With all other bargaining units in BC receiving 0% increases I can’t believe that PPWC employees are being so greedy. This is what gives all other union members a bad name.

PPWC members, maybe this is why your numbers are dwindling and locals jumping to other unions… food for thought

I agree most other public sectors are being asked to accept a wage freeze of no increases over the next three to four yrs and this sweet deal is not good enough for PPWC? Get real!

Not to mix things up, but if smiley got his facts straight he’d know the ranks at PPWC are in fact expanding. If everyone rolled over and happily accepted 0 I’m afraid everyone’s wages would start to tumble downhill.

I suppose everyone is getting a little tired of quoting the contract settled down south of 18% over 5 years with a very large signing bonus which was a bonus, rather than a wage increase replacement.

These are private sector employers who have just reaped extraordinary profits through the cooperation and work of their union workers. Sharing wealth is not a sin.

Fuceneh knows more than anyone here. Don’t expect the regular posters here to be concerned with the facts, agreeable.

The issue might be as much about the way people are treated at work as the package they just voted on.

My investment dollar will go to companies that recognize that there is no greater liability than a pizzed off workforce. Treat “workers” as humans and just watch the dollars roll in.

The cancer on the butt of this organization is the same as many others. It’s called Human Resources. They contribute zero to the production and 100% to the jaded attitude of hourly and salary staff. Cut that growth off your ass and move on.

People vote no to a package because that’s the only voice they’re given that counts.

Not to mix things up, but if smiley got his facts straight he’d know the ranks at PPWC are in fact expanding. If everyone rolled over and happily accepted 0 I’m afraid everyone’s wages would start to tumble downhill.

I suppose everyone is getting a little tired of quoting the contract settled down south of 18% over 5 years with a very large signing bonus which was a bonus, rather than a wage increase replacement.

These are private sector employers who have just reaped extraordinary profits through the cooperation and work of their union workers. Sharing wealth is not a sin.

Lots of members were looking for the “pop up” provisions also…it allows a worker to take an earlier retirement without losing contractual pension benefits. You want some young families bread winner to have an opportunity at a good paying job? Let the older fellows go early without penalizing them.

8 weeks of paid time for the older workers, the people hired to replace them would take 27 years at work to match that time off….can you see a cost saving for the company? The company would be missing a huge cost savings opportunity to not put it out there.

Its no wonder why so many mills have shut down here in PG. Its not because they make so much money, duuu.

I’m just curious “oneman” which pulp mills in PG have closed? PG and Intercon are not sawmills and the workers in them have different skill sets. CPLP has made huge profits lately and the workers want their wages to, at the very least, keep pace with the rising cost of living.

Im proud of my union brothers and sisters today. Canfor has taken everything they could throughout the last contract period. We are an unhappy workforce and we are now showing it.

Sometimes people with zero integrity are given positions over others. Then we have a situation that is not conducive to progress or profit.

CEP accepts
PPWC rejects.

This is prime example of how business agents representing everyone in Canada and not paying attention to local business affects thier members.

Good for PPWC!

When CEP joins CAW they can expect even worse representation. Why do you think they broke away from thier US brothers decades ago?

They never made any mention of the terms of the agreement where they would meet with the company to eliminate, or change, our lines of progression and retiree benefits either. If your a retired member of these locals it might be in your best interest to attend the next union meeting.

you don’t deserve to have a job.

And you do?? Comedy hour now on 250!! :-)

Ya polar. Enjoy the shackles.

Ya polar. Enjoy the shackles.

Posted by: ballsy on July 20 2012 3:46 PM
Im proud of my union brothers and sisters today. Canfor has taken everything they could throughout the last contract period. We are an unhappy workforce and we are now showing it.

Huge bump brother.

Sometimes people with zero integrity are given positions over others. Then we have a situation that is not conducive to progress or profit.

Without finger pointing or name calling, the main reason it was rejected is that it is a poor offer from a profitable corporation. When employees contribute to the profitability of the corporation they expect their efforts to be recognized when it is time to renegotiate their wage. This offer is not a fair recognition of the employees contribution. Plain and simple.

If your not happy, I would suggest you move on, You obviosly dont appreciate your
job. Theres a lot of people out there that would be happy to have a job.

It amazes me that people in this day and age seem to think that unions have lost their relevance. I work for a company who just FIRED one of their supervisors for voicing his opinion….over social media. Can you believe that? I couldn’t and wouldn’t until I saw it happen.

