January 16, 2012

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 This week our country celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, a great American patriot who embodied the spirit of freedom. Dr. King raised the awareness of a generation and challenged a nation to stand up and fight back against social injustice. Though the man has been gone since 1968, the dream has never died. Since 1968 two generations has come to learn of the ongoing battle against social injustice and that the “RIGHT TO HAVE A DREAM” must be fought for.

I hope that everyone had the opportunity to see the recent anti- RIGHT-TO-WORK advertisements that have been running in the newspaper and television medias. Recent news from Indianapolis is that legislators are considering a state wide election on RTW laws because legislators are feeling the wrath of working Hoosiers. In my trips to the state house the one chant that stands out in my mind when we are all in front of the House chambers is; ”WE’RE UNION, WE VOTE, WE WILL REMEMBER!”  This week we will continue to pressure legislators in Indianapolis, I hope to see you there. Buses will be leaving from McBride Hall in Gary on Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 AM

 In Solidarity,

Chief

January 9, 2012

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

First and foremost, I hope all had a wonderful holiday. In a previous communication I spoke of the positives and the challenges that face our local. Last week the Indiana Legislature returned to session with RIGHT-TO-WORK legislation at the forefront of Governor Daniels’ agenda. My personal opinion is that our state legislators should really call it the “right to be a parasite” law. We as union people accept the responsibility of paying our fair share. Legislators continue to repeat that RTW will bring more work to Indiana. Yet Governor Daniels and Republican Legislators when asked what companies refused to come to Indiana they could not give one name. In 2001the state of Oklahoma passed RTW legislation. In the past 10 years Oklahoma has lost nearly 1/3 of its manufacturing jobs. Legislators have been confronted with this fact and the  other facts that states with RTW have lower wages which affects the buying power and conversely affects small business in the community. There has been some positive news recently. Some Republicans have come out against RTW. Also Mike Rippey, CEO of ArcelorMittal, and the NFL Players Association have sent letters to the proponents of RTW and asked them to back down and support the working people of Indiana.

   I would like to congratulate Phyllis Lees on her recent retirement. Her dedication to the membership and to the community is without equal. She has championed many a cause and improved the life of many. She has truly been an inspiration to many of us in the plant. No task was too tough for “mi hermanita”, my little sister. Also, Tom Tyrka retired effective January 1^st.

 On Wednesday January 4th the Executive Board met to fill the spots open by my promotion to the presidency and the retirements of Sister Lees and Mr. Tyrka. I would like to congratulate Larry Oar Jr. who will be assuming my previous duties as Vice-President and benefits representative; Michelle Jones who replaced Sister Lees as Guard; and Ken Bandy who will replace Brother Oar as a Trustee.

In Solidarity,

Chief

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

I am writing this letter to inform you that due to several health issues I have chosen to retire the first of the year.  It has been an honor to serve you, the membership, through these many years as a Grievance Committeeman, Safety Committeeman,  Recording Secretary, Vice President and finally as your President.  I have also had the honor to be a part of the 2008 negotiating team for Local # 1011.

Together we have said good bye to old friends and welcomed new members to LU 1011.  Together most of us have seen the good times along with the bad.  In my 45 years we have survived strikes, massive layoffs, bankruptcies and the closing of our plant.  Together we survived because we are united.

Ours is a volatile market with much uncertainty.  However, I am confident that the membership of Local 1011 will succeed as we always have.

Beginning 1-1-2012 according to the bylaws for local unions the Vice President will complete my term of office.

Again, I wish to thank everyone for your support through the years.  Hoping everyone had a joyous Christmas and have a prosperous New Year.

 In Solidarity,

Tom Tyrka

President

Local # 1011

U.S.W.

12/04/2011

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

   Through out the months of October and November there was a lot of talk going around concerning the merging of Local 1011 and Local Union 1010. That’s all it was, talk. There is no merger. I would like to explain the series of events that occurred. First the merging of the 2 local’s is not a new topic, it has been around for some time and has been rejected each time. At our October Executive Board meeting we passed a resolution to reject any concept of a merger between the locals. This was in response to emails that have been addressed to Leo Gerard and circulated to west side employees concerning that Brother Gerard get involved in the amalgamation/merger of the 2 locals About a week later we sat down with reps from 1010 and the district to discuss this matter, which once again we said no. Director Jim Robinson requested a meeting with the elected membership to discuss this matter this happened on Nov. 10^th, at that time the elected membership once again said no. There has been a letter circulating around the plant asking that our leadership in Pittsburgh respect our local’s solidarity. This letter is an avenue to give our membership a voice.

