Friday, July 21, 2006

Woodbine ordered to include Non Seniority List employees in Pension Plan


On June 15, 2004, a submission was sent to the Superintendent of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) requesting the FSCO to order Woodbine to accept Non Seniority List employees as Members of the Mutuel Employees Pension Plan. On July 7, 2006, the FSCO agreed to the request.

Here is part of the communication sent by the FSCO to Woodbine:

“Please confirm by July 31, 2006 that corrective action has been taken to remedy this situation, as follows:

All ‘Non-Seniority List’ employees who satisfied the minimum service requirements as set out under the Pension Benefits Act (Ontario), effective January 1, 1988, would be entitled to membership in the Plan effective January 1, 1988 or at any time after that date once they met the minimum service requirements set out in Section 31 of the PBA.

All ‘Seniority List’ employees who were previously “Non-Seniority List’ employees will need to have their date adjusted in accordance with the minimum service requirements set out in Section 31 of the PBA."
…….........................................................................
“Part-time employment
3
1. (3) A pension plan may require not more than twenty-four months of less than full-time continuous employment with the employer, with the lesser of,

(a) earnings of not less than 35 per cent of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings;

or
(b) 700 hours of employment with the employer, in each of two consecutive calendar years immediately prior to membership in the pension plan, or such equivalent basis as is approved by the Superintendent, as a condition precedent to membership in the pension plan.”


Woodbine has requested additional time and information from FSCO before it responds.

We will keep you posted as this case develops.

There are many issues to be addressed.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Are You Thinking About - " Voluntary Resignation " ? ? ?

Seniority List employees thinking about the "Voluntary Resignation with SeverancePayment" option as per our new Collective Agreement may be interested in
Revenue Canada's Guide T4040, "RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement"

- available here in Adobe format.

See - Chapter 5, beginning on page 22 and the chart, which follows.

An Income Tax consultant/accountant may be able to assist you in determining the amount, in addition to the amount listed on your annual RRSP Deduction Limit Statement, that you may be able to transfer directly into a RPP or RRSP.

You can contact Sun Life to get information about continuing coverage for various benefits. As current plan members, Sun Life offers conversions to individual plans. Those employees who are 55 years of age or older have the alternative of "Early Retirement" where some benefits are continued until age 65 at WEG ‘s expense.

Making the right choices for you and your family will require careful consideration of all the options and their implications.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Negotiations Update - July 07, 2006

Our bargaining committee presented a Memorandum of Settlement to a well attended meeting held last night ( Thursday, July 6/06).

The committee recommended that the membership accept the terms of the Memorandum.
The results of a secret ballot vote indicated that the membership accepted the committee's recommendation and has accepted the offer.

This last offer of settlement was better than the previous two offers that were rejected by the members, as requested by the Union. These improvements were a direct result of the efforts of those members who committed themselves to their picketing assignments (and in many cases went above and beyond the call of duty). We applaud your efforts and dedication.

Thank You - CRWU
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In an effort to facilitate the return to work we are making next weeks schedule available for download. The schedule is in Adobe format below.

Please note that this schedule is sorted by Seniority and not alphabetically as we are accustomed to.

Schedule for the week beginning July 9/06 - Adobe format

Double click link to view or right-click to download and save.


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SCAB ALERT
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It has come to our attention that the following employees scabbed during our strike:

Seniority List employees:
Mary Louise Anderson
Keith Beaton
Donna Cadeau
Shirley Coffey
Gigi Chow
Richard Chung
Lydia Finnie
Adele Lee
Elia Lee
Susie Lee
Perry Mark

Eligibility List employees:
Gena Baijnauth
Elita Diaz
Sara Kumprey
Shannon Kumprey
Dinah Montgomery
Robert Stoehr

Other employees:
Eileen Beaton
Milton Belinsky
Doreen Borst
Sasha Roberts
Savitri Singh
Eric So
Linda Topping

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

CRWU Places ad in Toronto Star and issues press release

We have issued a major press release in to all the relevant media and our first ad appeared in today’s Toronto Star's GTA Section (page 5).

Copy of the ad in the Star:

ON STRIKE
WOODBINE MUTUEL EMPLOYEES

Woodbine Entertainment is a not for profit? corporation, subsidized by government slots, which has accumulated income of over $112 million during the last five years.

One of the few good things to come out of legalized gambling is the creation of decent, full-time jobs.

Woodbine now wants its Seniority Employees to work an average of 24 hours per week or we will lose our benefits. Sounds reasonable, but this is unattainable for employees whose shifts are 4 1/2 hours and for employees whose shifts are cut back in December. We want longer/normal shifts like any full-time employee. Woodbine requires us to be on call 6 days a week, 18 hours a day, for 20 locations.

Please help us earn a living wage by supporting our strike at Woodbine and Mohawk Racetrack/Slots, Greenwood, WEGZ, Turf Lounge and all Woodbine teletheatres.

Thank you

Brian Henderson
President, Canadian Racetrack Workers Union
Brian Lawrence
Vice President, Teamsters Local 419
PRESS RELEASE

July 3, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WOODBINE PATRONS FRUSTRATED OVER THE CANADA DAY WEEKEND

Picketing continued with a vengeance at the Woodbine racetrack over the Canada Day weekend. The betting clerks have been on strike since June 21st. The clerks informed the long lines of frustrated race and slot patrons of their fight to retain their benefits and get longer shifts.

Woodbine Entertainment is a not for profit ? corporation, subsidized by government slot revenue, which has accumulated income of over $112 million during the last five years.

Woodbine wants its Seniority List employees to work an average of 24 hours per week in order to receive benefits. This sounds reasonable, but will be unattainable for employees whose shifts are 4 ½ hours and for employees who face cut backs in December. The betting clerks want longer shifts so that they can earn a living wage. They are required to be on call 6 days a week, 18 hours a day, for 20 locations.
The 680 clerks in the bargaining unit work at Mohawk and Woodbine Racetrack/slots, Greenwood, WEGZ, and other Woodbine teletheatres. The workers belong to the Canadian Racetrack Workers Union and are represented by Teamsters Local 419. Talks are scheduled for Wednesday, July 5th.
_________________________________________________
REMINDER:
A MEETING WILL BE HELD ON:THURSDAY, JULY 6th at 7:30 pm
at theHoliday Inn Toronto Airport East - 600 Dixon Rd;
THIS IS YOUR COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT; PLEASE ATTEND YOUR UNION MEETING
________________________________________________________________
We will continue our efforts to raise public awareness of this dispute through the media.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

NOTICE OF MEETING

TO: ALL BARGAINING UNIT EMPLOYEES OF CANADIAN RACETRACK WORKERS UNION

A MEETING WILL BE HELD ON:
THURSDAY, JULY 6th at 7:30 pm at the
Holiday Inn Toronto Airport East - 600 Dixon Rd;
- located east of Carlingview and Hwy 27 and just west of Martingroveon the north side of Dixon Rd.

AGENDA:
· Report on negotiations
· Secret ballot vote if there is any improved offer from the Company
· There will be no picketing this evening. Those who report at the meeting will be credited for picketing hours.

THIS IS YOUR COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT; PLEASE ATTEND YOUR UNION MEETING

Fraternally yours,
CANADIAN RACETRACK WORKERS UNION
Brian Henderson: President