Sunday, March 31, 2002
pictures of two birds/crows on top of street light...noticed them since yesterday. it snowed! wonder where they came from... just two of them... kawawa naman sila. looks like they are lost, they've been circling around those street lights and trees since yesterday afternoon. picture of snow...

you seem to love "watching" daddy play golf :) caddy ka lang... even sits down like an adult ... then turn your face away doing something else but when daddy stops playing, you immediately get him back..."what you doin?" ... one time he used a club that he uses like he palo first.. cant remember the name ... akala namin di mo nakikita. next time you hit the ball... exactly the way daddy did

...

Saturday, March 30, 2002
"akin" ... a new word from baby... !!!

new set of toys today... golf "lil pro", more of daddy's toys than baby's... who looks like he is the caddy. though firstt time he hit the ball with his iron club, he almost put it in the hole! sabi ni daddy, kasi yung iron talaga kailangan to hit it right :) so he took it from you and tried ... of course, malayo from the hole :) ... then you took it back from him... you don't want to share that one piece of club, you always give him the others... "akin"!

at the superstore, there was a little boy trying to get a yoyo from his brother... screaming too, as loud and as masakit to the ears as your screams... must be a phase you are going through. ...

Friday, March 29, 2002
...

Thursday, March 28, 2002
MCI wants incentives upgraded, union says
Winnipeg Free Press, Thursday, March 28th, 2002
By Helen Fallding

Motor Coach Industries officials told union leaders privately they were not satisfied with a government incentive offer to keep the bus manufacturer in Winnipeg, according to union representative Brian Short.

"They were not happy with what government had brought to the plate up until now," said the spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents about 1,000 of the company's 1,300 Winnipeg workers.

"I'm not surprised if they still don't have a deal with government."

Short said the company did not get into specifics, but he believes they were looking for more money than the $24 million already on the table.

"That was the impression that I certainly got."

Short had the conversation with company officials a couple of weeks ago, when negotiations on government incentives were on hold while Motor Coach resolved a bitter dispute with the union.

"Oh, man -- I'd like to see the company say what it wants to do and do it," Sean Odea said yesterday. He works at the MCI warehouse on St. Matthews Avenue.

Odea has spent 15 years with Motor Coach and had hoped the company would commit to Winnipeg after the workers accepted its last offer nearly a week ago.

"We need an answer," Odea added. "If it's going to be positive or negative, it won't be our fault. The union's done its part; it's up to the company now."

Talks between Motor Coach and the three levels of government resumed this week.

Premier Gary Doer repeated yesterday that the elements of an agreement are in place, but the province is continuing to negotiate "within those elements."

The province is believed to have offered Motor Coach a complex package including loans and training funds worth about $15 million -- if the company expands its Winnipeg workforce by consolidating North American operations here. The city has offered tax credits of about $1 million and Ottawa has put $8 million on the table.

Barry Melnkovic, Motor Coach's human resources vice-president, refused this week to say whether the company would ask for more money, but negotiators at all three levels of government say they are wrestling mainly with details.

"No one at any point has asked for more money," a federal spokesman said after Motor Coach managers talked with federal officials by phone yesterday.

The Illinois-based company owes Doer a huge debt after he helped persuade workers to reconsider a contract offer they had already rejected because it included major concessions.

Union members voted 65 per cent in favour of the deal last week.

Motor Coach has threatened for months to move to the U.S. unless it gets an acceptable incentive package and the concessions it now has from workers. ...

Wednesday, March 27, 2002
playing with the smaller but not too small lego pieces, you were looking at me and saying "ear, ear" ... and pretend to be placing a piece of lego (the smallest square one, as big as the one that went into the nose but this one is square, won't really go in) in your ear! ...

Tuesday, March 26, 2002
Motor Coach may go yet
Winnipeg Free Press, Tuesday, March 26th, 2002
By Helen Fallding and Federico Barahona

Motor Coach Industries will not make a final decision about staying in Winnipeg until the company finishes negotiating a government incentive package, a company vice-president said yesterday.

Yesterday, MCI workers returned to work for the first time after voting Friday to accept the company's last offer, which includes major contract concessions.

But the vote itself doesn't guarantee the future of the company's three Winnipeg bus manufacturing plants, according to human resources vice-president Barry Melnkovic, speaking from the company's Illinois head office.

Motor Coach could still consolidate its North American operations in a southern American state and put 1,300 Winnipeggers out of work if it doesn't get sufficient government incentives to expand here.

"We made clear what would happen -- we need the two," Melnkovic said, referring to a "yes" vote from the workers, and the government incentives.

That did not sit well with a number of MCI workers leaving the company's Fort Garry plant yesterday. Many said they want to hear MCI make a commitment.

"We gave them what they wanted; now it's time for them to make up their minds," said a worker at the Clarence Avenue plant.

"We got roasted with this vote," said Leslie Komzak, who has spent five-and-a-half years with the company and is leaving next month for a Calgary job. Komzak said at least two of his colleagues have also accepted offers from other companies.

"These people are money-grabbers," said employee Lee Turner, who has worked at Motor Coach for seven years.

"They're trying to get as much as they can," added employee Ron Klassen.

