Pensions, Health and Welfare... Our Focus for the Future!

As we enter a new year I am buoyed by the confidence our membership have given me and my new executive board recently with an historic white ballot election result. Local 938 brothers and sisters mandated that we continue to right the wrongs that this union has experienced over so many years and we will not let them down.

This was a clear and decisive message that the stability that we are seeking is what our members want for the future of this local. Our focus will continue to be to seek reform and the biggest challenge my team will encounter throughout this process will be fixing the pension plans and the health and welfare benefits that our members need and deserve. These are very expensive benefits and it is of the utmost importance that we find solutions to guarantee that the membership is looked after throughout their working careers and their retirement years. We must make certain that everyone is fully represented by examining every aspect of their various plans and that we hire and entrust the right professionals to do the job satisfactorily. Second opinions will be the order of the day so that we obtain the right results. However, in offering this as our goals and objectives it will be important that the membership is supportive of our approach and are behind our reform aspirations. It is imperative that the membership understand whether they have a defined benefit plan vs a defined contribution plan or an RRSP. We will need to educate everyone  in terms of what they will receive from their specific plan and make sure that expectations are not too high.

The challenge ahead for this union clearly is to protect what we have, reform it, and make sure that its functioning properly in order to satisfy all members. I won’t politic when it comes to peoples benefits. I’ll tell it like it is. And the current facts are not that positive. Interest rates have been falling steadily over the last few years, pension funds are not earning the returns that they have in the past which means that the future doesn’t look bright for them. Pension funds don’t bode well under conditions where interest rates are low and inflation is under control. That’s the bad news. The good news is that we will continue to concentrate on solutions and are committed to making the best decisions when it comes to our members futures. A key part of this equation is communications and you will see and hear more about these activities in the coming months as we disseminate information. Our web site, we hope, will be a method where members will be able to find out more about their status. More to come on these plans as they are developed.

It is important that we as a union continue on our path of growth in order to bring more strength and power to Local 938 and protect what we have. All of us need to be more politically active with our lobbying at the Provincial level in order to keep manufacturing jobs in Ontario. One of my major concerns is that statistics point out that our province lost 139,000 manufacturing jobs last year. This cannot continue if Ontario is to maintain its status as the economic engine of this country.

We are sadly saying bon voyage to three superb members of our executive board this year, Andy Persad, Wayne Gauthier and Ray Hill. All of them have made enormous contributions to the new Local 938 during our first term of office and I can’t thank them enough for their wisdom, guidance and friendship over these years. Ray will continue to work closely with me on all Local 938 issues until his retirement. Andy is making a career change and will become a teacher, a passion he has longed for. He will be a good one. Wayne will continue to work with us in a number of areas and is eager to support 938 wherever he can in the future. They say that any good manager or leader must be capable of planning the future and I am confident that my new executive team will help lead the way as we look to developing a 5-year plan. Bob Miles brings a work ethic second to none and is totally committed to this union and its members. He will make an excellent Secretary-Treasurer. Craig McInnes has always been the steady hand on the wheel and is well respected by the membership and his fellow business agents. A ‘go to” kind of  personality, Craig will serve his duties as Vice-President well. While Vince Johnson is new on the board he brings with him past experience as a trustee that will benefit all of us. Vince has the support and respect of his fellow workers at UPS and has really matured in the last few years in all union matters. Peter Burgess, Greg Worobets and Rose Demitro continue to provide their solid expertise and insight into the management of this local. As many of you know, Rose is currently fighting the battle of her life and we all are supporting this effort in every way we can. We look forward to having her back on the team as quickly as possible.

Yours in solidarity.

Larry McDonald, President,
Teamsters Local Union 938