Rob Brown, Union Representative
The Solution We should be doing two things in parallel: we need someone in power who understands the trade agreements. And at the company level, we have to make some concessions. Not popular, I know. If we make some small sacrifices, we can get that security. Of course we’ll only do that if we’re convinced there’s a brighter future in front of us. Worker Profile It’s diverse, both in terms of ethnic background and skill sets. The union represents technicians, machine operators, and product inspectors in manufacturing … so there’s a lot of skill and experience for the company to draw on. Leadership Team Johnson’s hardly ever in the plant, maybe once a week, if that. I wouldn’t run a company that way. Jennifer Smith takes up the slack though. We see quite a bit of her… in Richard Wright’s office. Wright’s not a bad guy. He’s worked his way up from the floor. Brian Johnson We did get along until I pushed for a union years ago. He had just been appointed President and he saw certification of the union as a personal challenge to his leadership. It’s always about ego. Truth? Gagnon’s worse. He’s got a management style from the 40s so the certification process was messy and damaged a lot of friendships. Most of the wounds have healed but when it comes to contract negotiation time, people remember those battles. Management Relations The HR Director, Guy … Guy Tremblay, is the chief negotiator in name only. He’s there so Johnson doesn’t have to deal with me across the table. Guy’s okay. We both just do what we have to do. Know what I mean? This’ll be a tough round of negotiations. But I have full support of the membership and we will strike if we have to.
The Union We’ve been representing GlobalTech’s manufacturing employees for, well going on 12 years. Yes, 12 this fall. We’ve made a lot of progress in that time: wages and benefits are now on par with similar operations. And the conditions in the plant have improved since the days of Maurice Gagnon. There’s still a lot of work to do, but this place is an excellent example of how the union can benefit both the workers and the company. Contract Negotiations I’m hearing talk about how uncertain the future is. It’s a tough job market, even if you’re skilled, so no one wants to lose their job. It’s no secret that job security is going to be a key issue the next time we’re at the table three, four months from now. The Problem Globalization and trade agreements make it tough for a place like this to be competitive. We’re here because we are scrappy and we’re smart. But the odds are stacked against us.
19
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs