United Steelworkers 2008 Constitutional Convention

Transcription

1 Introduction and Background United Steelworkers 2008 Constitutional Convention RESOLUTIONS REFERRED TO THE INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD This report deals with resolutions referred to the International Executive Board by the 2008 Constitutional Convention. A total of 23 resolutions received from local unions were referred to the Executive Board by the Convention. Due to the duplicative subject matter of some of the local union resolutions, they were consolidated into a list of items and these items were listed in Policy Resolution No. 26. a. Veterans Committee Two local unions submitted identical resolutions emphasizing the service of veterans and indicating that many of them have special needs. The resolutions call for each local union to establish a Veterans Committee. We agree with the spirit of these resolutions. Veterans have performed a critically important and frequently heroic service for our countries. They are entitled to our honor and our support. Unfortunately, their needs have too often gone unnoticed by the Bush Administration. Local unions should take steps to make their member-veterans aware of the government benefits available to them and support legislation that will increase those benefits. Sometimes in locals comprised of a large number of veterans support for them can best be accomplished by use of a Veterans Committee. In those circumstances we urge the locals to establish such a committee. In other cases, particularly in smaller locals with only a few veterans support can best be achieved by selecting a particularly effective local union officer to dedicate time to their issues. Each local union should decide how best to accomplish this. All local union members should work hard to elect representatives who will honor the

2 service of veterans by supporting them when they are away in the service of our country and when they return home. b. Hiring of Temporary and Casual Staff Two local unions submitted resolutions requesting that laid off members be given full consideration in cases where the International is hiring temporary and casual staff. The International gives preference to its members in its hiring. Thus, the vast majority of its staff representatives are active members of local unions at the time they are hired. While there is no way to insure vacancies occur in an area and at a time when members are on layoff, members are always welcome to submit their resumes and they are given every consideration. Given the union policy and practices, no formal action is called for on these resolutions. c. Local Union Bargaining Committee One local union submitted a resolution seeking reinforcement that the chair of the bargaining committee and not other members of the committee perform the functions of chair. The position of chair of the local union bargaining committee is not a position specifically set forth in the constitution or in the bylaws. Local unions are free to create such a position and define the duties and responsibilities of that position. If such a position is created, it is essential that the person seeking that position work in close coordination with the local union president, the other local union officers, the other members of the negotiating committee and the staff representative assigned to service the local. The effective operation of a bargaining committee requires that all work together as a team. The International Executive Board feels it is important to leave to the Local Unions the decision as to whether defining the duties of the chair of the bargaining committee is the best way to accomplish this. c. Assisting Local Union members when Plants shut down The one resolution submitted on this subject is primarily focused on steps that can be taken in the collective bargaining process to aid members who are adversely effected by plant shutdowns steps such as improved supplemental unemployment benefits, better early retirement benefits, extended health care and longer advanced

3 notification of the shutdown itself. The International Executive Board commends these measures to its District Directors and staff who are primarily responsible for negotiations. However, the International Executive Board also believes that greater attention should be given to the needs of members when their plants are shut down. For this reason, a committee of the Board is being created to study and make recommendations on programs that can be implemented to provide a greater level of service to our members when they are laid off. e. Temporary Reimbursement of Casual Employees Fourteen local unions submitted resolutions pointing out that casual employees are sometimes not paid as quickly as they should be. These identical resolutions seek to shorten the time for casual voucher processing by mandating a number of specific measures including disciplining employees. The International employs nearly 1,000 temporary employees throughout the United States and Canada each year to accomplish its objectives. The process of retaining and paying casual employees is a complicated one. It includes obtaining proper authorization, the collection of social security and other identifying information and the review of each item of each claim of lost time and expense reimbursement. Casual employees who are retained in various parts of our two countries are required to provide this information, fill out an expense reimbursement form and submit it to the director for approval. Once approved, it is submitted to headquarters for review and payment. If the information received in Pittsburgh is not accurate and complete, follow up is necessary. When each step is followed according to procedures, casual pay and expense reimbursements are made expeditiously. Where needed information is missing a delay in processing occurs. While there have been a limited number of incidents where the delay was more than it should have been, vouchers are usually processed very quickly. The International Secretary-Treasurer s office is constantly reviewing the processing of casual vouchers and will continue to take steps to improve the quality and speed of this processing. Casual employees who experience a delay in receiving payment are encouraged to contact their director or the Secretary-Treasurer s Office immediately. We believe no change in the system is necessary, but we must constantly work to improve implementation.

4 f. Remove Servicing Staff at any local s request One local union resolution called for the membership to be able to remove a servicing staff representative when it so requested. The IEB non-concurs. The assignment of staff is a responsibility of the district director who must take into consideration the number of staff assigned to the district, their skills and industrial background and the amount of time necessary to deal with the problems of each local union. Staff representatives are frequently called upon to make decisions that are not popular with some members. It is essential that they make those decisions on the basis of the facts and the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and without concern that they may be replaced if they do so. Having said that, local unions are encouraged to bring any complaints about staff to the attention of the district director who will deal with them in the best interests of all members. g. Increase the Servicing Staff Ratio to one staff representative for every 1,000 members While it is always useful to have more staff, this resolution submitted by one local union would dramatically increase the costs of the International Union and require a substantial increase in dues. Because it is not feasible, we cannot concur in it. h. The Pulp and Paper Resource Council This resolution was submitted by one local union calling for the Pulp and Paper Resource Council (PPRC) to be recognized as a viable organization that has helped to protect jobs. The resolution calls for the USW to allow all representatives to take part in all activities of PPRC and for USW to support all lobbying efforts of PPRC. The USW strongly believes in rank and file engagement and activism in the legislative and political arena. That is especially true for rank and file engagement in the forestry, pulp and paper sectors of our union which is being hit hard by job loss due in large measure to our government s ill conceived trade policies which in

5 some cases are encouraging paper companies we deal with to outsource their paper production. USW s efforts, including the filing of trade complaints with the International Trade Commission and its opposition to approval of one-sided trade deals, are designed to protect our members jobs. The USW also supports efforts to ensure that appropriately balanced forestry polices provide reasonable access to fiber supply, as well as the development of new renewable energy measures that will spur even more investment and job creation in the pulp and paper industry. We acknowledge that PPRC was designed to protect jobs here in the paper industry. In many instances those efforts mesh with what we do. We encourage our members who are active in PPRC to work closely with our District Directors, with the Paper Council and with the Legislative and Political mobilization efforts of our union to provide aggressive support for the protection of our members jobs against unfair foreign competition, and appropriate use of our forestry resources.