  In the last few weeks many members have received letters concerning a possible payment from the LTV bankruptcy case. Calling the union hall concerning payouts is not recommended since phone calls sent to the law firm involved have not garnered any new information. We will be posting a copy of the letter on the website and we will have copies of the letter at the union hall. I have heard from several members that they have never received any settlement, I do believe the last one was 2-3 years ago, I recommend that if you haven’t received a letter down load one or come and get one.

  Last week Jim Flores, Jaime Quiroz, Ken Matusiak, Lonnie and myself went to Pittsburgh to attend the Basic Steel Industry Conference. This conference was to discuss topics that are relevant to our industry; health care, retiree benefits, pensions, market trends, domestic markets, foreign markets, energy costs, raw material costs. negotiating strategies, and a possible timeline for the future. At no time during our stay was any negotiating done with the company. After the first of the year the membership should be seeing a questionnaire circulating very similar to the one we passed out last contract asking what the membership thoughts are on negotiations.

  For several years our local has carried an additional Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) policy on our members with American Income Life (AIL). In the next few weeks members will be receiving notice of this benefit and other benefits offered by AIL. the “other benefits “have a cost which will be the responsibility of the individual. Also, there will be an AIL representative at the December Stated Membership meeting to answer any questions. In the mailing is a “beneficiary card” anyone not wishing to receive a solicitation call should not put their telephone number on the card.

 In Solidarity,

Mariano”Chief” Flores

11/18/2011

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 Another year is almost behind us with plenty of challenges ahead. Business wasn’t as robust as the second quarter, which was reflected in this week’s profit sharing checks. The economy stalled and the price of steel fell.  Many of our customers and steel warehouses held back orders trying to get a lower price. There is still some positive, the company even in a slow time made a profit. Now the fourth quarter will be typical of previous fourth quarters, slow. Next year shows promise for our side. Business projections for IHW is over 3 million tons. The new bridge and the new coiler at the Hot Strip means increased tonnage.

Recently we have been hit with some serious injuries including 1 fatality at Burns Harbor.

Once again our local will be sponsoring a Salvation Army Angel Tree. This year we will be sponsoring 50 local children. Let’s make the dream of a child come true.

 Finally, I would like to wish A Happy Thanksgiving to all our members and their families.

 In Solidarity,

Mariano”Chief” Flores

July 22, 2011

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In recent months we have been talking about changing our by-laws. We started the process in June. As of this writing both sets of by-laws will be found on our website under ”LINKS”. Please follow this communication as a summary to explain the proposed changes.

Proposal #1; Change our name from USWA to USW, which was officially done in 2005.

Proposal #2; Deletes the old language concerning requirements to run for an officer’s position (executive board), but maintains the same language for running for a grievance committee position. This language was changed in the USW Constitution a few years ago.

Proposals #3, #4, #5, and #6; Changes the word “representative” to “assistant griever”

Proposal #7; Establishes the position of first assistant griever in each grievance area.

Proposal #8; Eliminates the language of 1^st vice chairman, which our local hasn’t had since we came back in 2002. Changes the word “representative” to “assistant griever”

Proposal #9; Assigns the duties of benefits representative to the vice president.

Proposals #10 and #11; These proposals are self explanatory.

Proposals #12 and #13; Expands the duties of the guards.

Proposal #14; Expands and redefines the roles of the grievance committee including the chairman, departmental grievers, and assistant grievers..

Proposal #15; Changes designation from sections to paragraphs because they are all in the same Article.

Proposal #16; Eliminates the language of 2^nd vice chairman which we haven’t had since the shut down.

Proposal #17; Redefines the contracting out committee.

Proposal #18; Like proposal #1, eliminates the word “AMERICA” from USW.

Proposal #19; Changes the title of apprenticeship committee to training committee.

Proposal #20; This is an interesting proposal because the membership already voted on the stipend/pay scale back in August of 2005 but was never presented to the International for approval, that is why we have put the pay scale/stipend into this packet . What had to be changed was the elimination of the language of job class 20 since there has not been a j.c.20 since 2001.

Proposal #21; Eliminates the language of vice-chairman.

Proposal #22; Eliminates job class 20 in the calculating travel and per diem.

Proposal #23; Eliminates job class 20 in the calculation of travel and expenses international convention delegates.

