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July
1, 2010
Hello Brothers
and Sisters,
Just got back
and thought I should inform you
about the new gun law HEA1065 and
what the company position is. They
haven't been punctual with this
issue and only today informed the
Union. They have posted a letter
informing everyone to send inquiries
to:
indianagunlawinquiries@arcelormittal.com.
We have requested that they send a
letter to all employees explaining
what is going on.
My concern is
that someone may have read the Times
article and assumed that they can
bring a gun into the plant. Please
don't assume this. I don't want
someone given time off over this
issue that at this time is up in the
air. Hopefully they will be
completely clear soon.
Hoping
everyone enjoys the 4th of July
Holiday and remember, fireworks can
be dangerous. Please be safe and
make sure children are supervised by
an adult when using them. Have a
great Holiday!
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
U.S.W.
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May
21, 2010
IH 3 Blast Furnace Restart delayed.
The company informed Union leadership Thursday
(5/20/10) that they have decided to delay the
startup of IH 3 but offered no definite
timeline. We were told the corporate office is
evaluating steel demand, capacity and raw
material pricing.
They did confirm that they are honoring all
recalls that have occurred as a result of the
announcement of #3 restart. We will be
discussing as more information becomes
available.
If you have questions please contact your dept
Reps or the Union Hall and we will try to
provide as much info as we can with what we have
at that time. As you can see, things have
changed quickly.
We will update this blog as more info becomes
available.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
U.S.W.
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April
29, 2010
Brothers and Sisters,
Just received notice of the start up of IH-3.
Following is my note: On today’s investor call
it was announced IH-3 will be restarted by Adita
Mittal. The current plan calls for a schedule
of about twelve weeks at a very high level
review. I will be meeting with the company next
week to discuss how fast we can get it running.
There are many issues ahead of us such as
getting brick, people issues, parts and a
redesign of the npds water system to handle
IH-3.
This is great news for all and we will have more
as the project moves forward. Please remember,
this can be done without any injuries. Let’s
stay focused and work safely. If the job is
unsafe, don't do it until it is made safe.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
U.S.W.
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April
23, 2010
Brothers and
Sisters,
Time for my overdue update.
Things have been hectic with
the start up but to date
things have gone well. I
congratulate everyone
involved for your efforts to
make this as smooth as
possible without any serious
issues or injuries.
Lonnie Asher and I have been
in talks about some of our
employees still at the East
side and looking for a
resolution for their return
if they so choose. So far
Labor Relations has not
agreed to anything after
many hours of discussion.
There are issues with
fitness to work
evaluations. We need to
remember that the
company must have "just
cause" for this and do their
proper investigation and
paper work.
Also, the issue of training
is foremost with everyone
returning to work and
employees in new positions.
We have the trainers ready
but the company will not
release them. My position
is and has been that
training should have been
done when the W.A.R.N. act
was given.
On April 28th we will honor
our deceased Brothers and
Sisters for the World Safety
Day. Please try to put a
moment aside to honor our
past friends who have lost
their lives working to
support their families.
Keep in mind that nothing is
more important than your
health and safety.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
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March
30, 2010
Brothers and
Sisters,
Good news from 1011. Steel
Producing is ramping up and IH#4 is
on schedule for April 4th. Hoping
for the Blast Furnace dry out today,
pressure test on 4-2. We continue
to address releases of members at
the East side. We are very
concerned with safety due to the
traffic and railroad problems with
the Cline avenue closing. Among
them are the ambulance stationed at
the West Side and a qualified rescue
team on site that can train our
people to address any issues.
Remember, this is an exciting time
for us and we must stay focused on
safety not only here at the plant
but at home also.
There have been some problems with
the incentive and hopefully these
can be rectified soon. We continue
to meet to get it right the first
time and not have to hash over the
payout as in the past. I have the
Incentive Chair, Grievers along with
Lonnie and myself to make sure the
hours and cost accounts are
correct. It is a daunting task but
must be right.
Once again, I am truly happy that
things are finally looking up.
Wishing everyone a wonderful
Holiday.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
U.S.W.
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March
9, 2010
Brothers and
Sisters,
I first need to
apologize for not updating this blog. My
excuse is I was on vacation. Since my
return it appears things are moving
forward. I stopped by at the Dynasty for
the safety info meeting last week and the
atmosphere was truly upbeat. It was great
to see everyone in a good mood knowing
things are getting back to normal.
We
continue to discuss placement, scheduling,
and start up dates. There are a few hostage
situations to be resolved along with Safety
and Training. We are in constant talks over
employees who remain on ILO to find
placement for them if even on a temporary
basis. Postings continue to come in and I
am sure more are to come. We have corrected
some of the issues and are moving forward.
As
things continue to happen and people return
to work please keep in mind that Safety
should always be our number one concern.
Without the safety of everyone everything
else is a mute point. So please keep yours
and everyone around you safe here at work
and at home.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
U.S.W.
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February
10, 2010
Hello again,
Just an update of where we are at. We
continue to have a back and forth about
incentives. We are meeting three times each
week and sometimes more about return to work
issues including release dates. Some East
Side jobs are critical to their operations
and we need to have the holes filled for our
people to return without a shutdown there.
We continue to address the questions and
issues we are receiving.
For
now I want to report that the Sinter Plant
is not in the plans for a startup.
