Wages and Vacation Pay

Today you are all aware that no money magically appeared in your accounts. According to KPMG (the receiver) ADP would not process any funds for the payroll. How they didn't know this prior to sending out letters to us is beyond me. KPMG has stated that they issued checks for our wages and 50% vacation pay today the 29th of May.

Employee Welcome

The Genfast Adjustment Center is having an employee welcome on Thursday May 31st, from 9am until 12 pm. Coffee and Timbits will be available. There will be information handed out regarding services available, including regions outside of Brantford.

85 Morrell St.
Brantford

Call 519 752 3333
email: genfastadjustmentcenter@bellnet.ca

What The Liberals Are All About

I'd like to welcome Brian Van Tilborg to the blog. I invited him to post directly a few weeks ago but I didn't set the permissions for him. My fault. I look forward to his informing comments and hope he'll keep us up to date on his campaign.
I have an article here from April. The original can be found in the news feeds at the side bar.
We have a Hamilton MPP , Andrea Horwath (NDP),who is calling the McGuinty government on their failure to protect the manufacturing sector. The last paragraph sums up the Liberal's concern for our job losses and our family's lost way of living.
" Last week Liberal government members jeered and heckled Horwath as she made another impassioned appeal for a job strategy for the Hamilton region."

Genfast Adjustment Center

The Genfast Adjustment Center has been opened since May 14th, and progressively, the telephones, internet and fax has come online.

85 Morrell st.
Brantford,
Phone: 519 752 3333
Fax: 519 752 3393
email: genfastadjustmentcenter@bellnet.ca
Hours 9am to 5pm

Come in have a coffee.

Pensioners Meeting

There is a pensioners meeting scheduled for Monday May 28th for 1 pm at 1031 Barton Street in the Hamilton Steelworkers Building. Pensioners will have received by mail, notification of the time date and place. However, the Steelworkers are asking for four volunteers to go down to the hall on Monday, and set up tables as well as to help separate the various groups of pensioners into the plants there pension was actually derived from.

I will be leaving at 12pm from the Genfast Adjustment Center. Those who wish to volunteer can email myself or call the action center phone number, Monday Morning. (519 752 3333)

Go Brian

Brian Van Tilborg Seeks the Brant NDP Provincial Nomination

May 22, 2007

Brian Van Tilborg, a lifelong resident of Brant Riding today announced his intention to seek the NDP nomination for Brant Riding in the forthcoming Provincial Election. A Graduate of McMaster University with a BA in Labour Studies, today stated that the crises confronting manufacturing needs particular attention. Recent announced closings of Genfast, Bluebird, and Easton Coatings are examples of a crises situation.

Genfast, a company that was best in the area a few short years ago, has moved their fastener production to Michigan and BlueBird which manufactured buses is moving to Georgia. Even management recognizes the quality of the workforce, but praise doesn’t put bread on the table. Easton Coatings may become another example of the insufficiency of legislation governing plant closings and worker entitlement. I am today calling upon the Provincial and Federal Governments for emergency action to stop the closing until such a time as the impact can be analyzed and the interests of the employees protected. “All too often employees lose all of their accumulated benefits along with their jobs. This has got to stop.” One of the first things I intend to do when elected is to introduce legislation to deal with the impact of plant closures. “Two weeks notice for a plant closure is simply not enough time”. The Brant riding has a long history in manufacturing and Brant requires a strong retention program in the manufacturing sector or we are going to see more companies close their doors and relocate.

As a former Genfast Employee, I recognize the caliber of our employees, salaried staff, engineers, IT personnel and management. “Manufacturing has been one of Ontario’s greatest strengths. Why would we allow manufacturing to leave so easily, without seriously investigating the problems that face manufacturing today? “

Rally

Brian has emailed me regarding the rally:

----------------------------------------------------
Regarding the Rally!

May 23, 2007
11am at Genfast
45 Minutes in Length
12pm Rally at "To be announced" Plant in Brantford
Approx 30 minutes in Length.
Rally in Plant "to be announced" in Peel.

