CONTRACT

Agreement

This Agreement is made and entered into as of October 22, 2018 by and between Ventra Ionia Main, LLC and Ventra Ionia Paint, LLC and Ventra Ionia Service Plant, LLC of 14 Beardsley Street, Ionia, Michigan and 719 W. Main, Ionia, Michigan and 1790 E. Bluewater Hwy, Ionia, Michigan, hereinafter referred to as the “Company,” and the I.U.E./C.W.A., AFL/CIO and its Local Union No. 84436, hereinafter referred to as the “Union.” 

Preamble

The Company and the Union have a mutual objective in maintaining successful and profitable operations of the business and constructive labor relations, bearing in mind that the Company is a customer service plant. The parties agree that the following conditions of employment will govern the employment of those individuals covered by this Agreement and designated as employees of Ventra Ionia Main, LLC and Ventra Ionia Paint, and Ventra Ionia Service, LLC at its plant located at 14 Beardsley, and 719 W. Main, Ionia, Michigan and 1790 E. Bluewater Hwy Ionia, Michigan.

Article One Recognition

1.1 Bargaining Unit Pursuant to and in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act, as amended, the Company recognizes the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative relative to wages, hour and other conditions of employment for employees in the following unit: 

All production and maintenance employees, including die repair employees, shipping and receiving employees, plating employees, truck drivers and stores clerks employed by the Company at its facilities located at 14 Beardsley Road, and 719 W. Main, Ionia, Michigan and 1790 E. Bluewater Hwy, Ionia Michigan, but excluding those hourly employees who choose not to belong to the union, office clerical employees, technical employees, professional employees, foreman, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Labor Management Relations Act. The terms of the agreement are applicable to all employees in the bargaining unit, members and non-members. All employees who are not members shall not be required to involuntarily pay any dues, fees, assessment or any other charges to the union as a condition of employment. 

If Michigan’s Right to Work Law is nullified or repealed the following (1.2) will be applied; 

1.2 Union Security All present employees covered by this Agreement, as a condition of employment, shall be required to become and remain members of the Union to the extent of paying the uniform monthly dues and uniform initiation fee required as a condition of maintaining membership in the Union by the end of 30 calendar days after the date of this Agreement. All new employees hired after the date of this Agreement shall, upon completion of their probationary period, be required to become and remain a member of the Union to the extent of paying the initiation fee and monthly dues uniformly required as a condition of acquiring and maintaining membership in the Union. The Union shall accept into membership each employee covered by this Agreement who tenders to the Union the uniform monthly dues and uniform initiation fee required as a condition of acquiring and maintaining membership in the Union. 

1.3 Dues Check-off The Company will deduct from the wages of each employee, who individually and voluntarily certifies in writing or dues check off card with electronic signatures to the Company that they authorize such deduction, the uniform initiation fee and uniform weekly dues hereafter levied by the Union in accordance with its constitution and by-laws and in accordance with any state or federal law in existence. 

Such authorization shall be effective the month in which received by the Company and shall not be irrevocable for more than one year, or the termination date of the contract, whichever is first. 

Deductions will be made every payday of the dues for that week and all sums deducted shall be remitted to the Financial Secretary of the Local Union no later than the 15th of the following month. 

Deductions will be made on the first payday of each calendar month of the dues for that calendar month and all sums deducted shall be remitted to the Financial Secretary of the Local Union no later than the 10th day of the calendar month in which the deductions are made. 

The Company will submit to the Union a monthly record of those employees from whom dues deductions have been made together with the amount of such deductions. 

The Union shall certify not later than the 25th of each calendar month the amount of membership dues to be deducted from the pay of each employee for the following month. Such notice will be a continuing notice until a change in the amount of such dues is made by the Union. 

Upon written authorization from an employee, the Company agrees, after receiving a minimum of 15 participants from the Union membership, to deduct from the wages from such employee on a weekly basis, and forward to the Financial Secretary of the Local Union on a monthly basis, C.O.P.E. deductions. Any employee may cancel their authorization for C.O.P.E. deductions upon written notice to the Company. 

The Union agrees to indemnify the Company for any loss or damages arising from the operation of this Article. It is also agreed that neither any employee nor the Union shall have any claim against the Company for any deductions made or not made unless a claim of error is made in writing to the Company within 30 calendar days after the date such deductions were or should have been made. 

Article Two Representation

2.1 Shop Committee The employees covered by this Agreement will be represented by a Shop Committee of members selected by the members of the bargaining unit, each of whom must have seniority with the Company. The Shop Committee is up to a five-member committee, consisting of the President of the Local Union, and/or Vice President, and three shift Stewards.