It
does appear that a large percentage of our
(West) members will be returning. As I
stated earlier, there are many issues to be
resolved. When more develops you will be
notified.
Fraternally,
Tom
Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
U.S.W.
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February
5, 2010
It is good again to be
able to report to you that the pendulum is
swinging our way. Crafts have been recalled to
the Iron and Steel Producing facilities and we
are in the process of calling back production.
Most of you may have received a call from the
Hall asking if you wanted to return to the West
Side plant or remain at the East. We are also
contacting VLO's and ILO's in order to get a
handle of what our needs will be. If anyone
knows of someone who hasn't heard anything or
has their phone disconnected or number changed
please let the Griever or the Hall know so they
can be contacted. At present we cannot contact
9 people. It appears that most employees will
return to the West Side Plant.
We
continue to work on a interim incentive plan and
I Hope to have something soon.
Please
remember that there are many issues to be worked
out and I will get them to you as soon as
possible. If you have questions I urge you to
contact your Griever or Asst. Griever. We
continue to give them updates as they come in.
Looking
forward to seeing everyone back to work as soon
as possible. Remember, when back to keep your
focus on Safety.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
U.S.W.
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January 29, 2010Hello
Brothers and Sisters,
Finally, things
are very busy and for the right reasons. At present the
Local is calling people on Lay off, VLO and West to East
transfers for info on weather they are intending
to return to work here or remain at the East side,
retire or who have found another job. The call back
will be by seniority and on an as needed basis. This
means that if you are transferred and receive a call it
is to find out if you intend to return to the West
side. We are currently working on a start up incentive
agreement. There are many issues to be addressed and
worked out. We continue to meet with the company to
work through any problems that may arise. We intend to
have a better start up than Cleveland did.
As news becomes available we
will notify.
Thank you all for your patience
and support during these trying times.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
U.S.W.
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January 20, 2010
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Good news for laid off and transfers
The company has
informed Local # 1011 of their intent to restart the
Iron making and Steel Producing Departments on the West
side of Indiana Harbor. We will be working with them to
develop recall and maning plans in the near future.
There are many issues we need to work through as this
develops. Further information will be posted as it
becomes available. Feel free to contact your Department
Reps, Griever or the Hall for further updates as we work
through this new information.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local # 1011
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January 15, 2010
First I need to
address the rumor issue. There have been so many
floating around lately that it would take forever to
address them all. First of all, the Blast Furnace is
not scheduled for start up now. The answer from the
company is: They are waiting to see if orders and the
economy dictate a start up that they feel is
sustainable. Remember, things change from day to day.
The issue of
postings has become a big concern. Remember if you sign
an East side posting your window of keeping or denying a
job is thirty (30) calendar days. If you have a West
side posting it is thirty working turns.
We continue to
discuss the primary incentive. It is a difficult and
long process and we are working to get it done as soon
as possible.
At present our
numbers on ILO continue to go down but that number is
deceiving due to so many transfers (postings) to the
East side.
One more thing,
please remember not to leave early. We have had several
cases of what the company considers time card fraud.
Whenever there is a slowdown it appears they are looking
for reasons to fire people. Lets not give them that
opportunity.
Hopefully I can
have good news in the near future. We continue to
persue the issue of having everyone back and working
with the intent of full employment for all.
Fraternally,
Tom Tyrka
President
Local Union # 1011
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December 31, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
2009 is behind us and I am hopeful as many
of you are that 2010 is a better year for all. It has been a
tough time for everyone. Your Officers, Grievers and Reps
continue working to get the West Side up and bring us back to
work. The order book continues to look better but there is no
information on a startup of the Blast Furnaces.
We continue to work on
temp positions and adding work to our Mill.
There have been many
postings, mostly East side. Remember, if you sign and accept a
posting for the East side you have thirty calendar days to
determine whether you want to stay or leave. If your department
calls you back within six months you can return to your
incumbent dept without loosing your seniority. "IF" is the key
word here. The call number for bidder postings is: 219 399-7865.
The rumor mill is in
high gear. We need to focus on what is reality and not what
someone heard from a friend of a friend. We get dozens of
rumors every day. When we receive notice of anything you will
be notified.
For those of us working
please remember that historically during slow times there is
always a push to find violations of people leaving the plant
early. Please be careful when leaving the plant.
I am hoping that all
have a safe and prosperous New Year with everyone back to work.
In Solidarity,
Tom
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December 9, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Hoping everyone has a
great Christmas and New Year. It is not what many of us had
expected with the current economic situation at our plant.
Yesterday I attended the "town hall" meeting and the news was
not what I had hoped for. Apparently there are no plans to
start any Blast Furnace unless the orders and the economy
dictate otherwise.
For our ILO's there are
many craft and non craft postings available. It appears that
the Bar Mill will be starting up (Times, Dec 10, 2009) I'm sure
there are many issues to be worked out such as duration (length
of stay), training etc.
The Primary incentive
is still dragging on because of a company response. It seems
that red tape has held up a proposal from them.
I have been hearing
that posting awards in some cases have been done improperly. If
you have signed one and have knowledge that you should have
received a posting and it was awarded to someone with less
seniority than you contact your Rep/Griever and have it
corrected.
Once again, I truly
wish that everyone has a wonderful and safe Holiday. We will
continue to fight to have everyone back to work as soon as
possible.
In Solidarity,
Tom
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