Hamilton, Ont. (170 plant and maintenance employees) and United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers Intl. Union (USW), Local 4752
Renewal agreement: Effective April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2019. Signed on March 18, 2016.
Wage adjustments:
COLA allowance: For each 0.3 increase to the CPI (1971=100), $0.01 per hour will be paid.
Shift premium: Turn premium: $0.50 per hour for all work beginning between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.; $0.55 per hour for all work beginning between 10 p.m. and midnight; $0.50 per hour for last 4 hours of a 12-hour day shift; $0.50 per hour for first 4 hours on a 12-hour night shift; $0.55 per hour for last 8 hours of a 12-hour night shift. $1.25 per hour for all shifts began on Sunday. $1 per hour for all shifts began on Saturday.
Paid holidays: 11 days.
Vacations with pay: 2 weeks or 4% to start, 3 weeks or 6% after 5 years, 4 weeks or 8% after 9 years, 5 weeks or 10% after 14 years, 6 weeks or 12% after 22 years, 7 weeks or 14% after 30 years.
Meal allowance: $8.50 for working more than 3 hours of overtime.
Medical benefits: Drugs and medicines: smoking cessation drugs, maximum $400 lifetime per person; erectile-dysfunction drugs, maximum $1,000 per person per year.
Dental: Coverage for removable appliances: 80%, maximum $1,500 per person per year. Coverage for major services such as crowns, inlays, on-lays, fixed bridgework: 100%, maximum $2,000 per person per year. Orthodontic: 60% coverage, maximum $1,500 lifetime.
Vision: $100 per eye for glasses or contact lenses. $300 for optical surgery.
Paramedical: $500 per person per year for chiropractor, osteopath, naturopath, podiatrist, physiotherapist, speech therapist, masseur. Maximum $200 per year for surgery performed by a podiatrist.
Weekly indemnity: 70% of one job rate lower than employers times 40 hours per week, maximum 52 weeks.
LTD: $1,000 per month, after weekly indemnity payments cease.
AD&D: $10,000 coverage.
Life insurance: $30,000 coverage.
Pension: Pension Plan for Bargaining Unit Employees of Hamilton Specialty Bar (2007).
Bereavement leave: 40 or 48 scheduled hours for death in immediate family (spouse, common-law spouse, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law). 24 or 36 scheduled hours for death in extended family (son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, stepmother, stepfather, stepchild, sister-in-law, brother-in-law).
Seniority – recall rights: Minimum 20 months, maximum 48 months based on employee’s seniority.
Call-in pay: Minimum 4 hours’ pay.
Probationary period: 90 days, 180 days for a student employee.
Discipline: Sunset clause is 15 months.
Safety shoes: Employer will pay for 1 pair of boots with metatarsal protection from approved supplier. Employer will provide 25% discount from approved supplier for 1 pair of regular safety boots. Employer will reimburse $25 if employee buys from non-approved supplier.
Uniforms/clothing: Employer will allow melt-shop employees, scarfers, welders, rolling mill employees to purchase flame-retardant pants at approved supplier, maximum 3 pairs. Employer will provide fire-retardant jackets, leggings, gloves, face shields. Employer will provide 1 pair of work gloves per week for maintenance personnel. Employer will provided roof and ladle builders and helpers with leather-faced work gloves. Employer will provide coveralls for maintenance personnel. Employer will provide arc-flash protection for industrial electricians.
Sample rates of hourly pay (current):
Labour: $23.40
Utility tech: $24.18
Service tech: $24.97
Operating tech 1: $25.76
Operating tech 2: $26.15
Maint. tech: $27.34
Sr. oper. tech: $27.34
Sr. maint. tech: $27.93
Editor’s notes: Humanity fund: The employer will deduct $0.01 per hour Steelworkers Humanity Fund. Emergency shifts: An employee may be required to work past scheduled hours if an emergency situation arises: major mechanical or electrical breakdown; unforeseen events such as fire, flood, accident, injury; when the safety of an employee is in jeopardy; hot spots appearing in furnaces, ladles or tundish; urgent repair work to plant or equipment (applies to maintenance personnel only); natural disasters; act of God; furnace, ladle & tundish boiler plate failure; caster or strand breakouts. Income sharing fund: 5% of the employer’s EBITDA will be paid out in lump sums. Hearing aids: $1,000 every 2 years.