The following number of Stewards will be allowed from these plant areas on each shift:

Assembly 3                   Buffing 2                Molding 1              Plating & Back Side 1           

Welding 1                   Skilled Trades 2         Housekeeping 1      Paint Plant 2         Service 1

There will also be 1 Alternate Steward allowed per plant area per shift. Stewards must be from the departments they are listed to serve i.e. permanently assigned for work purposes. In the event no area Steward is available the Supervisor will get the steward from the next closest department.  

2.2 Notice to Company The Company shall be informed in writing of the names of the Union representatives and Stewards, including any change in status of such persons within five working days of a change. The Company shall likewise inform the Union of any change in its supervisory force. 

2.3 International Representative of the Union An International Representative of the Union may enter the plant during working hours for the purposes of policing this Agreement and may be present at any meetings of the Shop Committee and the Company. The President, Vice President, Chief Steward and Members of the Shop Committee of the Local Union will have the same privilege during their off-shifts. Such representatives will notify the Company upon the entrance to and departure from the facilities and will use the visitor’s entrance for such purposes. The visit will be conducted so that there is no disruption of work. 

2.4 Pay For shop Committee Time A member of the Shop Committee will be paid for the time spent in Union-Management meetings, such as grievance meetings, at times which are convenient for both parties. There will be no pay by the Company for a Committee person’s time spent in an arbitration hearing. 

For Union-Management meetings for the purpose of negotiating a new contract, the Company is willing to pay a reasonable number of hours at straight time to each Committee member for time lost from the Committee member’s regular work shift for the new contract negotiations. The amount of time to be covered by the Company will be decided as part of the new contract negotiations. 

Approved hours spent for Union Business, both paid and non – paid, will be counted as hours worked for the purposes of overtime for Stewards and members of the Shop Committee. 

2.5 Chief Steward Pay The Company will continue its practice of paying the Chief Steward his/her classification wage during the hours of 6:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday thru Friday. The Company will also continue to allow weekend overtime to be volunteered by the Chief Steward in his/her classification.

The Chief Steward shall work out of the Union Hall or a suitable office inside the Beardsley Rd. facility, in an area mutually agreed to by the Union and the Company. 

Article Three Management Rights

3.1 Management Rights The Company retains exclusively all the customary and normal functions of management including, but not limited to, the right to hire, recall, transfer and promote employees, to reprimand, demote, suspend, discipline and discharge employees for just cause, to lay off employees for lack of work or other legitimate reasons, to establish rules, and to maintain discipline and efficiency of employees. The Union reserves the right to grieve when action taken by the Company under this Section is contrary to a specific limitation of such Company rights contained in this Agreement. 

The Company reserves to itself exclusively and solely all the rights pertaining to plans and decisions on all matters involving the products to be manufactured, the place where they are manufactured, the location of operations, the schedules, the methods, means and processes of manufacturer, materials to be used, to contract out all or any portion of the work and the right to introduce new and improved methods and facilities and to change existing methods and facilities. However, production work for which the Company has the necessary facilities and equipment will be sent outside only when no seniority bargaining unit employee with the necessary abilities are on layoff.

3.2 Inventory The taking of inventory, including the means, methods and personnel to be used, is a management accounting function reserved solely and exclusively to the Company. The Company will give preference to senior qualified employees who are familiar with the work whenever the Company chooses to use bargaining unit employees for inventory; such personnel when used will be paid their regular rate of pay in accordance with Article 10.3. 

3.3 Rules The Company has the right to make such reasonable rules and regulations not in conflict with the specific provisions of this Agreement as the Company may from time-to-time deem best for the purpose of maintaining order, safety and/or effective operations. In the event a Company rule is altered in any way or a new rule is established, before being implemented, the Company will discuss the reason for the change with the Shop Committee and ask for input prior to the new rule or the change to a current Company rule. 

Parties agree to leave attendance policy out of contract but do commit not to change the attendance policy during the life of this agreement.

Write ups start after 6 points

Tardy and Leave early Changes to ½ Shift rather than 1 hour

Article Four Industrial Peace

4.1 Industrial Peace Continuous and uninterrupted manufacture and production of goods by the Company and orderly collective bargaining relations between the Company and the Union to secure prompt and fair disposition of grievances being essential considerations of this Agreement, therefore, the Union agrees for itself and on behalf of its members, that during the term of this Agreement, there will not be, nor will the Union call, cause, sanction, take part in, or assist in, any strike, picketing, sit down, stay-in, slowdown, or other curtailment or restriction of the Company’s operations. The term “any strike” shall include sympathy strikes. 

In consideration of the Union’s commitments, the Company agrees that there shall not be any lockouts during the term of this Agreement over any matter. 

Article Five Grievance and Arbitration Procedures

5.1 Grievance Definition A grievance is defined as a complaint or dispute over the interpretation or application of a specific provision of this Agreement. 