The three levels of government have offered $24 million worth of incentives if the company expands and creates new jobs here, but negotiations on that package were put on hold while Motor Coach played hardball with the union.

"We need to basically re-engage the process," Melnkovic said of negotiations with government. "We are looking forward to a good result."

Company officials have not decided whether the size of the package is acceptable, but they appreciate the co-ordinated efforts of the three levels of government, he said.

Provincial politicians refused to comment yesterday because of the ongoing negotiations, but their officials believe they are close to a deal. A meeting is expected to take place this week.

Russ Tychonick, the city's business liaison officer, said he spoke to Motor Coach officials yesterday and does not expect them to demand any more than the $1-million tax credit Mayor Glen Murray has put on the table.

The province's offer of about $15 million is believed to include loans and training funds, and Ottawa has put up $8 million.

Government talks could run MCI deal off the road
WebPosted Mar 26 2002 06:11 PM MST, CBC Winnipeg

When workers at Motor Coach Industries finally voted to accept the the company's final offer last Friday, company officials said MCI's future in Winnipeg was secure. But now, there are questions about whether it's a done deal. Those 1,300 may still be in doubt as the company negotiates with government on an incentive package.


The headlines blared "Bus Deal Done" the morning after MCI workers voted for a deal with the company. But Brian Short with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers knew the company wasn't satisfied with the $24 million offer from the three levels of government.

"They told us behind closed doors that they weren't happy with what government had brought to the table to date. So I'm not surprised," Short says.

"I guess it's [the premier's] turn to face that gun, and I guess it's my turn to say to Gary, "Say yes."

Premier Gary Doer had little to say about the negotiations Tuesday. "We're still working on it. They're making investments. We're making investments and the employees have made decisions."

Barry Melnkovic of MCI only had one comment: "We are simply looking to re-engage and move forward." Talks with government should begin again this week.
...

Monday, March 25, 2002
first time in 38 months i heard another mother express the same thoughts i have on motherhood... and guess who? si Celine Dion!! as a guest sa Oprah... should look for a transcript of that interview and preserve it :) ...
Doer trumps his critics on Motor Coach
Points scored by keeping jobs here outweigh complaints from unions
Winnipeg Free Press
Mon, Mar 25, 2002
By David Kuxhaus

It was seen by some as a gamble. Premier Gary Doer, a former union leader, tells workers at Motor Coach Industries to bite the bullet and accept a contract they initially rejected. It immediately raised the hackles of some prominent labour leaders.

Doer was accused by Paul Moist, president of Local 500, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, of undermining the collective bargaining process. Others talked about the danger of the premier picking sides in labour disputes and the precedents that could set.

But the odds appear to have been stacked in in Doer's favour.

"It really wasn't much of a gamble," said Allen Mills, a political science professor at the University of Winnipeg.

MCI had threatened to move south if employees didn't agree to terms allowing the company, among other things, to contract out work. The bus manufacturer said it couldn't make a profit without such concessions.

Workers initially voted to reject the deal. But after Doer's intervention, they voted 65 per cent in favour of the contract.

While there may be some legitimacy to labour's allegations, the reality is that they were trumped by 1,300 jobs and millions of dollars in economic spinoffs that come with MCI staying in town. Those numbers carry a lot of weight when it comes time to go to the polls.

There was a far greater downside for Doer had he not waded into the dispute

The NDP may have cut corporate income taxes, but for the most part the business community hasn't had much to cheer about. Just last week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business complained its members were still getting short shrift when it came to property tax relief.

Labour, on the other hand, has collected several plums during the NDP reign, the biggest being the passage of Bill 44, which, among other things makes it easier for unions to organize. By siding with MCI ownership, Doer scores points with the business community, perhaps lessening some of the pressure to deliver them some plums in next month's budget or favourable legislation in the upcoming session.

"You would expect him to take sides with labour and I think the fact that he didn't changes some assumptions about him," said pollster Scott McKay, head of Probe Research. "I'm sure the business community was pleasantly surprised by this."

In a broader sense, Doer can also be portrayed as a man of action who didn't sit idly by while jobs disappeared.

As for his political opponents, what potentially could have been an opportunity to make some inroads never materialized.

When he came out and publicly declared his bias towards the management offer, there was really little for the Tories to attack.

Yesterday, Tory labour critic Ron Schuler said his biggest problem is that Doer initially didn't take a stand. "We believe the premier left it too long," Schuler said. "It got him into brinkmanship politics. In the end, he had no choice, it had gone too far. By the time he got involved, it was almost too late."

As for the downside Doer faces, the militant left may choose to sit on the sidelines in the next election. However, it is a shrinking constituency and, after taking a public poke at Doer, most union leaders have already indicated they will be on his side. ...

Sunday, March 24, 2002
Picture of the backlane ... of ace against the growth chart... looks like almost 39 inches tall now.


Workforce on the Edge
Employees, families struggled with uncertainty, sleepless nights during Motor Coach Industries labour drams
Sunday, March 24th, 2002
CAROL SANDERS

Workers and their families at Motor Coach Industries have just spent a week living on the edge of economic uncertainty with the company threatening to leave if the union didn't bow to its wishes.

There were tears, anger, and sleepless nights worrying about the future -- as well as a stoic acceptance of whatever happens.