The copy of the old by-laws that has been posted is not all the by-laws, just the ones that are being amended. The intention is to continue to upgrade and amend all the by-laws and then publish a copy for any member who wishes one.

In Solidarity

Mariano “Chief” Flores

July 5, 2011

 Dear Brothers and Sisters

 In my last newsletter I wrote about the deteriorating situation with Prudential concerning sickness and accident benefit payments. I am happy to report we have gotten many of those issues resolved. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for members to contact their respective grievers, myself, Larry, or Kenny if you need to go off on sick leave.

Presently economic conditions and low orders have created more than a few headaches for our brethren at Iron and Steel Producing. There is some relief on the way. I met with our new plant manager and he informed me that one of the Cleveland blast furnaces will be going down for a reline and that the melt orders scheduled for that blast furnace will be done at our plant. The reline will begin in August and run through October.  In further discussion Mr. Wendell Carter indicated that future business projections look a little brighter.

On July 18^th our local will begin a new partnership with Ivy Tech and Prairie State community colleges by hosting 8 students who are enrolled in the Steelworker for the Future Program. They will be with us for 8 weeks and will only be able to observe mechanical or electrical maintenance procedures. This “internship” is a requirement to receive their associate’s degree and at no time should these students be viewed as new employees. I am hoping everyone will welcome them.

In a previous letter to the membership I stated that our local will post proposed by-law changes on our website. I must apologize to the membership because I was wrong in making such a statement. The proposals are just that, proposals and are not the guiding principles by which this local is administered. By trying to keep my promise of having a transparent union I was hasty. The by-law changes will be posted after the membership has had the opportunity to accept or reject any or all proposals and the USW International Executive Board approves said changes. This process will continue with the second reading at our 7/14 and will conclude on 8/11. Members wishing to view said proposals should contact Aaron Morales, our local’s recording secretary, at 398-3150 ext. 12.

Our local’s sincerest thanks to the membership in their generous support for the 2 plant wide collections held recently. We were able to raise over $1,800 for Colin Moseley, the son of Brian Moseley. On 6/9 we had another gate collection to benefit tornado and flood victims, garnering over $1,300.00. Also, thanks to the members, family, and friends who participated in the 2011 Walk for Disabled American Veterans on June 4th at Wicker Memorial Park.

We are continuing to take bids on some remodeling at our hall. Any local member, with any remodeling experience, is welcome to submit a bid for this work. Please contact Rick Barron, Clark Troupe, or Larry Oar at 398-3150 ext. 16.

I will be out of the office the weeks of 7/24 and 8/14.

Anne Pennington, our Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shied rep, will be at our local on 7/13, 7/27, 8/10, and 8/24.

Finally, I hope that all had a safe and fun 4^th of July. Each year we celebrate our rights as a society to be what an individual wishes to be, not a society that is controlled and oppressive. As the summer comes to a close our state legislature will return to session with right-to-work and other legislation pending that would greatly impact our way of life. As we did back in March and April we will be returning to Indianapolis to protest. We hope you will join us.

 In Solidarity,

Mariano “Chief” Flores

June 3, 2011

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 By now our eligible members should have received the 2010 Accrued Benefit letter from the Steel Workers Pension Trust. (see a copy of my letter as an example) The first thing is to check your hours (mine for last year were 2593.5). Multiply your hours by 2.65 and that should be equal to the annual contribution (mine was $6,872.79). The next column is how much your monthly benefit increase from the previous year (mine is $124.86). Underneath the chart there are 2 sentences. The first one tells the value of your pension on December 2010 at age 65. Also, the next sentence clearly states that if you are rule of 85 ( age + years of service) regardless of age your pension is equal to your age 65 benefits.

 In my April 18th letter I wrote that we were going to commence the process of updating our local’s by-laws by reading proposed changes at the May 2011 membership meeting. We delayed the process by 1 month because when we reviewed the changes we found a few syntax errors, There will be a few copies at the stated membership meeting and the proposed changes will be posted on the website after the first reading 

I would like to thank the membership for their generous support for the Colin Moseley gate collection. We were able to raise $1805.00 to help little Colin in his battle against cancer. Also, I would like to thank the members who participated in the Disabled American Veterans fundraiser this past Saturday June 4^th, 

This coming Thurs. June 9^th we will have another plant collection to help the union families who are victims of the recent tornado outbreaks and devastating flooding in the South and Midwest. (see attached flier).

 I will be on vacation the week of June 12^th. Larry and Kenny will be available to help the membership.