As corporations get bigger and stronger we need more union members to stand up against their greed and corruption. As more multi-national corporations move in and acquire Canadian assets…we need more unions to stand up and fight for members rights and freedoms.

If you think unions are a bad thing….well you’re simply wrong or misinformed.

Why don’t the employees consider shares in lieu of wage increases? Then everyone shares in the success of the corporation. (or not)

It’s one thing to share in the good times and profits, it’s another to settle for less when things aren’t so rosy. Can’t only enjoy the good while avoiding the bad.

Well, one reason employees don’t want shares in lieu of wage increases is that banks, mortgage companies and even grocery stores don’t care if your employer has had a good year or not. They just want their money every month.

I suppose if your base rate is so high that you can meet all of your financial obligations, then maybe you can gamble with the rest of your pay. I’m reasonably sure that no union member’s pay reaches that level.

Another reason is that having shares without a real voice in directing the company is that just doesn’t make any sense.

Unionized workers trust that the management of their company, the ones with the really high salaries, will make sound decisions which will benefit the shareholders as well as the employees.

CPLP is not crying poverty, they are not saying they can’t afford decent wage increase for Local 9 members. They are just saying that they have decided that they want more for the shareholders, like Canfor and Jimmy Pattison, and have decided to get this increase a the expense of their employees.

ask ontario how union greed has worked. They are pricing themselves out of almost every market. This was a more than reasonable offer. Chetwynd closed. You guys better get it and soon. The global economy is a turd circilig the bowl. You can and will be shutdown in a heart beat. Wether you kept up with inflation will matter squat. EI dosen’t track inflation. Use your heads.

dow7500

Chetwynd is a specialty mill and uses a different species of wood than most pulp mills and therefore sells to a different market and it’s not the first time it has gone down.

What happened in Ontario is different than in BC with the unions and the labour market

Yes we can be shutdown but definitely not in a heartbeat

Please do your homework before you start writing an uninformed person is way smarter than a misinformed person

Why is it that when workers ask for a raise, a good many of you jump all over them for being greedy and out of touch? Yet when business raises the price of a turnip on their shelves, that same group of you do not jump all over a CEO for being greedy or out of touch?

Dearth

im informed. reguardless of what your perceived specialty may be, you are a slave to global markets, currency and commodities. All are working against you and the secular trend is not good. Perhaps you should get informed of the prevailing trends berfor you are forced to action off your assets over a small percentage of cola.

Good for the PPWC. Bar-gaining is what it is all about isn’t it? The executive is being told what to do, just as it should be.

Are you willing to strike?

Hopefully the CEP had a “me too clause” in their agreement along side the PPWC when all is said and done.:) You guys do the good fight okay.

I know the company is certainly fond of me 2’s in the way they would have wanted the CEP to have done things the company way.

So go PPWC go, and maybe the Company will have a kind heart and just give it to the CEP too?:)

This CEP caucus doesn’t believe in the “Me Too Clause” cop out. It isn’t in this contract for any party, just the same as every contract before that.
Seems to me in 2003, it was Local 9 that relied on the me too clause to bump up their contract when they finished their negotiations before the CEP, and CEP bargained a better deal.
The CEP delegates worked hard on this round of negotiations, made tough choices and worked with the company on an agreement that was thought rich enough for their members. The ratification vote between the two CEP locals prove that.
This was not a blanket agreement. As stated the CEP caucus worked long hours to reach this point. It is not the fault of that caucus that CPLP chose to offer the same agreement to Local 9 after the tentative deal was complete.
Blaming the CEP for a rollover here is dumb.
Local 9 obviously doesn’t like this deal, so good luck back at the table. I hope this works out for you guys.

$7500 signing bonus 7.5% over 5 years on top of $40.00 per hour I don’t know how you guys manage to pay your bills. Keep up the fight.

“The me too clause”

Is that like the owners of the company have 80ft. yachts and the forklift operator should be able to have one too ?

-collective bargaining is a Human right.

-CPLP is a profitable company that received over $100 million in taxpayer dollars from the Feds.

-skilled workers are in high demand

-tradesman make $10/hr more across the street. Power Engineers can make $100k more a year in oil and gas.

-CPLP has trouble attracting tradesman and Power Engineers.

