By: Tim Hauck

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

I hope all is well. I want to start out by wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As Christmas approaches quickly, it seems that there’s never enough time to get everything done. With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season upon us, make sure that you take time for what’s important, spending time with family and friends.

Please remember, if you find yourself somewhere, and you’ve had a little too much Christmas cheer, find yourself a designated driver and make it home safely.

Our Unit Chairman, Will Oginsky, and I recently had an opportunity to volunteer in “Operation Good Cheer” this year. It gives me a good feeling inside to see all the donated Christmas gifts collected, then given out to children all over Michigan who are in the foster care system.

I would like to think that come Christmas day, a child who can’t be with their family will have a present to open. Hopefully, it lets them know that someone cares about them and wants them to have a good Christmas.

It’s quite a large endeavor and takes a lot of volunteers to make it happen, and I am glad we had an opportunity to participate.

As most of you may know through XRS messages, the Company wants to address what they’re calling a PTO versus unpaid day off problem. The Company wants the Union to believe there is a major absenteeism problem. In fact, it’s just a few drivers who are abusing the system and have what the Company considers excessive time off.

We’ve met several times on this issue in the past few weeks and have not come to an agreement as of the time of this article. I have requested our International Servicing Representative, Jason Tuck, to assist me in the negotiations to come up with a solution that we can live with.

The real problem is the current language in the CBA is very vague and leaves a lot up to interpretation. We negotiated a new attendance policy that was turned down by the Membership. Both sides agreed to revert to the old language. Now, after kicking the can down the road for most of the year, they want to try to change the policy.

I don’t have a solution, and I am not sure where this is headed, but I will keep you updated and things develop.

The Company is sponsoring their 3rd Annual Flint Firebirds hockey game outing. It will be Sunday, December 28th. Doors open at 3:00 p.m. and the game will start at 4:00 p.m.

ACC will cover you and one guest’s admission, with additional tickets available for $15 each. The cost for the additional tickets can be deducted from your payroll.

Come join us for a great hockey game. We will be meeting for food and drinks at around 2:00 p.m., right down the road at Sharky’s, on Bristol and Center Roads.

In closing, on behalf of your Bargaining Committee and your Unit Executive Board, we would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please have a safe and Happy Holiday.