By: Tom Edmonds

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

By the time of this article, the latest SAP sign-up period will have begun. While it will be sad to see people go, I am happy that anyone eligible has the opportunity to participate and leave with a few bucks. Please make it clear to management on your desired exit date. I believe they are going to do their best to accomodate.

The plant union staff recently had a diagonal slice with the stamping director. First time I’ve heard of that happening. She was quite open and approachable with everyone there. We had some good conversations about many subjects within the plant.

I was able to have an hour of one-on-one conversation with her afterward. Mostly, we talked about replacing manpower in design and engineering. I’m hoping we can come up with some creative ways to get journeyman hired sooner rather than later.

And now for some good news. We’ve finally had the die room back up to 48-hour utilization. While we feel it should have happened a few weeks ago, it will be a work in progress that we’ll continue to work on. If we have a steady flow of work, it should be a non-issue. Workload, workload, workload – that’s the name of the game.

With summer coming, folks will no doubt be taking vacations, weekends at the cabin, or whatever recreational time they like. Please be safe and enjoy your time with loved ones.