-papermakers are unskilled, and by that I mean unticketed, workers. They are the highest paid CPLP unionized workers. Perhaps they realize this and that’s why they accepted this crappy contract.

-$3750 is one payment, a 2% increase stays with you for every year of your working life.

-tradesman work for less than market wages at CPLP because PG is their home. Their wages stay in the PG economy, the same cannot be said for the majority of shareholder profits.

-all employees should take advantage of any skills training opportunities offered to them, as the gap between the skilled and unskilled worker wages is going to grow. The race to the bottom has begun and if you have no skills you may find yourself in the lead of that race.

Where are Gus and Johnnybelt ?? Not a peep?

-collective bargaining is a Human right.
Unless you are a teacher!

How many apprentices are at the Pulpmills govsux? Let me rephrase that, how many apprentices does Canfor have on their payroll right now? Not many I bet. They would rather head hunt from someone else. But why would you work there if you can make more somewhere else? The fun hasn’t even started yet in regards to the “Trades Worker” shortage.

Isn’t that sweet. Pulp mill workers only stay in PG out of the goodness of their heart. Buddy, if you could better your life by crossing the street, you would be there. If your boat is better suited to a lake in northern Alberta ….see ya later. You live here because this is where you make a good living. You probably shouldn’t compare your job to a job in the oil patch !

If you make $50,000, the $3,750 cash bonus is about 7.5%. That would be for the first 2 years. $70,000 is about 5.3%. $90,000 is about 4.16%.

I sure wouldn’t walk out or strike for this offer. Yes, it’s not perfect. But, it’s not bad either.

It’s a steady increasing income over the next 5 years. I’m surprised that the contract was voted against.

A lot of assumptions being made here. While you are entitled to your opinions, don’t let em get in the way of the facts.
-husky tradesmen make approx. $10/hr more than the CPLP tradespeoples, and they have been hiring
-other industry trades also pay significantly higher wages
-people have been leaving for much higher wages in varying sectors at various locales
-there are jobs available to skilled workers at places south of PG, they don’t need to go to a worse climate to make more money
-you can calculate what the bonus is as a percentage of a wage but if you spread that over 10, 20, or 30 years it becomes minuscule.
-some people have friends, family, and a lifestyle that keep them in PG
-I never compared my job to a job in the oil patch, nor did I say I work at a pulp mill.
-I’m glad Middle Finger knows what I do, why I live here and what keeps me here.
– I’M NOT MIDDLE FINGERS BUDDY

Maybe you would earn $10 more per hour at Husky, but wouldn’t you start back at the bottom of the seniority ladder? And, wouldn’t your holidays be substantially less than currently? If the grass is greener, I encourage a person to go apply.

Same with other industry trades, if you can make more money in other industry’s, then I suggest a person consider changing trades. (If it’s about the money of course)

Yes, there are many places paying higher wages, they have to to attract the employees. If a person feels that relocation is their solution to make more money, go for it.

And, usually the nicer the weather, the higher the cost of living. So, yes, a person could make more money if they took jobs south of us. But in the end, will they be any better off financially or will they be any happier?

Regarding the Bonus, it all depends what you do with it. A person could us it to bump up their RRSP’s or invest in a TFSA or eliminate some debt and all would have a significant impact on your finances over 10, 20 or 30 years. So it doesn’t have to be a one time thing.

And let’s not overlook the benefits that come with these wage packages. Calculate the value and the cost before you jump ship.

Just be aware that if your planning on retiring in a couple of years those $3750 cash pay offs do not count as earning for calculating your pension….you are going to get short changed on your pensions for the rest of your life. AND they proposed to meet to talk about reducing retiree benefits….isn’t elder abuse a crime?

Did you know that a $3750 cash pay off will not be reflected in your benefits if you have to go on WI or LTA ?? It also won’t show in your stat pay, floater pay, shift differential percentages, supplemental vacation pay and and heaven forbid not even in your life insurance !!

To try and say its a 4.5% increase for someone making 90k a year is not quite the whole truth.

People can and will argue back and forth on this for an eternity. Contracts in heavy industry have recently been signed throughout the province, ranging from raises that keep pace with inflation to lucrative contracts with a raise AND a signing bonus.

If an individual wishes they can go find Work elsewhere and good on them. CPLP cannot get applicants for positions in both union and management jobs due, in part, to their pay scales.