5.2 Verbal Procedure Any employee or employees having a complaint as defined in paragraph 5.1 must contact their immediate supervisor together with their Steward, or have the Steward present the complaint for them in an attempt to settle it.

5.3 Written Grievance Procedure

(a) Step One. If the grievance is not settled under Section 5.2 above, the grievance will be put in writing, on a form supplied by the Union, and delivered to the Supervisor no later than seven working days after the employee has knowledge or reasonably should have known of his grievance. Grievances regarding attendance discipline will be presented to the Human Resource Department. Such written grievance shall state the facts upon which it is based, shall specify the specific provision(s) of the Agreement allegedly violated, and shall be signed by the employee. 

The Supervisor will give a written answer to the grievance within three working days after the day on which the grievance was received by the Supervisor. The Supervisors answer will be specific to the dispute or complaint: answers such as “Refer to HR” or “Denied” will not be acceptable. 

(b) Step Two. If the Supervisor’s written answer is not satisfactory to the Union, the Chief Steward may give notice of appeal of the grievance to Human Resources Manager within five working days after receipt of the Supervisor’s written answer. 

The step two meeting will be scheduled between the Human Resources Manager and the Chief Steward and President or Vice President of the Local Union, to be held each Thursday unless changed by mutual agreement. The employee(s) involved in the grievance may be requested to attend this meeting by either party. At the conclusion of the meeting or within five working days thereafter, the Company shall give a written answer to the grievance. 

 (c) Step Three. If the Company’s answer in step two is not satisfactory to the Union, the Union may give notice of appeal to the Human Resources Manager within five working days following the day on which the Company’s answer at step two was received. 

The step three meeting shall be held monthly unless the parties agree otherwise. The Shop Committee and the International Representative of the Union may represent the Union at this meeting. The employee(s) involved in the grievance may be requested to attend this meeting by either party. 

The Company shall respond in writing, to any grievances or topics discussed, within 10 working days, unless mutually agreed to extend longer, following the day on which the step three meeting was held. 

5.4 Arbitration

(a) Appeal to Arbitration. If the Union is not satisfied with the Company’s answer at step three, the Union may give the Company’s Human Resources Director notice of appeal to arbitration in writing no later than 30 calendar days following the day on which the Company’s answer at step three was given, or if not given, was due. Failure of the Union to so appeal to arbitration shall mean that the grievance has been withdrawn by the Union. 

(b) Selection of Arbitrator. If notice of appeal to arbitration is given under subsection 5.5(a) above, the parties will endeavor to select a mutually satisfactory Arbitrator during a ten workday period following the date of such notice. If they are unable to do so within such period, the parties shall request that a panel of arbitrators be furnished by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The parties shall then select the Arbitrator by alternatively striking from the FMCS panel, with a coin toss deciding who strikes first. 

(c) Arbitration Procedures. The parties agree that the Arbitrator and the arbitration shall be subject to the following: 

The Arbitrator shall be empowered to rule only on those grievances, which involve an interpretation or application of this Agreement. If the Arbitrator shall find that a matter is beyond his jurisdiction, he shall render a decision to that effect. 

(1) The Arbitrator shall not add to, detract from, or change the terms of this Agreement. 

(2) If a question of back pay is involved in a grievance arbitrated, an award of back pay shall be the amount designated by the Arbitrator. Back pay shall also be limited to the amount of base wages the employee would have earned, less any amount received by him from other employment, and less any amounts received in unemployment, workers’ compensation and weekly disability benefits paid for or provided by the Company. 

(3) It shall be the responsibility of the Arbitrator to render a decision within 30 days of the closing of the case, if possible. 

(4) The charge of the Arbitrator for his fees and expenses shall be borne equally by the parties. 

(5) The Arbitrator’s decision on an arbitrable matter within his jurisdiction shall be final and binding upon the Company, the Union, and the employee or employees involved. 

(6) The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service’s Rules for voluntary Arbitration shall apply to such arbitration. 

(7) Only one grievance shall be presented to an Arbitrator in any one hearing, unless the parties agree in writing to combine grievances for the same Arbitrator. 

(8) Settlement of grievances shall be in writing and signed by the parties. 

5.5 Grievance Procedure – General 

(a) Time of Grievance Meetings. In carrying out the steps of the verbal and written grievance procedure, it may be necessary for an employee and/or Union Representative to be released from their work for the presentation or discussion of a grievance. However, no Union Representative shall leave his work for a grievance processing purpose without first obtaining permission to do so from his Supervisor. If, in the Supervisor’s judgement, the nature of his work requires that it be covered by another employee, the Supervisor shall arrange for such a replacement employee as promptly as is reasonably possible under the circumstances prevailing, but in no event longer than one-half hour. 