Two Winnipeg economists who've watched the Manitoba labour scene for decades say the MCI turmoil is part of a disturbing pattern of "economic dictatorship" that's turning us into the "Mexico of the North."

Reporter Carol Sanders spent time with Motor Coach workers and their families last week to talk about what the fate of the company here means to them.




* * *

Last year, Reid Furutani and his wife, Debbie, were on top of the world. They moved from St. Vital to a place in the country in August.

"This was our dream home," said Reid, a 36-year-old maintenance department worker at Motor Coach's Clarence Avenue plant.

Their Melrose Road home, a half-hour's drive northeast of the Perimeter, has snowmobiles parked out front and a gazebo off the deck.

On March 15, the foundation of their dream turned to quicksand when Motor Coach Industries issued its ultimatum to the workers --take the offer or we're leaving.

'Stressful'

Furutani called Debbie, at home with their three-year-old daughter Tiffanni, to give her the news.

"It's really stressful," said Debbie, 40, who works part-time as a bartender. "There's lots of stuff going on in my head," said the soft-spoken woman.

The couple has spent the last week mulling over their future and questioning their past, said Reid.

"Things aren't going that great --did we make the right move?"

Debbie said her daughter Maegan, 12, saw Reid's photo in the newspaper with a story about the MCI turmoil.

"She saw that and read it and the only comment she made is 'will we have to move?' I said 'No, I think we'll be OK.'"

She's doing well in school and thriving in their new home in the country, said Debbie.

"She comes home from school and hops on the quad or on her sled," said Debbie. "She's not hanging out in front of the 7-Eleven," adds Reid.

"We wanted to live in the country and have horses . . . hopefully we can still do that."

Reid said he voted yes to the company's final offer on Thursday.

"I hope the company does stay. I've been there 15 years." He doesn't feel threatened by contracting out, he said.

"In our department, we've been contracting out for years," he said. There's so much work to be done and not enough unionized staff to do it, he said.

Last week, that threat created a lot of tension on the assembly line during the two-day vote, he said.

"All up and down the line, people were screaming 'yes!' and 'no!'," he said. "I felt like I was in high school again," he said.

"The premier basically told people to vote yes, but people might vote the opposite just to spite that."

When the dust clears and he heads back to work tomorrow, he's not sure what to expect.

"It'll be very difficult if it goes 'no'," he said. "I just want to go back and do my job," he said.

"Our backs are up against the wall. They will move the plant without a doubt."

The couple is looking on the bright side.

"If anything, we'll be able to write a song out of this," laughed Reid, who plays drums in a country band called the Lyric Brothers that plays in nearby Beausejour. He said a George Thoroughgood tune comes to mind when he thinks about the events of the past week, only with different lyrics:

"Came to work last night about a half past 10, that security guard wouldn't let me in. They moved it on over."

Reid is hoping the band takes off, and can provide an extra economic cushion to the family. "We've got a CD coming out next week. We're doing a benefit concert this Sunday (March 24) for the legion."

If the plant closes, he may be able to find a job in the area and save $7,000 on commuting. In that case, they could get by if he found a $15 an hour job. Debbie hopes to one day return to office work full time. In the meantime, they have people in their corner.

"My parents have been very supportive," he said. "But they're very concerned about my employment situation. Either way, I've assured them everything is going to be OK -- and it will."



* * *
Joanna Byrnes, whose husband Sean Odea works at the MCI warehouse on St. Matthews, has been sleeping little and writing and talking lots.

"We were working on our house to improve it, now we're working on our house to sell it. Thank God we don't have kids," she said. The couple in their 30s bought a modest home in St. James two years ago.

Sean supported Joanna while she went back to school to get a diploma in electronics technology, then Sean planned to attend night school this fall.

Now, they're sitting in limbo -- not sure where they're going, only that they've hit a major detour.

"This affects me directly and I'm not going down without somebody knowing what's going on," said Joanna, drinking black coffee at a west end restaurant frequented by workers at the MCI warehouse across the street on St. Matthews.

While Sean is soft-spoken and keeps his thoughts to himself, her way of coping is by "table-pounding," she joked during a rare lighter moment last week.

A cloud of doom hovers over employees regardless of the vote's outcome, she said. Without assurances from the company that it won't replace unionized workers with lower-paid, non-unionized ones, the employees were in a no-win situation.

"He's damned if he voted yes and damned if he voted no. It's a raw deal either way," she said.

"It's so distressing. I get up every morning, drive my husband to work, read the paper and look for a job and see what things are being said (about MCI and the union)." The pressure to find work was just turned up a notch.

They may have to leave the city, she said.

"I like Winnipeg, but I'm still young and adventurous enough to handle the change. If Motor Coach leaves, there's not much left for us."

She won't go softly, though.

The whole story is not being told and the union is being painted as the bad guy in the labour dispute, she said. Many in the mostly male workforce won't talk about it, she said.

"These guys have resigned themselves to being reduced to sound bites and vilified in Winnipeg by people who are not aware of the bad faith bargaining."

The way the story was played made the unionized workers look like selfish, spoiled children, she said.

"My dad called and asked me 'Is your husband an idiot?' Friends and family called -- it's so distressing," she said.

