First, I would like to start by wishing you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving! If you’re in the plant, please stay focused and safe.
The Company and Union are continuing to meet on the reduction of forces to minimize the number of affected employees. We still don’t have any concrete numbers or dates yet, and I will provide them as soon as we have anything. I know this is very frustrating for those anticipating being affected, and I assure you that we’re trying to push this along. At the same time, we want to use every avenue to reduce the number of layoffs. Please be patient, and if you have questions, please reach out to your respective plant chair, Ronnie Amos, or myself, and we will answer them as best we can.
We’ve got a round of arbitration scheduled for next Wednesday, 12/4. This will be our first round with the new arbitrator, and if he works out, we should be able to schedule more dates quickly.
Next Friday, 12/6, the Women of Steel, NextGen, and Veterans of Steel are hosting our annual Christmas party for the Blount Co. Foster Association. If anyone would like to volunteer to help decorate and set up either on 12/5 around 6 PM or on 12/6 at 2 PM, please get in touch with Lorri Reynold, Michelle James, or myself. This is a great event that we’ve done for several years, and the kids have a blast!
On 12/16 and 12/17, I will be traveling with James Morrow to Pittsburgh to meet with the Company and the other three locals (Davenport will not be attending). We will follow up on the company’s progress on the current contracting out issues we’ve had over the past year We’re hoping this will spur the company into starting either a CDP-M/E and/or an apprenticeship.
Please remember to ask your supervisor at the start of every shift for the safety callouts sent out after every event. Ensure we follow the SWIs, and if they don’t have them for a job, request the proper personnel to create one. Above all, if it’s not safe, STOP and get help! If you face any pushback when attempting a Safety Stop, inform your Department Chair, Plant Chair, or contact me directly ASAP, and we will address the issue.
We must remain focused on quality and stop when something is not up to our standards. If it’s not up to how you were trained and a foreman asks you to proceed anyway, contact someone in the Union Leadership immediately, and we will get it addressed.
Please promote and share the link to this update. I do my best to share it on all platforms, but I can easily miss one. Thank you for all that you do, and stay safe!
Sincerely,
Nick McCarter
N. Plant Chairman
(865) 254-6252