Any meeting called pursuant to the verbal or written grievance procedure shall be scheduled at a time likely to cause the least disruption of work of the employee’s involved in the meeting, not to include scheduled breaks and/or lunches. Any employee who is released from his work for a grievance meeting shall be paid for any time for scheduled work time missed.

It is the mutual goal of the parties to achieve the prompt processing of grievances and the fair disposition of them with a minimum loss of work time. 

(b) Grievance Time Limits. Any grievance not appealed to the next step in accordance with this Article Five shall be deemed resolved on the basis of the Company’s last response. 

Any grievance not responded to by the Company within the applicable time limit shall be deemed to have been denied and be automatically advanced to the next step of the grievance procedure, excluding arbitration. 

Time limitations provided for in this Article Five may be extended and grievance steps may be waived or combined only by written agreement of the Company and the Union. 

The time and date of receipt of all grievance documents shall be placed on the documents and shall be initialed or signed by the Grievant, the Union Representative, and the Company Representative. 

As used in the Article Five, “working days” shall be Monday through Friday, inclusive, excluding any paid holidays as provided in Article Thirteen.

Article Six Termination or Discipline

6.1 Termination or Discipline The Company shall not terminate or discipline an employee without just cause. This limitation shall not apply to probationary employees.

In the event that an employee is terminated or otherwise disciplined, the Union Chief Steward will be given notice, with explanation, of such action during the shift, if possible, or as soon thereafter as possible. If the employee is in the plant working at the time such action is taken the Chief Steward or Steward will be notified and will be present. 

In the event of suspension or termination for attendance, the Chief Steward will be given prior notice of three (3) working days of the suspension or termination and be present. If the Chief Steward cannot be present then a Steward of mutual agreement between the Company’s HR Manager and Chief Steward, from the employee home shift and department will be utilized.

Disputes relating to discipline shall be submitted to the grievance procedure at step one not more than seven working days following the discipline. Thereafter, the provisions of Article Five shall apply.

Disputes relating to termination shall be submitted to the grievance procedure at step two not more than seven working days following the discipline. Thereafter, the provisions of Article Five shall apply.

6.2 Investigatory Suspension If the Company has reason to believe that an employee is subject to disciplinary action, the Company may suspend the employee for up to five working days or longer if by mutual agreement between the Company and the Union, pending an investigation. The Union will be given notice of an investigatory suspension. If the Company’s investigation does not result in discipline being imposed, the employee shall be made whole for time lost during the period of suspension. 

6.3 Inclement Weather No discipline will be imposed for absences related to any days in which roads are impassable due to weather.  The company shall discuss with the Chief Steward and a member of the Shop Committee situations involving inclement weather impacting the majority of the employees on a given shift. 

It shall be the employee’s responsibility to provide acceptable proof of road conditions. The roads in question must be associated with the employee’s route to and from work.

Acceptable proof must include any documentation from the road commission, local or state police, weather station reports or photos. (Photos of an employee’s yard or driveway will not be acceptable.)

It is agreed and understood by the parties that all bargaining unit employees are expected to be at work during times of inclement weather unless it is publicly communicated that the plant is closed. 

Employees that are at work during the time of inclement weather that choose to go home may do so with the understanding that the employee will be subject to the Company’s Attendance Policy.

Article Seven Seniority

7.1 Probationary Employees All new employees shall be considered on probation for the first 75 calendar days, except employees who work the Continuous Operations Schedule who will be on probation for the first 90 calendar days. 

The probationary period may be extended for an additional 30 calendar days by mutual agreement between the Company and the Union. A Performance Review will be completed for each probationary employee whose probation is to be extended, a copy of which will be given to the Union. 

During the probationary period, an employee may be terminated by the Company in its sole discretion. 

After completion of the probationary period, an employee’s name shall be added to the seniority list with a seniority date as of the first date of hire. 

During the probationary period, new employees shall not be covered by the terms of this Agreement.  

All probationary employees, direct or agency placements will have the same Probation period which is equal to 75 calendar days.

7.2 Seniority Definition          Seniority shall be defined to mean the length of the employee’s continuous service with the Company since his most recent hire date.  

If more than one employee has the same seniority date, they shall be assigned to the seniority list by alphabetical order of surnames. Later changes in surnames will not affect the order of seniority. 

An employee shall acquire seniority after he successfully completes the probationary period in section 7.1. The application of seniority shall be limited to the preferences recited in this Agreement. It is recognized that seniority arises only from this Agreement. 

7.3 Seniority List Within 30 days after the signing of this Agreement, and every month thereafter, the Company will post a current dated seniority list at all plants by the time clocks.  The Union will be given a copy of the list at the time it is posted. 