She blames the media for reporting that the union rejected the company's final offer over trivial items like paid birthdays off and ignored the heart of the matter --contracting in and out that would allow MCI to build buses with cheaper, non-union labour.

"If I don't say anything, how can I sleep at night? Nobody's spoken about all the issues."

The premier and the NDP government have abandoned the workers, she said.

"MCI is making the government dance. Where's all the NDP labour spirit? Look at the big picture. If you back down, what does this mean to labour in Manitoba? Unions were invented for times like these."

Sean Odea moved to the city from rural Manitoba and started at Motor Coach May 4, 1987. Single and just 20, he was making pretty decent money -- $9.33 an hour.

"I'd never seen anything close to that," he said.

Now, the $19-an-hour warehouse worker with 15 years at the company has no idea where he'll be in 15 months.

Without more education, he can't see earning that kind of wage anywhere else. Odea said the last week that if the company stays, his position will likely be one of the first to go anyway as the company contracts out more of its operation.

"That guts the union anyway."

He was planning to vote yes, regardless, hoping it might buy him more time to shift career gears. Others in the same boat would vote no on principle, he said.

"I'm not even going to make a prediction."



* * *
Some economists say the province's bowing to the U.S. company's threats are ushering in a dark era.

"Slicksters from New York City are making hicksters out of Manitoba political leaders," said economist John Godard, an industrial relations professor at the University of Manitoba.

The company's ultimatum and the government's endorsement of it are turning Manitoba into "the Mexico of the North," he said.

"It's a dark time for this province and this city. It's a turning point. Any aspirations we've had for a high-skilled, high-quality economy" are being replaced by "a low-skill, low-pay strategy," said Godard.

"By allowing MCI to get away with this, it pushes us in this direction."

Cy Gonick, a retired University of Manitoba economics professor, agrees.

"It's part of a longer term pattern," he said, pointing to the meat packing industry in Manitoba. At one time, it had one of the strongest unions and best contracts in the province, he said.

"There was a major confrontation years back similar to what's happened here (at Motor Coach). The union was defeated after it gave similar concessions. Years later we have situation in Brandon (at Maple Leaf Foods meat packing plant) where workers are making not much better than minimum wage without the same protections."

With the North American Free Trade Agreement, large corporations are much more mobile than in the past, said Gonick. They're using the threat of moving to demand that workers give up job security, wages and benefits.

Companies can shop around for tax incentives and grants, as well. Motor Coach has been offered a $20-million package by the three levels of government to stay in Winnipeg. Gonick recalled Winnipeg businessman John Buhler's threats to move the last tractor factory in Canada to Fargo, N.D., during a nine-month labour dispute after collecting $32 million in unsecured loans from Ottawa. Today, the plant is still here, but with less than half the staff there was when 225 employees in the Canadian Auto Workers union there went on strike back in November 2000. The company settled with the union last summer and agreed to buy those workers out.

"It's part of that same pattern. It's very unfortunate that the province and the premier encouraged (MCI workers) to have a revote . . . . Given terms they were offered, it's a total defeat for the workers."

"Only a short time ago, Mr. Buhler was threatening to leave the province with massive government grants . . . . Who's to say after five years (MCI) couldn't walk away and take their capital and equipment with them without any penalties? It's a total betrayal of taxpayers and the community. It's quite shocking," said Gonick.

"We have a fragile and vulnerable economy and we're being completely held hostage by MCI where they can ask for whatever they want," said Godard, who thinks it's no coincidence that the company's threatening to leave around the anticipated time of the next provincial election.

"If (MCI workers) accept this offer, it'll be the darkest day since I moved to Manitoba in 1962," said Godard.

"Workers have a lot to fear," he said.

The company would have to know its workforce and morale would be "torn apart" by the ultimatum, he said. "I can't imagine they have any intention of keeping the workers." A no vote would have preserved more jobs than accepting the company's final offer, he said.

If it is such a pivotal part of the Manitoba economy, then perhaps the community should have a stake in it, said Godard.

"In a way everybody is affected," said Gonick. "If MCI gets away with this, other companies will feel that they can threaten employees and communities with plant closures. If people don't come to their senses, they could be next."

"No doubt this is a major loss and it's an affront, to my mind, of our democratic principles. Corporations have this kind of power over people -- it's an economic dictatorship. We fought wars against this kind of dictatorship." This fight requires a different strategy, with coalitions of communities, workers, consumers and taxpayers uniting to demand that companies and governments be held accountable, he said.

"It's possible, if you've been taken to the cleaners as many times as we have, you'll smarten up and clean up your act."

Economist John McCallum said he thinks the Motor Coach situation is unique and in no way a harbinger of dark days for the province.

"I think Manitoba is a very sophisticated modern economy and it is diversified and in a number of areas it is globally competitive. This Motor Coach Industries situation is a special situation," he said.

"(It) is a consequence of a company with serious difficulties and major options and an industry that has been greatly affected by overcapacity and rocked by Sept 11. All of that has come together to create what we have going on today," said McCallum

"Companies have to make the numbers work."

He said he believes Doer was right and had an obligation to get involved and call for another vote on the company's final offer.

