5/8/20

Hello everyone,

I hope this letter finds everyone of you doing well.  The plant lost another 50K tons in sales for the month of May this week.  At this level we only need to run one plant.  On Monday GR2 will be shut down and is scheduled to be down until July. On the good side of this a lot of the work scheduled to be done by contractors will be done by us.   It had been scheduled to be down the month of June but this sales drop caused the change.  There will be more changes under ground as we will need even less ore.  I expect the company to come to us for more employees to furlough.  If any on you are interested in taking this please contact any eboard member.  The company will not take everyone depending on your job classification but if you are interested put you name in and we will see if there is a way we can make it work.  I know there are some of you that disagree with the furlough policy, but the eboard still believes that sending someone out with benefits is a better option than a straight layoff.  I am hopeful that we can get enough volunteers that no one is mandated to take the furlough.

I spoke with Heather Livingston from Wyochem FCU today, and any employee that has a loan through them and is furloughed can opt to skip their payments and extend the term of the loan by the amount of the furlough.  I have seen that some mortgage companies are offering the same but I caution you to make sure of the terms, as some require a balloon payment when you go back to work.

Governor Gordon let the out of state travel ban expire, so now you can travel out of state and note have to quarantine when you return.  He also said he was going to look at the mass gathering rules on the 15th so I remain hopeful that we will have a meeting this month.  If it changes it will be last minute and I will send out a notification.

In Solidarity,

Mike Hernandez

May 8, 2020 - Hello Sisters, the Women of Steel Committees of District 3 (Alberta and British Columbia) and District 6 (Ontario) are holding 3 virtual panel discussions this month. We encourage you to seize this opportunity to connect with sisters from diverse backgrounds. 

Virtual panel discussion on COVID-19 for Ontario – May 11, 2020

Join the USW District 6 Women’s Committee for a virtual panel discussion on COVID-19, on Monday, May 11th, at 7:00 pm Eastern Time.

The panel will be featuring Sylvia Boyce, District 6 Health and Safety Coordinator, who will be in conversation with Lisa Kamp (Long-term Care), Colleen Burke (Post-Secondary), Donna Wingrove (Steel sector). The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session. 

Please RSVP to: [email protected], providing your name, email address, Local Union number and the region you are from. The link will be communicated to you on Monday at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. If you are calling in instead, please provide your phone number.

A Women of Steel Online Gathering about COVID-19 for Alberta and British Columbia – May 14, 2020

The USW will be hosting a virtual gathering of Women of Steel under the theme “What’s the Impact on Women? A Women of Steel Online Gathering about COVID-19”, on May 14th at 5:00 pm Pacific Time / 6:00 pm Mountain Time.

The registration link for this event is http://usw.to/WoSCovid19

Women of Steel Strategies for Alberta and British Columbia – May 20, 2020

The USW will be holding an online session open to all women in Alberta and British Columbia, to connect with other women in the District and also learn about how to hold online WOS meetings while honoring physical distancing.

This is scheduled on May 20th at 5:00 pm Pacific Time / 6:00 pm Mountain Time.

To be added to the participant list, please email [email protected] and you will be sent instructions on how to log onto the meeting. 

Please share the information above with other Women of Steel so that we are all connected.

In Solidarity,

USW Local 1944

The USW will be hosting a virtual gathering of Women of Steel under the theme “What’s the Impact on Women? A Women of Steel Online Gathering about COVID-19”, on May 14th at 5:00 pm Pacific Time / 6:00 pm Mountain Time.

The registration link for this event is http://usw.to/WoSCovid19

The USW will be holding an online session open to all women in Alberta and British Columbia, to connect with other women in the District and also learn about how to hold online WOS meetings while honoring physical distancing.

This is scheduled on May 20th at 5:00 pm Pacific Time / 6:00 pm Mountain Time.

To be added to the participant list, please email [email protected] and you will be sent instructions on how to log onto the meeting.

Join the USW District 6 Women’s Committee for a virtual panel discussion on COVID-19, on Monday, May 11th, at 7:00 pm Eastern Time.

The panel will be featuring Sylvia Boyce, District 6 Health and Safety Coordinator, who will be in conversation with Lisa Kamp (Long-term Care), Colleen Burke (Post-Secondary), Donna Wingrove (Steel sector). The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session. 

Please RSVP to: [email protected], providing your name, email address, Local Union number and the region you are from. The link will be communicated to you on Monday at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. If you are calling in instead, please provide your phone number.