I just want to take a quick moment to say thank you to the members who attended the ratification meeting yesterday. The show of support and solidarity by the membership was tremendous.
The ratification number was exceptionally high with 96.5%, your bargaining committee recognizes that the high acceptance of a collective agreement without a commitment of product is a real sign of the times we are currently in. As I said in our ratification meeting yesterday, your committee remains committed to overturning every stone possible to get our members back to work. It is important that in the days and weeks ahead members continue to reach out to all levels of political representatives and encourage them to support the auto industry. I want to assure the membership that your leadership will continue discussions with the company and government officials until a resolve is found to get our members back to work.
Due to the number of emails, calls, and text messages requesting clarification on some of the items in the brochure. I have spoken with the benefits reps, Rob Gallace and Jeff Bankes and Skilled Trades rep, Jason Herman. We are working on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) we have been receiving so that we can post this week and clarify some items. We will do our best to work through them and post replies to the FAQs as quickly as possible.
Please, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to send them to:
I left our ratification meeting to attend the local 636 ratification from zoom at the Kitchener office on Saturday afternoon, followed by a drive to St. Catharines for their Sunday 9am ratification and then to Oshawa for 3pm.
Luckily I just walked through the door, in time to tuck my kids into bed. I will continue to answer emails, texts and calls, however I will be home on vacation for the next couple of days spending some time with Rachael and my family before the summer comes to an end. I will do my best to continue getting back to each and every one of you, and answer common questions in the FAQs.
I can’t express how impressed I am with the commitment of this bargaining committee. The amount of effort and work they put into this membership over the past two weeks was amazing.
Solidarity,
Mark Gee