You can participate at each event individually. After the Genfast Rally,
we will name the plant that we are going to within Brantford. You can
ride the Coach to or take your own vehicle should you choose. You can
also go back to work, school, or whatever plans you have. Also, If I
know that you cannot attend the Genfast Rally, but wish to participate
in the rest of the rally, I will do my best to forward you the
information as to where we will be going. You can participate in the 2nd
rally and grab the bus to the 3rd should you like. I have no idea if
there are going to be enough seats available, If I receive enough
information from former Genfast employees that many of us want to go to
all the events then we will have to see if we have enough Coaches. Also
with the recent announcement of another Bankruptcy, there may be even
more "displaced" workers coming out.

If you know 100% that you are going to go to the
1) The Genfast Rally
2) The 2nd Brantford Rally
3) The Rally in Peel

Please email me,

-----------------------------------------------------------

Brian's email is madmax@bfree.on.ca


later dave

Pension News

Brian Van Tilborg sent me this note. I hope to see Brian posting directly soon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Dave

The Pension fund is now being administrated by Price Waterhouse
They will have a toll free line up and running shortly.
1 877 949 7337

This information was forwarded to me by Frank Hammond.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there it is.

later dave

Claim Forms

I have received an email from John Carroll regarding the confusion over the claim forms sent out by KPMG on or about April 27.
Please understand this. The money indicated on page 2 as Gross Unpaid Wages and 50% of Gross Vacation Pay is being paid out of a $1,000,000 fund that the union negotiated and had set aside. The letter indicates clearly that if you will accept the figures given on page 2, then you do not need to do anything else. Sit back and chill.
At the creditors meeting that was held April 25 at the Holiday Inn, KPMG's Brad Newton pointed out two things which have not changed.
1.) They have $1,000,000 to pay out for an estimated $1,200,000 in wages and vacation. There are no additional funds for this purpose. If you want more, then everyone else will have to take less.
2.)Severence and Termination which would require the filing of a claim, are not going to happen for us during the bankruptcy proceedings. The receiver indicates on page three that they already have a legal opinion from their counsel that termination and severence from after April 5, are not valid. If you want that money you can wait to see what the USW can do or you can hire a lawyer and sue the directors yourself.
The USW has filed a group claim on your behalf, so I suggest that you wait.

If you disagree with the figures given on page 2 or if you want to renege on your loan, then you should file the form and in the case of the loan, you must give a written instruction.
Keep in mind that all such actions will delay the payment until all claims are settled.

If you are still unsure, email ; nicola.meckbach@genfastca.com

or come into the action center at 88 Morrell St. ( old Harding Carpets).

later dave

Moving On

This from Brian:
-------------------------------------------------
Hi Dave

A few things.

The Hamilton Office for local 3767 is now closed down. The phone is
offline, and Bob Green has handed in the Locals Cellphone over to Frank
Arcuri of Local 4153. All information/communication will be done through
Local 4153 or with Rob Mason from today forward.

Frank Arcuri 905-545-8527
Usw4153@bellnet.ca

Rob Mason
905 545 3008 ext 32
rmason@usw.ca

I know you have this information, but it is important to get the message
out that our local office has officially closed.
-------------------------------------------------------------

I haven't spoken to Frank Arcuri, myself but Rob is 100% behind us. These guys represent you even though we are out on the street. They also represent every Steelworker retiree no matter how long you have been retired.
Don't forget that some faces that you do know will be getting the answers you need down at the action center Monday May 14 and onwards, just as promised.

later dave

Seniors

I just got this email from Robert Mason. He has been tirelessly fighting for our retirees and is hoping that you readers can point this information out to any of our people that are out of the loop.

Hi Dave,

We have arranged a retiree meeting at the hall in Hamilton for the 28th at 1pm. we have sent out a mailing to all of the contacts that we have but possibly posting it would get some more. We will have our legal and pension people there and hopefully we can begin the process for many of these retirees.