"He represents not only MCI workers who are Manitoba citizens but he also represents potential MCI workers of the future who don't have their jobs at MCI yet and non-unionized workers who need someone to speak for them and all kinds of people who provide services for MCI," said McCallum.

"It would be a dark day if we lose MCI. We will lose more than just 1,500 jobs. We will lose jobs in a whole bunch of spin offs.

"There is a lot of life and vitality and freedom and just terrific things about the Manitoba economy. I think anybody that painted a bleak picture of our future based on this one incident is way, way off the mark -- whichever way it goes."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
...
Must be why I was so nervous last friday

Mar 24, 2002
MCI mending fences
Confident of end to high tempers, low morale
By DAVID SCHMEICHEL -- Staff Reporter, Winnipeg Sun

After weeks spent divided over a controversial contract vote, employees at Motor Coach Industries are confident they'll soon be seeing eye-to-eye again.

"Definitely, time will take care of that, and now it's going to settle down pretty quickly," said employee Bill Johnston. "There's still going to be underlying tensions between employees, but I think most people are going to be willing to put things behind them."

Johnston said tempers ran high at MCI's Fort Garry plant last week as workers clashed with each other over the latest collective agreement tabled by the company.

Members of the workers' union rejected the agreement two weeks ago, claiming they'd rather be unemployed than at the mercy of MCI's contracting-out clauses.

'BATTLE LINES DRAWN'

But when the company -- and some employees -- called for a secret ballot re-vote, battle lines were drawn.

"It's just been insane with the amount of tension," Johnston said. "One person saying, 'Why should we vote again?' the other person saying, `Why not have a re-vote?' ... there's been next to no morale."

Even non-union employees got caught up in the struggle, he said.

"Before, you'd see the (non-union) office staff walking around the plant, and they'd smile, and be pleasant," he said. "But now, everybody's straightforward, and nobody's very pleasant."

And now that employees have voted to accept the company's offer, Johnston feels it won't be long before things return to normal.

Worker Rod Plant agreed, noting the climate at MCI's St. Matthews plant was never as heated as it was in Fort Garry.

"At the St. Matthews plant it's been a lot different ... there hasn't been much of a problem at all," he said. "But there was a pretty big split at Fort Garry ... there's a lot of hard-headed people out there."

After revealing the results of the latest vote, MCI officials pledged to help embattled employees through the "healing process" necessary to mend any rifts.

"We're going to go through the different steps that we feel need to happen to help get that started," said MCI senior vice-president of operations Sam St. Amour.

"We plan on bringing in some of those folks we know are struggling with the process, and ... hopefully they'll join us in those projects and programs.

"By 2009, and way before that, we're going to be such a much better company and a much better team."
...

Saturday, March 23, 2002
went to visit nanay tonight ... picture of ace in tiger bath towel


MCI workers accept deal to keep jobs in Winnipeg
Canadian Press
Saturday, March 23, 2002

WINNIPEG -- Faced with losing their jobs, workers at Motor Coach Industries International have overwhelmingly accepted a final contract offer they rejected almost two weeks ago.

The decision means the company will consolidate much of its manufacturing operation in Winnipeg, moving work from plants in Mexico and Pembina, N.D., said senior vice-president Sam St. Amour.

He said it should help the company turn around several years of poor financial results.

"We really think we can become world class, do things a heck of a lot smarter maybe than we do them today, and that will certainly give us an opportunity to be profitable," said St. Amour.

Accepting the concessions the company was seeking, however, was a painful decision for workers, said a union spokesman.

Brian Short, of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said Friday night the 1,300 Manitoba workers had a gun pointed at their heads.

"That's exactly what this employer did, he put a gun to their head and held their jobs up for ransom," said Short.

Workers voted 673 in favour of accepting the contract and 357 against. About 92 per cent of eligible voters turned out for the two-day vote

Had they rejected the deal again, the American-owned company said it would close its Manitoba plants in 2003 and move its main manufacturing operation somewhere to the southern United States.

"Out of those 673 there's a lot of people who didn't vote for the deal, they voted for a job," Short said.

The deal freezes wages when the current contract expires in 2003 until 2006, then raises them just by just 40 cents an hour through 2009. Current employees will continue to earn more than $20 an hour, however, while new employees will start at just $11.50 an hour.

Three levels of government have also put a $20-million package of incentives on the table to keep the company in Winnipeg, where it started more than 70 years ago.

It's now the largest manufacturer of inter-city buses in North America but it's owned by the New York-based investment company Joseph Littlejohn & Levy.

St. Amour said Motor Coach will be sitting down next week to conclude negotiations with the three levels of government on the incentive package.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer had urged the workers to reconsider their decision to reject the contract and he was criticized for meddling.

Doer was once president of the Manitoba Government Employees Union.

But speaking Friday night by phone from Los Angeles where he is promoting Manitoba's film industry, he said he had to save an important part of the provincial economy.

"It's important I think for the premier to roll up his sleeves and get his hands a little dirty. With that goes some criticism -- I accept that," he said.

Although the deal only guarantees the company will remain through 2009, Doer said he doesn't see Motor Coach moving. He noted the company plans to move manufacture of its new bus platform to Manitoba.

