Pre-negotiations?

So far so good, all ConocoPhillips sites who's contracts have come up have settled their local issues, but there are more sites that still have to settle.

Here at LCMC we will start "pre-negotiation" talks in early March, with actual negotiations starting in April. This is something that our local reps see as a good thing. The early talks should give our representatives a feel for where things stand her in Westlake.

Reminder: Next months meeting is VERY important. Nominations for ALL elected positions at the March meeting.

Thanks,

Officer Nominations in March

At our March 10 meeting ALL elected offices will be up for nomination. We will then vote for ALL officers in April. This is being done to put us in line with the rest of the USW.

Claude Syas has announced that he will not seek re-election as our local president. Claude has done great job leading the local. He has dedicated countless hours to this local and got us up to speed in many areas. He deserves our sincere thanks.

The offices up for nominations are, Local 13-555 officers of President, Vice President, Secretary Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Chaplain, Guide, Guard, 3 Trusties,

There will also be nomination for the Locals Conoco group, which includes President/Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Recording Secretary, Chaplain, Guard, Guide, 3 Worker's Committee men.

The same is true for Sasol's Group as well.

I urge all of you to attend next month's meeting.

Later,

Miscellaneous Stuff

Several people at the refinery have asked a question about the proposed signing bonus. Some people seem to believe that since we at LCMC don't actually sign our contract until July, we may not get the signing bonus. This is not the case. If we sign our contract in July we will get the bonus, just like everyone that signs before April.

There are many questions about local issues. Everything that you've heard so far is mere speculation. We will not actually know what local issues may come up until our negotiating committee actually sits down with the company representatives and they present what ever issues they choose to bring up.

Keep an eye out for Local 13-555 fliers on your bulletin board at work. ALL Local 13-555 elected positions will be coming up for nominations and vote in the next few months.

I will post all positions that are up for election in the near future.

(NOTE: Some one at tonights meeting asked how they could purchase items with the USW logo. Click on this link -- Steelworkers Merchandise -- if you are interested.

Later

UPDATE: Tentative agreement

I have just been informed that a tentative agreement has been reached on the national level. The agreement is a 3% raise, each year for the next three years, along with a 2,500 dollar signing bonus. There was a good deal of discussion about a "fatigue" policy, but at the end of the day all "fatigue" language was removed from the agreement.

We still have local issues to deal with here, and those discussions won't begin for a few months. We need to keep that in mind as we do our job. Let's all do our best work as best we can and remember the best way to protect our jobs is to be the best at what we do.

Bloomberg's report on the agreement is here

Later,

A Bit of Good News

We got word today that California, Ferndale and Billings have all settled their local issues. Of course on the national level they are still on rolling 24's.

Reminder: Our monthly union meeting is next Tuesday February 10. We hope to see a bigger turnout, now that negotiations have begun.

Have a Good Evening,

No New News

There were no knew proposals made on Sunday, but both sides are still talking.

Bloomberg has another interesting writeup here.

Later,