It shall be the responsibility of the employees to check any such posted seniority list and to notify the Company of any error contained therein within 14 days from the date the list is posted. The Company may presume that the list as posted is accurate, except for any alleged errors of which the Company is notified within such 14 days. 

Should an error be discovered after such 14-day period, the Company and Union agree that such error will be corrected at the time of discovery but without any liability on the part of the Company or the Union for such error.

7.4 Temporary Layoff When the work force is to be reduced due to emergencies, machine or equipment breakdowns, shortage of materials, temporary lack of work, or other production difficulties which are of a temporary nature, employees affected by the condition may be laid off by seniority for a period of (1) one day up to thirty working days. 

When such conditions are anticipated to be more than (1) one day the Company must use a voluntary procedure starting at the top of the seniority list. However, if there is a probationary employee working elsewhere in the affected classification, an affected employee with seniority will not be required to take a temporary layoff if qualified to replace the probationary employee. 

If less than all such affected employees are temporarily laid off, the less senior employees will be laid off first, if there are insufficient volunteers, so long as the remaining employees have the ability to do the required work. 

In no event, as a result of a temporary layoff, will an employee be allowed to change their current shift. 

The Union will be given prior notice before any volunteers are taken for a temporary layoff in excess of one day. 

When conditions such as listed above are anticipated to be less than one day’s duration employees whose jobs are affected may be laid off for that period of time. 

7.5 Indefinite Layoff When the work force is to be reduced for a period in excess of thirty working days, the following procedure shall apply. 

(a) The Company will lay off employees from the classification which the Company has decided to reduce. 

(b) Probationary employees in each classification shall be laid off before any employee with seniority is laid off from that classification provided that the senior employees retained have the ability to do the required work. 

(c) The next employee to be laid off shall be the employee with the least seniority in the classification affected and so on, provided, however, that the employees remaining have the ability to do the required work. 

(d) An employee displaced from his regular classification under the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section shall be assigned by the Company to replace the least senior employee in another classification where he has the ability to perform the required work, provided he has greater seniority than the employee he is to replace. 

If there is more than one classification or shift available to the laid off employee, he will be allowed to choose. The affected employee may also choose to be laid off. 

An employee may exercise seniority in a layoff to upgrade to a classification with a higher rate of pay if they have held that classification within the last 12 months and never been disqualified from it. 

(e) The Company will give the Chief Steward or President of the Union notice of an indefinite layoff 48 hours before the indefinite layoff is to begin. (For this purpose, the layoff begins at the start of the initial shift on which regularly scheduled work is cut back.) 

7.6 Recall Recall to work shall be accomplished in the following manner: 

(a) The normal order will be for the employee with the greatest seniority for whom the recall is not an upgrade to be recalled, provided, however, that the recalled employee has the ability to perform the required work. An employee recalled to a classification other than his own classification retains recall rights to his regular classification as provided above. An employee’s regular classification is the one from which he was first laid off. 

(b) An employee displaced from his regular classification under the layoff provisions of Section 7.5 above shall have recall rights to such regular classification and must accept such recall when offered. If the employee declines this recall, then the current classification held as a result of the layoff provisions becomes his regular classification. 

(c) In the event employees are on layoff from any classification after all laid off employees from other classification(s) have been recalled, the Company shall recall laid off employees to such openings in order of seniority before hiring new employees, provided that the employee recalled has the ability to perform the required work and provided the recall would not be an upgrade. 

If an employee recalled to a classification other than his own under this subsection (c) declines such recall, he shall have no further recall rights until recalled to his classification, unless he informs the Company in writing that he wishes to accept any available work. Also, the junior most employee that is on layoff must accept a recall. 

An employee recalled to a classification other than his own classification under this procedure shall not have recall rights to such classification if he is subsequently laid off from that other classification except as provided in this subsection 7.6 (c). 

(d) Upon being recalled to a classification other than his/her regular classification, the employee will have the right to sign any job postings that may arise, and if awarded such bid will maintain recall rights to the regular classification and location from which displaced. 

(e) For purposes of this Article, the following are classifications: 

Assembler Material Handler Auto Sweeper

Cleaner Hand Sprayer Service Packer

Hand Welder Press Operator/Destack Operator Q.A.