Thanks

Rob

Again I keep harping about our need to build a contact list but if you keep passing this along it will be a very good thing.
later dave

Links and the Action Center

The 'Action Center' is getting ready and you can actually drop in and check out what's happening on Monday. Remember that this place is your resource and although the workers will basically point you back to government resources, they know where you're coming from because they are in the same process as you, and Hey, why not hang out.

Please let everybody you connect with, especially retirees or anyone that may be 'out of the loop', know that we want to collect all the email addresses and phone numbers that we can.
Email this for now, to; dawelsby@gmail.com
This will enable us to get important news out in a cost effective way. Stay connected! Especially if you nail a good job or otherwise move on, please let the Action Committee know. Good news for you is good news for everyone.

Some links are at the bottom of the blog. I put them there because of the insane, long names that the government puts on their sites. Don't forget that Graham has some links on his blog as well.
later dave

Bob Green

Just for your information.
On May 10, 2007, the Brant NDP is holding a nomination meeting for their federal candidate. The meeting is open although only paid members can vote. Guest speaker for this event is our own Bob Green, so if you are interested in showing some support for Bob, it is at 7:30 PM , in the Laurier Lecture Hall, GRH 207 beside the Brantford Public Library.
Also Brian Van Tilborg informs me that the Ford cheques will be mailed no later than this Thursday.
The Action Centre is shaping up so expect an announcement regarding that, soon.
I've already heard of a number of our people getting jobs and others that are moving into training situations, so stuff is happening. Please do let me know of any good news in this regard.
later dave

The Boyz

I see that the boys have found another photo opportunity. This time the Expositor has caught them at The "Hike for Hospice" raising money for the St. Joseph's Lifecare Foundation. This is a very worthy charity.

Back when I was still employed, I made regular donations to United Way through the payroll deductions at Genfast. Most of us did. I made considerable donations through other institutions as well and it is disappointing to be unable to do that any longer.

This is another loss to the community, when employees that lose their jobs through government inaction, are forced to choose between the charities they want to support, and the needs of their own families. The inability to count on a regular cheque turns people with something to contribute, into people that need to use the very services they once supported. I'd like to ask Mr. Levac and Mr. St. Amand what their favourite charities will do, when a majority of Brantford's industrial demographic lose their jobs and end up on less than subsistance wages working for temp services. When our health care facilities are overwhelmed by voters who have no health care benefits, what will you do then?
This is my second plant closure and a third plant, I worked at has also closed. Most of us at Genfast have been though multiple closures and the plants being attracted to Brantford simply do not pay a living wage. What alternatives can our government offer us and how big a stink do we have to raise before they will begin to take honest action on our behalf.

Gotta go look for a job,..... later , dave

The Cost Of Stupid Government

I was reading (no one can stop me now), the list of creditors as recorded by our friends at KPMG and I notice that a number of local businesses got stung as well as us.
I can appreciate the hurt that a large unpaid bill does to small local businesses such as Passmore Flowers. The part that really struck me just now was the huge amounts owing to Union Gas and Brantford Power, for example. Guess who will be paying for that. We're screwed again.
I may be cynical but I see the little guy getting the bill for a lot of things around town that the government at large won't take action on. I think I'll read something else.

later dave

Some More Stuff

Just a few words today.
Graham Jones has a blog up as well. He has some good stuff and also welcomes posters. Check him out at:
http://spotblog-graham.blogspot.com/
Graham can also be reached at :
webopt@rogers.com
If you want to post on his blog send him an email and he'll set it up.

Graham has added some links which may be useful. I confess that I've been too lazy to get on that with this blog, so far. I'll correct the deficiency in the near future. If any readers find a really useful site please let Graham or I know so we can link to it. These sites are supposed to be a resource, so we must be resourceful in how we build them.

later dave

Welcome Brian

Brian Van Til Borg has just signed on as a contributor to this blog. As you know, Brian and the other exec are working very hard for us in these post Genfast nation days and doing it at their own expense at a time when they should be job searching like the rest of us. I appreciate Brian being willing to step into the world of blogging just so he can keep in contact.
later dave

An NDP response

I received this mail today from Brian Van Til Borg who along with the rest of the exec and the USW are burning themselves out on our behalf. The Expositor was sent this by the local NDP in response to comments in the paper after Howard Hampton came to the rally in front of Genfast last Tuesday. The Expositor has not yet printed this.

from
Brian Van Tilborg

ps. here is an email that was fired off from the NDP as a letter to the
editor after the article on Wednesday. It wasn't put in todays paper. I
am not certain why this letter wasn't printed after a front page
article the previous day.