"That's a big investment and it's not one that will be able to be moved easily out of Winnipeg."

Motor Coach is also seeking concessions from workers at its plant in Pembina, N.D.

While it will lose some work to Winnipeg, St. Amour said the plant would be kept open to make a commuter bus for the eastern United States if the employees there accept proposed wage cuts.

Otherwise, he said the company will move that work somewhere else in the United States. Because of American-content rules for the buses, they must be finished south of the border.

The Mexican plant also may be kept open but only to serve the domestic market, he added.

© Copyright 2002 Canadian Press

...

Friday, March 22, 2002
Let's pray for the best and be sure to be ready for whatever happens next...

MCI workers accept final contract offer
WebPosted Mar 22 2002 08:49 PM MST
Winnipeg , CBC News

Sixty-four per cent of Motor Coach Industries employees voted in favour of accepting the company's final contract offer in a re-vote on Thursday and Friday.

MCI management had said they would close the company's three Winnipeg plants by the fall of 2003 – putting 1,300 people out of work – if the employees voted against the deal in the re-vote, which was supervised by the Manitoba Labour Board.

In a March 10 ballot, the union voted by a three-to-four margin against the deal, which includes a wage freeze for three years, then an increase of 40 cents per hour for the following three years. It also introduces a two-tier wage scale for new employees and allows more contracting-out of work.

The second time around, thirty-four per cent of the workers – members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers – voted against the offer. Two per cent of the ballots were spoiled.

A whopping 92 per cent of eligible voters took part in the re-vote – much higher than the turnout for the first vote.

...
You like taking the comforter from the bedroom and bring it out in the living room and pretend to sleep on the floor ... this morning, i told you to take it back inside the room cause daddy needs it... when daddy came out, he said he felt you take the comforter out... and felt the knitted blanket placed on top of him... you lifted his pillow (he puts one on his face when he sleeps) and gave him a kiss... pinagalitan ko pa naman... sorry ha. i didn't know you gave daddy another blanket.

once again, i had this feeling that something really bad is going to happen. i've ignored it thelast time and it lead us to the emergency room with that lego on your nose. so i asked daddy if he can stay home, cause i am really nervous. he said no, he needs to go. ok... then i told him, just make sure he doesn't get into a fight. and he decided to stay home. and now actually he is really sick... feels like going to have the flu. ...
Clock ticks down on MCI vote
By WENDY STEPHENSON, Winnipeg Sun

As the clock ticked yesterday toward the beginning of the secret vote that will determine the fate of Motor Coach Industries, union representative Brian Short said he had no doubt the result will be a "true reflection" of the membership's wishes.

"All I want is for that to come out," Short told The Sun.

MCI has said it will pull up stakes and move its factory to the States if workers don't vote in favour of the company's last contract proposal that would freeze wages until 2006.

The Manitoba Labour Board was to begin supervising the vote at 10:30 p.m. last night. It's expected the results will be available within a couple of hours of the vote winding up at 6:30 p.m. today.

MCI employee Ken Porter, who voted against the company proposal on the first vote earlier this month, said he wasn't sure how he would vote this time.

"I can be a hard ass, but I do have a soft side. I realize I'm potentially putting people out of work," he said. "There are a lot of husbands and wives, family members who work here. There are also some workers who don't have Grade 12, and they're older. I'd feel bad for these people."

He said he voted against the company proposal the first time because he didn't worry about the factory closing. He wants to go back to school, and he would qualify for assistance from Employment Insurance to go to school if he were laid off.

"I'd get 55% of my wage at Motor Coach, or up to $1,500 a month for the first nine months," he said, adding he'd get paid a lesser amount for the duration of the two-year course.

But even if he doesn't vote against the company offer, he said he can't vote for it either because he still disagrees with much of it.

"I might destroy my ballot. I really haven't made up my mind."

A warehouse worker, who didn't want his name used because of the rising tension among unionized MCI employees, said some people have almost got into fist fights on the job.

"It could be a close vote. I've got a feeling it'll be accepted, but I'm sticking to my initial position -- no," he said. "This is corporate terrorism. And if the NDP comes knocking on my door, I'll tell them where to go."

He said Premier Gary Doer should not have become involved in the dispute by urging workers to vote for the company contract.
...

Thursday, March 21, 2002
before it was just the tshirts... then pajama... tonight, the boxer... and this time, even hanged it in the hand rail in the tubwall... like mommy... hope i can get you to do the laundry when you're older :) ...
1,300 jobs hinge on vote
Motor Coach workers learn fate tomorrow
Winnipeg Free Press
Thursday, March 21st, 2002

By Paul McKie, Helen Fallding and Federico Barahona

Motor Coach Industries workers begin a revote tonight on the company's take-it-or-we'll-leave contract, as a nervous city looks on.

A 'yes' vote means MCI and the jobs stay. 'No' shuts three city plants next year, with the direct loss of 1,300 jobs and possibly the indirect loss of thousands of other jobs at Manitoba firms that supply the bus manufacturer.

Round-the-clock voting on MCI's contract offer, which workers rejected earlier this month, begins this evening and ends at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow.

"It was just a scare tactic. But unfortunately it worked -- they're getting their vote," said Cecil McTavish, president of the International Association of Machinists local.