Forklift Operator Robotic Welder Buffer Paint Repair

Loader/Unloader Relief/Utility Person Stores Clerk

Unloader/Plating Mold Setter Operators Recycler

Injection Mold Operator Transfer/Progressive Press Operator

Waste Treatment Specialist Semi-Skilled Maintenance

Die Repair Journeyman Die Repair “A”

Die Repair Apprentice Die Repair Helper

Assembly, Molding Maintenance Journeyman Assembly, Molding Maintenance “A”

Assembly, Molding Maintenance Apprentice Assembly, Molding Maintenance Helper

Press Lines/Welding Maintenance Journeyman Press Lines/Welding Maintenance “A”

Press Lines/Welding Maintenance Apprentice Press Lines/Welding Maintenance Helper

Buffing, Conveyors, Maintenance Journeyman Buffing, Conveyors, Maintenance “A”

Buffing, Conveyors, Maintenance Apprentice Buffing, Conveyors, Maintenance Helper

Mold Repair Journeyman Mold Repair “A” Mold Repair Apprentice

Plating, Facilities, Solution Maintenance Journeyman

Plating, Facilities, Solution Maintenance “A”

Plating, Facilities, Solution Maintenance Apprentice

Facilities, Solution Maintenance Helper

Paint Plant Maintenance Journeyman Paint Plant Maintenance “A”

Paint Plant Maintenance Apprentice Paint Plant Maintenance Helper

7.7 Recall Procedure When employees who have seniority with the Company are recalled to work from a layoff, the following procedure shall be followed: 

(a) The Company shall attempt to telephone the employee, with the phone number on file in HR first, and then notify the employee by certified mail, return receipt requested, sent to his last known address and a copy of the letter will be given to the Chief Steward on the day in which it was mailed. 

If the Company cannot contact the employee, a less senior employee may be called. 

If the employee reports to work within three working days from the receipt or attempted delivery of the notice, he shall not be paid for reporting, but shall be placed on his job just as soon as possible within two working days. 

(b) If an employee does not report for work within three working days following receipt or attempted delivery of certified notice of recall, he shall be considered having voluntarily quit. 

In the event that accident, sickness or similar emergency prevents an employee from reporting within three working days, he shall not lose his seniority, provided that the employee can satisfactorily establish these reasons for his failure to report. 

(c) It shall be the employee’s sole responsibility to keep his current telephone number and address on file within the Company Personnel Office on the approved form. The employee and the Union shall be given a copy of the completed form. 

7.8 Loss of Seniority An employee’s seniority and employment relationship with the Company shall terminate for the following reasons: 

(a) If he quits or retires. 

(b) If he is discharged for cause. 

(c) If he is absent from work for three consecutive working days without properly notifying the Company, unless the employee has an excuse acceptable to the Company.

(d) If he fails to report for work within three working days following receipt or attempted delivery at his last known address of recall by certified mail sent to his last known address, except as otherwise provided in Section 7.7. 

 (e) If he fails to return on the required date following a leave of absence, unless the employee has an excuse acceptable to the Company.

In Accordance with Work Rule #35 an employee who fails to return would only receive 1 attendance occurrence per day. 

(f) If he is on sick leave for a period equal to the length of his acquired seniority at the time the leave began, but in no event less than 12 months or more than 24 months. 

(g) If he is on layoff for a period equal to the length of his acquired seniority at the time the layoff began, but in no event less than 12 months or more than 36 months. 

(h) If an employee is on a Long-Term Medical Leave and the Company has been notified by a source acceptable to the Company of his intent is not to return to work or that he has made application for Social Security Disability, his position - classification and shift, shall be considered open for purposes of 7.14 Promotions and 7.15 Shift Preference. 

7.9 Non-Bargaining Unit Employees Any employee in the bargaining unit who has heretofore, or who is hereafter, promoted to a position outside of the bargaining unit, shall retain seniority for a period up to 30 calendar days after which his seniority shall terminate but during the 30-day period such employee may elect to return to the bargaining unit or may be returned by the Company.  

If the employee is returned to the bargaining Unit within the 30-Day Period, the length of the employee’s seniority will be adjusted downward one day for each day worked outside the Bargaining Unit. 

A promoted employee who is terminated by the Company in its discretion during this 30-working day period is not eligible for return to the bargaining unit if the termination is for cause.  

In no event will a Bargaining unit employee be temporarily transferred to a Management/Technician position.

7.10 Permanent Job Transfers An employee who is permanently transferred from one classification to another shall carry his seniority with him to the new classification. 

7.11 Temporary Job Transfers The Company may temporarily transfer an employee to another classification when such transfer is considered necessary for the Company’s work.  Temporary transfers shall not exceed 45 calendar days in any one transfer except when the transfer is into a vacancy caused by leaves of absence or vacations.  

Employees who are temporary transferred under this Section of the Agreement for any period more than one-half hour shall receive their straight-time hourly rate of pay, or the rate of the job to which transferred, whichever is greater.  

When employees are transferred under this Section, the transfers will be done by first utilizing senior qualified volunteers.  If sufficient volunteers are not available, then the least senior qualified employees will be assigned.  

This process will not apply in situations such as “line shutdowns”

It is not the intent of the company to assign relief utility for an opening of an extended duration.  