Pass this around if you like.

quote:


The Brant NDP, Jack Layton, and Howard Hampton are fully aware of what has
occurred at Genfast Manufacturing.

The employees have had their vacations cancelled. Some employees cut
short vacations that were already in progress.These workers were told
to return to work or that they wouldn't be paid for the time off to
which they were fully entitled. They complied and returned to work,
only to have the rug pulled out from under them. On top of this, as of
today, they still have not received any of the wages owed to them or
any part of their vacation pay.

The entire workforce of Genfast, including salaried workers,
management, and unionized steelworkers, have had their livelihood
robbed from them by their unscrupulous American parent company, MNP
Corporation. It seems abundently clear that this contemptable company
is hell-bent on doing everything in it's power to make certain that
Genfast cannot rise from the ashes, thus preventing this skilled labour force
from returning to work in a productive, competitive and profitable
environment. The Brant NDP understands that there are many victims in
this orchestrated plant closure, including several local suppliers, who were
also led down the garden path.

The Brant NDP will not sit idly by and allow these kinds of companies
to get away with
robbing our technology, our jobs and our workers' livelyhoods and
security from our community.
The silence on plant closures in Brantford has gone on for far, far, too long.
The Brant NDP will do everything we possibly can to try to correct this
injustice.


Chris Otis and Keith Martin, Brant NDP

I'd like to hear some comment on this.

later dave

New Posters

So I owe an apology for letting the blog slide for a few days. I also managed to miss the rally at the plant on Tuesday. Mia Culpa. I regret that because Mr. Hampton is certainly an accomplished and intelligent leader who should not be discounted by our local MPz just because he is NDP. His background and experience allow him to make qualified judgements of our situation that the local boys simply can't. Add to that the fact that he actually showed up and demonstrated concern, and I think he's alright.
I've recently invited Brian Van Tilborg to actively post on this site as well as Rob Mason. These guys have been extremely busy on our behalf doing the work that local politicians are taking credit for. But they are willing as often as they can, to keep us up on what's happening.
We have a partial email list for former Genfast employees and for purposes of discrete communication would like to see this list a lot more complete. You can help by getting the word around to email me at dawelsby@gmail.com. This will allow me to continue compiling the list of those who are willing to be contacted and to get this to your executive.
If at anytime you wish to be removed from the list please let me know.
The reason I'm looking after this is because your exec. really is buried alive right now and don't forget that they are also unemployed and doing what they can for us while they should be looking for a job for themselves. I think our exec. deserves a vote of appreciation.
Some Notes;
John Carrol writes me that he has actually received $20.00 from EI. He has been informed that the next payment will be more substantial.
Bob Green is off to Parlament today to make our case and will then join a rally at Hamilton Specialty Bar (formerly Slater Steel). Bob is getting our situation in front of the media and the politicians whenever he can.
Brian Van Til Borg has been working to bring together support for us, witness the meeting at the Polish Hall , a week ago Wednesday and the upcoming Action Center. Brian and the exec. as well as some of the members have done this work so don't let anyone else take credit.
I get a lot of questions about the Ford Deal. I don't know but I understand that the "cheque is in the mail" ;-)

I was at a "Planning for Training" meeting yesterday with John Carrol and Ray Leger. It was nice to see them there. We had some good instruction about the possibilities of retraining and some informed direction as to what is involved in Job Hunting/retraining today. The world has definitely changed in the last 25 years. Anyway a good job done by our facilitator Angeline.
In the near future after I digest the huge stack of handouts that I scoffed off the table at the back I will post a sort of contact list that may be helpful. Any suggestions are appreciated.

later Dave