 In Solidarity

Mariano “Chief” Flores

May 12, 2011

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Starting this Friday 5/13 the Steelworkers Pension Trust will begin mailing out the 2010 Accrued Benefit letter that will tell a member what he/she has accrued through December 2010. Members wanting a calculation on their pensions can use that letter as a baseline to get a good estimate on a potential pension. In a future communication I will post an example on how to use this information to calculate one’s pension. Also, the trust will send a Death Beneficiary card. Though a member may have not changed their beneficiary, it would not hurt to fill it out and send same. I will be in Pittsburgh next week so Larry Oar Jr. will be back in my office to help any member with benefits problems. I will be back in the office on Monday May 23^rd. Though I will be out of town I can still be reached at 219-746-4660 or www.marianoflores1011@yahoo.com

 In Solidarity,

 Mariano “Chief” Flores

April 18, 2011

 Dear Brothers and Sisters

 I would like to thank all who participated in the rallies in Indianapolis and in other cities to help combat unfair labor laws. We must remember this is just the opening round on the attack by Indiana politicians on working people. These attacks will not end as long as our enemies sit in their seats in the House and Senate Chambers.

I am always writing about sickness and accident benefits because it is one that continues to be a problem with our membership. This situation has gone from bad to worse in the last 6 months because of Prudential. Recently they have been denying payments, not authorizing payments in a timely manner, and even ignoring doctor’s reports concerning member’s health issues. As of 2 weeks ago I have been in contact with the members of the USW Benefits Committee and ArcelorMittal’s Benefits Department to express my frustration with Prudential’s handling of west side employee’s cases. I have put all parties on notice that we will be pursuing all sickness and accident case from now on through the grievance procedure. It is important that members who have to go on sick leave get a hold of me (398-3150 ext. 19 or 746-4660) or Ken Matusiak (545-1919) or Larry Oar Jr. (789-7795) to help avoid the nonsense.

Recently the company mailed out the new Program of Insurance Benefits book. Section 4 deals with sickness and accident benefits. One of our disputes with the company is when an employee is “yellow-carded” by the clinic. The second paragraph states; “If an employee after consultation with the Company’s physician or other clinical staff is required to see a treating physician prior to returning to work, and does so within three days excluding Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, the seven day waiting period referred to in Section 4.2 will begin on the day after his or her consultation with the Company’s physician or staff.” Any member who is “yellow-carded” by the clinic should immediately call their griever and call Ken, Larry, or myself.

Last night at our April 14^th Stated Membership meeting I announced that at our May meeting we will begin the process of upgrading our local’s by-laws to meet the membership’s current needs. This process will take 3 months with questions and discussion by the membership on the floor of the May, June, and July meetings, with the vote on the by-laws at the July meeting. Also our members approved 2 community service projects;1) Our membership will be involved in a plant collection the week of May 25th to benefit Colin Moseley the son of Brian Moseley more details will be posted in the plant. Also we will be collecting at our May meeting. 2) Our local is looking for eight volunteers to participate in the 2011 Walk for Disabled American Veterans on June4th at Wicker Memorial Park. This is a great way to show support for those who have been wounded in defense of our country. Please contact me or Ken Matusiak for more information.

Also, we are going to be doing some remodeling at our hall. Any local member, with any remodeling experience, is welcome to submit a bid for this work. Please contact Rick Barron, Clark Troupe, or Larry Oar at 398-3150 ext. 16.

Congratulations to our local’s 2 bowling teams that participated in the District #7 2011 Spring Tournament. The team of  Bruce Lawerence, Jim Anderson, Guy Weiss Jr., Brian Casillas, and Mike Crague placed 9^th. The team of Guy Weiss Sr., Randy Brown, P.J. Dinelli, Eric Locher, and Dwayne Locher placed 12^th. There were a total of 52 teams competing.

Anne Pennington, our Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shied rep, will be at our local on 4/27, 5/11, 5/25, 6/8, and 6/22.

In Solidarity,

• With the return of the House Democrats, all scheduled “Stand Up for Hoosier” rallies planned for the remainder of the week have been suspended.  We invite any interested members to join us at the capitol as we lobby legislators individually and track legislation in committee.
• We are now moving our efforts out to towns across the state and are looking to organize local rallies and events to thank House Democrats this weekend. If you would like to help arrange an event please contact Jeff Harris.
   
• On April 4th at 2:00pm, we will return to the Statehouse for the “We are One” rally to commemorate the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Events are also being planned around the state for that day. To find an event in your area, please visit the We Are One website.