work as a team. So when an order comes in, the team will try and get the machine up and running to the best of their ability. Because in the end, that is what really counts, "the machine up and running". We all make money when we are producing parts!
On the group leader subject, we have given them expanded duties and the company has said that they are going to spend some time and money and give them some intense training to better utilize them in the department. So we decided that we would create a living document that states that the group leaders, only in the gear division, and on first-shift would have departmental seniority. That means they would only get cut out of their department when they get laid off. This is for a trial period of 6 months. A living document means that it can be changed at any time. If we want this to be permanent, then contract negotiations is the place to do that. I hope this explanation of what we are doing doesn't confuse everybody even more. Talk to your union steward or come to the union office. The Bargaining Committee is striving to keep our jobs with our standard of living, and to make sure the plant is still here for a long time.
POSTED AUGUST 21, 2009
We are calling 10 more people back to work, effective 8/24/09. September, October, and now November schedules, still look strong. Our next productivity, scheduling, and maintenance meeting with French, Bueter, Benson, Sabo, the Fort Wayne staff, and our Director, Jim Robinson, will be September 18th
POSTED AUGUST 10, 2009
The company told us that the schedules for the month of September and October are about 13 million for each month. That means that there will probably be some type of call-back in the next few weeks. How many though, we won't know until they tell us. There is no timeline on when they have to notify us of a recall.
We have a meeting with the company on Tuesday, August 11th, with our Director Jim Robinson. The topics are Production, Scheduling, and Maintenance. There is a temporary lay off for the week of 07/13/09. The plant will be shut down for the week of 07/20/09. We are scheduled to return to work on Monday, 07/27/2009.
POSTED JUNE 24, 2009
We had a meeting with our District 7 Director Jim Robinson, Corporate Labor Relations, and Corporate HR. We discussed productivity and maintenance in the Fort Wayne plant. Management seems to think they need to restructure our labor agreement for us to survive. Needless to say, we as the Bargaining Committee do not share the same feelings. Whether or not we can work together and fix the productivity problems is yet to be seen. We formed three committees to try and fix three problem areas: Productivity, Scheduling, and Maintenance. We are looking at helping to fix the problems, not just give a wish list.
We are not getting a lot of answers on our grievances. We had a 4th step meeting on April 7, 2009. Contract language states that this meeting will be with the Plant Manager. Our Plant Manger postponed this meeting twice before he finally said he wasn't going to meet with us. So Corporate HR came in his place. We don't know if he still knows what the issues in this plant are as far as grievances go.
There was a recall on 06/19/2009. Roughly 60-65 people came back to work.
POSTED JUNE 10, 2009
Management told us late Tuesday afternoon that they are gearing up for Chrysler the week of June 22nd. They are expecting Chrysler to be back to work the week of June 29th. Today's news, that the courts are not going to block the sale of Chrysler to Fiat, paves the way for Chrysler to go back to work.
The Company has issued a bulletin announcing a vacation shutdown for the week of July 20th, 2009.
Other than that; we'll all be glad when everyone is back to work.
POSTED MAY 29, 2009
We had a small callback of 21 people on May 26th. Chrysler is still shut down. Ford is still expected to shut down, starting June 22nd for 4 weeks. We are calling 8 skilled craft employees back to start on June 1st.
Our District 7 Director, Jim Robinson, was in the plant on Tuesday. He toured the plant, and tried to get a feel for what for what we do here.
Our updated manpower numbers are on the home page of the web site.
Dana released information today, stating that they hired a new CEO. His name is James Sweetnam, and he comes from Eaton Corporation. That's about all we know about him at this time. I'll release details as they come. Read about James Sweetnam at Dana.com
POSTED MAY 15, 2009
On Monday, May 11, 2009, we had 115 members temporarily laid off, due to Chrysler shutting down during bankruptcy.
We have 171 employees left working in the plant, 291 on layoff, last person working is clock #5923. Until Chrysler gets back to work our manpower levels will probably remain the same.
Its looks like the econoline will be down for the following weeks: June 22-26, June 29-July 3, July 6-10, and July 13-17. That's four straight weeks. That is going to hurt our manpower levels. To what extent we don't know yet. I wish there was good news I could put here, but the way things are going, there just isn't any. Thanks for logging on and checking our webs
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Jess Myers
Chairman's Report