7.12 Rate of Pay After Transfer

An employee who is transferred to another classification as a result of exercising his rights under Sections 7.5, 7.6 and/or 7.7 (i.e., layoff and recall rights) shall receive the seniority rate of the classification to which he transfers, unless he previously had seniority in such classification and was already at the job rate in such classification. Therefore, he shall be entitled to any applicable wage progression to the job of such classification. 

An employee who is transferred under Section 7.11 to a higher rated classification shall receive the seniority rate of the new classification or his present rate, whichever is higher. Thereafter, he shall be entitled to any applicable wage progression to the job rate of such classification. 

An employee who is transferred under Section 7.10 to a lower-rated classification shall receive the job rate for such classification. 

7.13 Representative Seniority The members of the Shop Committee shall have preferential seniority in their classification and shift for purpose of layoff and recall, but not for any other purpose.  No other employee holding an office in the Union shall have any preferential seniority except as listed above. 

The President, Vice President, Chief Steward, Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, and members of the Shop Committee (Shop Committee defined as the President, Vice President and three Union Stewards) of the Local Union will be assigned to the day shift. 

A shift Steward will not be subject to being placed on another shift by application of Section 7.15, or by the direction of the Company for reasons such as, equaling out the shifts.

7.14 Promotions 

(a) Posting. The Company and the Union subscribe to the principle of upgrading employees within the bargaining unit. When there is a need for a specific Classification, the Company will post a notice of Job Posting for the vacancy. 

The notice will be posted for three (3) working days. 

If employee is absent due to vacation or bereavement, he will be allowed to sign the Job Posting within two days of returning to work. 

The posting will specify the Classification, shift start time and department of the opening. It shall also specify the necessary qualifications.

The Chief Steward will be given a copy of any such posting prior to it being posted. Any employee with the necessary qualifications may sign the posting. 

Prior experience within the Department will be preferred for the Relief/Utility classification.

(b) Awards. An employee who signs the Job Posting and is awarded the position must take the position. If the successful bidder is not placed on the job within (10) ten working days after the job posting is taken down, he will receive the higher rate of pay.

  These jobs will be awarded to the most senior employee

Assembler Loader/Unloader Cleaner

Service Packer Robotic Welder Auto Sweeper

Injection Mold Operator Unloader/Plating Hand Sprayer

Paint Repair Buffer Recycler

Q.A. *must be able to pass color test 

Material Handler *must have valid driver’s license

Forklift Operator *must have valid driver’s license

These jobs will be awarded based on skill and ability to employee with less than 2 Attendance write Ups and 1 or less Work Rule Violations:

Waste Treatment Specialist Maintenance Helper Mold Setter

Relief/Utility Person Skilled Trades Stores Clerk

Press Operator/De-stack Hand Welder

Transfer Progressive Press Operator

Positions will be awarded as defined above. 

In the event that two or more employees who are qualified bid on the same vacancy, the position will be awarded to the most senior qualified bidder. 

If no eligible current employee bids on the vacancy the Company shall have the right to hire a new employee to fill the vacancy.

Chief Steward will be notified prior to any Bid being awarded to make sure this contract has been followed.

 (c)Trial Period. An employee awarded a vacancy will be given up to a 30 workday trial period beginning on their first day working on the new job. 

During the trial period, the employee may elect not to stay with the bid classification, or the Company may disqualify the employee, which will be based on written Performance Reviews. 

A temporary vacancy will exist in his former classification until completion of the trial period in his new classification. 

Any employee who disqualifies himself or is disqualified by the Company will be returned to his original shift and classification and wage rate within (5) five working days and shall be ineligible to re-bid the classification from which disqualified for a period of twelve months and from all job bidding for a period of four months. 

(d) Skilled Trades. The above procedure will be allowed for Journeymen, apprentices or Maintenance “A” Solution Attendants in the Skilled Trades Department, only within their Classification and Work Area; the exception would be if an employee wants to bid out of skilled trades and into the general labor classification, they shall have the right to sign and bid on any new posting. 

Openings for apprentices will be filled according to the Apprenticeship Program. 

(f) Job Rotation/Cross Training. The Company recognizes that job rotation and/or cross training is in the best interests of both the employees and the Company to the extent that it can be accomplished efficiently without interference with production. 

Employees shall express their interest in writing in a job within their classification to the immediate Supervisor.

Upon receipt of such request the Supervisor will endeavor to place the employee in the requested work area within 15 working days where the employee shall remain, by mutual agreement with the Union, employee and Company, for up to 10 working days. 

The Company will not be obligated to rotate and/or cross train more than 5 employees, within the same classification, during the same time period. 

