CAW Group Home & Auto Insurance - CAW/CEP New Union Project

The CAW’s own group home and auto insurance program is now open to all CAW members. Click on the logo below for more information.

As many of you are now well aware, the CAW and CEP are engaged in preliminary talks to discuss the prospect of forming a new, Canadian union. In our effort to communicate this initiative with our members, and the broader public, we’ve set up a project “micro-site” that can be found by clicking on the logo below.

EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE & CANADA PENSION PLAN

The following information is a general overview of some of the rules of eligibility for Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
The union or any of its representatives do not take any responsibility for the content of this information and how it will affect each individuals claim for EI or CPP.

IT IS EACH INDIVIDUAL'S RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE THEIR ELIGIBILITY FOR EI OR CPP.

1)    For those employees who have taken or will be taking the severance package and have resigned or will resign from the workplace; You have four weeks from your resignation date to apply for EI .
When you apply for EI, the employment insurance office will determine how long your severance will last based on your average week’s earnings. This will all be indicated on your record of employment (ROE).  Once your severance is exhausted by their calculations then your EI will start. Your will not lose any of your eligible weeks of EI due to your severance.

*For those employees who were able to transfer some or all of their severance into their RRSP account you will have to discuss this with the EI office to see how this is handled.

**One thing regarding EI; once you are receiving the benefit you must report any earnings you have and if you are away on vacation for an extended period. Service Canada does have a cooperative program with Custom’s Canada to match any EI recipients to people who have left the country. Extended vacations would be of concern; weekend shopping in Buffalo would not be a concern.

2)    Anyone between the ages of 60 and 65 and who do not plan to work, should be aware that if they do not apply for CPP now, the years between 60 and 65 that they do not work will be included in calculating the eventual amount of CPP you will receive. Service Canada does eliminate a percentage of your low earning years from the calculation, so if you do not work this will add more low earning years to the calculation and possibly lower your CPP benefit.

3)   Anyone who is medically documented to be permanently disabled and unable to work should apply for disability CPP regardless of their age.

Assistance, please

Any member who has a valid phone number for Richard Swinburk or knows how to contact him either call me at 905-334-6118 or have Richard call me. 

Thank you, 

Bob Ciprick

Honda Indy Toronto / CAW Local 2007 Community Ticket Program

" We are happy to have CAW Local 2007 as a member of our Community Ticket Program. Please let me know if you have any questions about the promotion.  I have put my contact information on the offer so I can be the point of contact for your company." 

       - Jennifer Oldford (Honda Indy Toronto)

Click here for more info and ticket discounts

Starting Dates at WEG or in Pension Plan Disputes

For members who are disputing their start date with Woodbine and/or their start date in the company pension plans:

The company needs verifiable proof of both dates for any dates that are in dispute.

For proof of years of consecutive service, this would be for the number of years used in the calculation for the amount of money you will receive.

If you disagree with the date they have on record, a paper trail of your T4s for the time period in dispute would be the best proof, although not the only proof. It would be difficult for each member to have retained this paper trail. The Canadian Revenue Agency only would be able to supply T4 information going back to 1986.

For the service years that would be used in calculating the amount of money that would be allowed to be transferred into ones RRSP, similar proof would be required. When employees joined a pension plan, when the plan was initiated or when they were transferred to a new plan, there is the possibility that credit calculations for prior years of service was done at that time. This credit would be a subtraction from the amount of years prior to the 1989 calculation.

I have been informed by Woodbine that they are checking into this as thoroughly as possible to uncover any of the disputed dates.

The union is following this closely and we are working to find a solution to these disputed dates. Any positive solutions to providing the needed proof from anyone is more than welcome.

VRSP Forms are Now Available

Voluntary Resignation with Severance Payment (VRSP) forms are now available.

Please contact Veena to obtain forms.

If you have any questions about your VRSP please call Bob Ciprick at
1-647-367-2264.

New WAPs Should Be Ready Sunday

The WAPs should be ready this Sunday for reducing your WAPs as per the following Letter of Understanding:

Letter of Understanding Re: Trial for Reduced Off-Season Days of the Week Prioritization

Notwithstanding the Days of the Week requirement listed in Article 15 (a)(ii), the parties agree that during the period beginning the second Sunday following the date of ratification up to and including March 31, 2012, the following will apply:

     “Days of the Week

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 

A Seniority List employee must prioritize a minimum of four (4) Days of the Week. If he chooses to prioritize only four (4) Days of the Week, he will not be allocated available work on more than four (4) days in a given week.  If he chooses to prioritize only five (5) Days of the Week, he will not be allocated available work on more than five (5) days in a given week.  If he chooses to prioritize six (6) or seven (7) Days of the Week, he will not be allocated available work on more than five (5) days in a given week, unless he has indicated his preference to be scheduled for six (6) days.” 

If a Seniority List employee elected to prioritize less than six (6) Days of the Week during the period outlined above, he must submit a new WAPS, effective for the schedule which includes April 1, 2012, to reflect the requirement outlined in Article 15 (a)(ii).  If a Seniority List employee does not submit a new WAPS at that time, then all of his preferences will be defaulted to his WAPS that was in effect for the last full week of the 2011 calendar year.

The Employer will assess the results of this trial and discuss such results with the Union at a Labour Management meeting prior to the next off-season period.  If the Employer determines that there was no detrimental impact of such trial and the requirements for the next off-season period have not changed materially, the Employer may elect to renew this trial for that period, beginning the last Sunday of the Thoroughbred season to March 31, 2013.  This trial may be renewed, following this process, for each year of the Collective Agreement.