Wage adjustments:
COLA allowance: For each 0.3 increase to the CPI (1971=100), $0.01 per hour will be paid.
Shift premium: Turn premium: $0.50 per hour for all work beginning between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.; $0.55 per hour for all work beginning between 10 p.m. and midnight; $0.50 per hour for last 4 hours of a 12-hour day shift; $0.50 per hour for first 4 hours on a 12-hour night shift; $0.55 per hour for last 8 hours of a 12-hour night shift. $1.25 per hour for all shifts began on Sunday. $1 per hour for all shifts began on Saturday.
Paid holidays: 11 days.
Vacations with pay: 2 weeks or 4% to start, 3 weeks or 6% after 5 years, 4 weeks or 8% after 9 years, 5 weeks or 10% after 14 years, 6 weeks or 12% after 22 years, 7 weeks or 14% after 30 years.
Meal allowance: $8.50 for working more than 3 hours of overtime.
Medical benefits: Drugs and medicines: smoking cessation drugs, maximum $400 lifetime per person; erectile-dysfunction drugs, maximum $1,000 per person per year.
Dental: Coverage for removable appliances: 80%, maximum $1,500 per person per year. Coverage for major services such as crowns, inlays, on-lays, fixed bridgework: 100%, maximum $2,000 per person per year. Orthodontic: 60% coverage, maximum $1,500 lifetime.
Vision: $100 per eye for glasses or contact lenses. $300 for optical surgery.
Paramedical: $500 per person per year for chiropractor, osteopath, naturopath, podiatrist, physiotherapist, speech therapist, masseur. Maximum $200 per year for surgery performed by a podiatrist.
Weekly indemnity: 70% of one job rate lower than employers times 40 hours per week, maximum 52 weeks.
LTD: $1,000 per month, after weekly indemnity payments cease.
AD&D: $10,000 coverage.
Life insurance: $30,000 coverage.
Pension: Pension Plan for Bargaining Unit Employees of Hamilton Specialty Bar (2007).
Bereavement leave: 40 or 48 scheduled hours for death in immediate family (spouse, common-law spouse, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law). 24 or 36 scheduled hours for death in extended family (son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, stepmother, stepfather, stepchild, sister-in-law, brother-in-law).
Seniority – recall rights: Minimum 20 months, maximum 48 months based on employee’s seniority.
Call-in pay: Minimum 4 hours’ pay.
Probationary period: 90 days, 180 days for a student employee.
Discipline: Sunset clause is 15 months.
Safety shoes: Employer will pay for 1 pair of boots with metatarsal protection from approved supplier. Employer will provide 25% discount from approved supplier for 1 pair of regular safety boots. Employer will reimburse $25 if employee buys from non-approved supplier.
Uniforms/clothing: Employer will allow melt-shop employees, scarfers, welders, rolling mill employees to purchase flame-retardant pants at approved supplier, maximum 3 pairs. Employer will provide fire-retardant jackets, leggings, gloves, face shields. Employer will provide 1 pair of work gloves per week for maintenance personnel. Employer will provided roof and ladle builders and helpers with leather-faced work gloves. Employer will provide coveralls for maintenance personnel. Employer will provide arc-flash protection for industrial electricians.
Sample rates of hourly pay (current):
Labour: $23.40
Utility tech: $24.18
Service tech: $24.97
Operating tech 1: $25.76
Operating tech 2: $26.15
Maint. tech: $27.34
Sr. oper. tech: $27.34
Sr. maint. tech: $27.93
Editor’s notes: Humanity fund: The employer will deduct $0.01 per hour Steelworkers Humanity Fund. Emergency shifts: An employee may be required to work past scheduled hours if an emergency situation arises: major mechanical or electrical breakdown; unforeseen events such as fire, flood, accident, injury; when the safety of an employee is in jeopardy; hot spots appearing in furnaces, ladles or tundish; urgent repair work to plant or equipment (applies to maintenance personnel only); natural disasters; act of God; furnace, ladle & tundish boiler plate failure; caster or strand breakouts. Income sharing fund: 5% of the employer’s EBITDA will be paid out in lump sums. Hearing aids: $1,000 every 2 years.