They're also getting encouragement from Premier Gary Doer to vote for the company's deal this time.

"I'm recommending that the union membership seriously look positively at the proposal," he said. "My personal view is that it's better to have the plant and jobs stay in Manitoba."

A groundswell of support among the rank and file has forced this unusual revote on the company proposal. Voting will take place at the three MCI locations.

The Manitoba Labour Board will supervise the vote --a condition MCI demanded for a new vote. Board officers will be at each polling area, as well as a union scrutineer.

(The company doesn't get a scrutineer because the vote is technically an internal union matter.) The board expects that counting ballots will take at least two hours. Employees can vote only at the plant where they work.

They must bring identification. Neither the company nor the International Association of Machinists will hold meetings with employees explaining the proposal or the vote. However, a fact sheet agreed upon by both sides will be provided to employees when they go to vote.

Machinists representative Brian Short said the union will not make a recommendation on the proposal to its members.

"We're just hoping that our members will make their own educated decision ... based on their own best interests," said Short.

Union members will decide on the identical offer a majority of the workers declined on March 10 by a margin of 57 per cent. MCI announced last week that it was pulling out of Manitoba unless there was a revote. The company was critical of voter turnout -- about 770 people voted -- and the union's interpretation of the offer.

Disaffected union members began a petition this week that collected as many as 700 employee names urging a revote. Then Doer stepped in and urged the union to have the revote.

The union's acceptance of a revote is a complete reversal of its position that the March 10 vote was definitive. McTavish, who had not yet seen any petition, doubted the support for a revote. But he was concerned about the future of his union.

"I'm a little upset," said McTavish yesterday.

Feedback

Short said the union agreed to the revote based on feedback from the membership. He wouldn't comment on the number of signatures or a specific threshold.

Observers say Doer is helping Short save face among Motor Coach workers by recommending acceptance of a deal the union leader cannot publicly endorse. Certainly, McTavish wasn't happy about the revote or life at the plant if the employees approved the company deal.

"They're going to have to live with what's in there," said McTavish.

Yesterday, many MCI workers leaving the Clarence Avenue plant in Fort Garry said they would take advantage of the revote -- but to reject the company's last offer, again.

"I'm all for a revote because it'll make things clearer," said Lee Turner, who has worked for Motor Coach for the past seven years. "But I'm still voting no."

Others said they were unhappy their union had been pressured into a revote by the province and MCI.

"I can hardly wait to vote for Doer again, so I can change my vote," said Roger Tomchuk as he drove away in a green 4x4.

"It's stupid, we've already voted once," added James Sagert, an eight-year veteran of MCI. "It's starting to look like the U.S. election."

Sagert, who voted no last week, said he was planning to reject the offer again.

"What's changed? If they want to go, they should go."

"I'm not happy about it," added Shane Adrianssens. "We've made our decision already."

Adrianssens also vowed to vote against the company's last offer.

"We're losing our sick day, new guys starting here would be making as much as a guy flipping burgers," he said. "We'd be losing our dignity."

Sagert said the one reason he was happy about the revote was that voter turnout would be higher the second time around.

"At least everyone will be present this time around," said Sagert. "There's a lot of people saying yes because they're afraid of losing their jobs -- it's going to be close."

Other workers said they were under the impression the revote would be on a different offer.

'Vote no'

"What? Then I'll vote no again," said Leslie Komzak, who has spent five and half years with the company. "I'd heard they were taking things off the contract."

Donald Saunders, who has spent 29 years with MCI, said he'd vote yes.

"I want to keep the company in Winnipeg," said Saunders.

As of late yesterday, no information on MCI's letter of intent had been posted in the plant, workers said.

MCI issued that letter of intent late Tuesday -- a result of the company and union meeting with Doer on Tuesday. Short said the union didn't receive the letter until yesterday during the meeting at the labour board.

The letter restates -- often word for word -- clauses in the company's proposal, which was distributed to employees more than a week ago.

"I'm not surprised by it," said Short. "It does not change their offer or their position."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bus firm's contracting commitment


Text of MCI's letter about a controversial contracting issue:

Motor Coach Industries in committing its future to Winnipeg, will invest in employee skills and training to develop to a highly skilled, flexible internal workforce. The vision is to continuously improve our world class products and world class workforce to ensure MCI's leadership position in the marketplace.

To that end MCI commits to the following:

MCI will not use its rights to contract in or contract out for the purpose of eliminating the union as the designated bargaining agent.

MCI will notify the union five (5) calendar days in advance of contracting in or contracting out when it is practical to do so, to permit the union to express any concerns or to propose viable alternatives.

MCI will not use its rights to contract in or contract out for the purpose of converting the full-time workforce to a part-time workforce.

MCI will not use its rights to contract in or contract out for the purpose of permanently reducing the number of hours in a normal work week.

MCI will not use its rights to contract in or contract out for the purpose of denying Bargaining Unit Employees fringe benefits based upon hours worked.
The common thread is to improve our customer focus and grow MCI for the future within Manitoba.
...

Wednesday, March 20, 2002
...

Tuesday, March 19, 2002
tamad palang pumunta sa wr ito kaya nagsusuot ng pullups... ayaw maistorbo to go .... a step back ...

Monday, March 18, 2002
Now I know what I dread about the uncertainty of daddy's job. Knowing that I will be spending more time away from you soon. I don't think I am ready to do that right now... not yet.

Watching Me Go
By Diane Tullson

The crayoned picture shows a first-grade boy with shoebox arms, stovepipe legs and tears squirting like melon seeds. The carefully printed caption reads, "I am so sad." It is my son Brendan's drawing-journal entry for September 19. Brendan cried his first day of school, dissolving at his classroom door like a human bullion cube. The classroom jiggled with small faces, wet-combed hair, white Nikes and new backpacks. Something furry scuttled around in a big wire cage. Garden flowers rested on Mrs. Phillip's desk. Mrs. Phillips has halo status at our school. She is a kind, soft-spoken master of the six-year-old mind. But even she could not coax Brendan to a seat. Most sat eagerly awaiting Dick and Jane and two plus two. Not my Brendan. His eyes streamed, his nose ran and he clung to me like a snail on a strawberry. I plucked him off and escaped.

It wasn't that Brendan didn't like school. He was the kid at the preschool Christmas concert who knew everyone's part and who preformed "Jingle Bells" with operatic passion. Brendan just didn't like being apart from me. We'd had some good times, he and I, in those preschool years. We played at the pool. We skated on quiet morning ice. We sampled half the treat tray at weekly neighborhood coffee parties. Our time together wasn't exactly material for a picture book, but it was time together. And time moves differently for a child.

Now in the first grade, Brendan was faced with five hours of wondering what I was doing with my day. Brendan always came home for lunch, the only one of his class not to eat at his desk. But once home, fed and hugged, a faraway look of longing would crease his gentle brow – he wanted to go back to school to play! So I walked him back, waited with him until he spotted someone he knew, then left. He told me once that he watched until he couldn't see me anymore, so I always walked fast and never looked back. One day when I took Brendan back after lunch, he spied a friend, kissed me good-bye and scampered right off. I went, feeling pleased for him, celebrating his new independence, his entry into the first-grade social loop. And I felt pleased for myself, a sense of well-being and accomplishment that I, too, had entered into the mystic circle of parents whose children separated easily.

Then – I don't know why – I glanced back. And there he was. The playground buzzed all around him, kids everywhere, and he stood, his chin tucked close, his body held small, his face intent but not sad, blowing me kisses. So brave, so unashamed, so completely loving, Brendan was watching me go.

No book on mothering could have prepared me for that quick, raw glimpse into my child's soul. My mind leaped fifteen years ahead to him packing boxes and his dog grown old and him saying, "Dry up, Mom. It's not like I'm leaving the country." In my mind, I tore up the card every mother signs saying she'll let her child go when he's ready. I looked at Brendan, his shirt tucked in, every button done up, his toes just turned in a bit, and I thought, Okay, you're six for me forever. Just try to grow up, I dare you. With a smile I had to really dig for, I blew him a kiss, turned and walked away. ...

Sunday, March 17, 2002
visit nanay yesterday
...

Friday, March 15, 2002
when you woke up, you didn't see daddy agad. only when you went back in to get your nine-nines (a loonie and a twonie). Then said, "look at that! daddy's home!"

mci decision out today ...

Thursday, March 14, 2002
the potty saga... all set with the peepee part. no accidents, not even in bed. just the poop part... now you get your own pullups if you are going to ... then after throw it out and ask me to wash you with water. but today, attempted to sit there yourself. not successful though... napigilan. so ok lang, slowly but surely. i didn't expect you to have control with your bladder this well so soon. just about two weeks.. then all of a sudden, well controlled agad.

really tried hard to wait for daddy tonight, but fell asleep before he got home. ...

Wednesday, March 13, 2002
...

Tuesday, March 12, 2002
...

Monday, March 11, 2002
ate, kuya, tita se and tito mac's visit... ...

Sunday, March 10, 2002
mci vote ....

jeanelle goes home today. ...

Saturday, March 09, 2002
mine! everything right now is "mine"! ... keys, newspaper, toys... kahit i just want to hold on to it cause its going to get wet... mine! ...

Friday, March 08, 2002
picture wearing mom's jacket and shoes

woke up this morning. turned on the lights. pp ... off we go... no crying... ...

Thursday, March 07, 2002
...

Wednesday, March 06, 2002
...
ok, this time,you sat down and said "water" ... i know you meant pee... (kasi if you want to drink you'll say mamam) so you went with daddy. kaso ayaw mo ibukas ang mata mo, you were really sleepy going to the washroom, matutumba ka while doing it... but i guess nakuha mo na rin ang idea. ...

Tuesday, March 05, 2002
kept waking up cause you ve trained your bladder not to pee outside the washroom ... problemlang you don't wnat to get up. or don't know you have to get up. took you twice and then ok na... ...

Monday, March 04, 2002
ate's visit ...

Sunday, March 03, 2002
Jeanelle Megan born today!

--------
"i help you" ... while assembling recumbent exercycle ...

Saturday, March 02, 2002
no leaks ...! ...

Friday, March 01, 2002
havent taken him to the washroom today... siya na palagi pumupunta on his own. i think he finally got the idea! ...