During the training period the employee displaced will be required to backfill the employee who is being cross trained. Employees seeking to be cross trained may only displace an employee of lesser seniority for cross training purposes. 

The Supervisor may elect to keep the employee on the new job task or return him to his original job task.

7.15 Shift Preference Shift preference will be handled as follows: 

(a) Once a year in November the 35 most senior employees who want to move, may elect to move to another shift within their classification. To accommodate their move, the Company will move the least senior employees to another shift within that same classification. 

The Company will provide the Chief Steward with a list of all employees who requested a shift change, within 3 work days of the completion of the shift preference signup and the results of all shift changes made. 

Employees desiring shift preference will notify the Company by the second Friday in October, for the shift preference to be effective on the first Monday in November, respectively. 

The employees who sign for a shift transfer and are among the 35 most senior granted, the employee will be required to take the transfer.

(b) Two employees in the same classification may be allowed to switch shifts for up to four weeks, but only in the discretion of the Company. No grievance will be filed if the Company disapproves such a request. 

(c) In the discretion of the Company, the shift of an employee may be changed at other times as follows: 

(1) At the request, or with the consent, of the employees. A copy of the request form will be supplied to Chief Steward or 

(2) At the direction of the Company. 

If done under (2) above, the Company will seek volunteers and then the least senior employee in the classification will be moved to another shift, so long as this will result in the Company having sufficient employees with the ability to do the required work on each shift. 

(d) Skilled Trades – The above procedure will be allowed for Journeymen, or Maintenance “A” Solutions Attendants, in the Skilled Trades Department, only within their Classification and work area. 

(e) Employees that is temporarily transferred to a position that is made available by an employee going on medical leave, will utilize the seniority date of the employee that is absent, for shift bump reasons only. 

In no event will an employee be allowed to sign the shift preference roster and bump from a shift that he is not currently on. 

 Article Sixteen Leave of Absence

16.1 Personal Business Leave

(a) Application and Approval. An employee with seniority may make a written application for a personal business leave on a form provided by the Company for this purpose. 

The employee must state the reason for his request and the number of days desired. If the request is reasonable, the Company shall, if possible, grant an employee a leave of absence for personal business for a period not to exceed 30 calendar days. 

Granting of such leave shall be administered uniformly. 

A written response from the Company will be given to the employee by the 5th workday following receipt of the application. 

. 

Any employee who is subpoenaed or receives a subpoena, for a non-criminal action, will be granted Personal Leave for the duration of the legal request upon rendering of proper advance notice and notice of attendance.  

(b) Extension A personal business leave of absence may be extended by the Company for an additional period or periods to a total period of such leave not exceeding 60 calendar days. However, if the purpose of the leave is for advanced technical or college education which is related to the employee’s career with the Company, the Company may grant such leave for up to one year. 

(c) Purpose of Leave. No leave of absence shall be granted under this Section for the purpose of enabling an employee to look for or to undertake employment elsewhere or self-employment. 

16.2 Sick Leave of Absence for Extended Sickness or Injury 

(a) Application and Approval An employee who is injured or who becomes ill for an extended period and whose claim of injury or illness is supported by evidence satisfactory to the Company, shall be granted a sick leave of absence by the Company during the extended disability, up to the maximum period provided for in Section 7.8 (f). 

An employee who is granted sick leave of absence upon a verbal request or one made in his behalf shall, at the first reasonable opportunity under the circumstances, support such a request with an application in writing and with such evidence of his need for leave as the Company may reasonably require. 

(b) Employees on medical leave including workers compensation leave of less than 60 calendar days, as defined by, but not limited to a medical statement signed by a Physician, FMLA or workers compensation documentation, the Company may temporarily place a temporary/probationary employee in their place until their return to work as defined in 16.2. 

The temporary/probationary employees will be considered temporary/probationary for 75 workdays, but the temporary/probationary status can be extended by mutual agreement up to 30 calendar days. 

If the temporary/probationary employees is hired by the company during the temporary/probationary time the time served in this capacity will count toward probationary time as described under 7.1. 

(c) Return to Work 

(1) An employee who is off work for one week (7 calendar days) or longer for a non-work related illness or injury, or a work related illness or injury, must turn in a doctor’s excuse to the Occupational Health Department (1st Aid) at least two (2) regular work days in advance of their intent to return. 

Each employee will be evaluated and cleared by the Company medical provider prior to returning to work. 

(2) If an employee has complied with 16.2 (b)(1) and his return is delayed due to Company medical provider availability, the employee will be paid for such lost time. 

(3) If there is a difference of opinion between the employee’s physician and the Company doctor concerning the advisability of the employee’s return to work for a non-work related accident or illness, the following will apply: 

A specialist in the area which is disputed will be selected from a list prepared by the Company and the Union to provide a third opinion. 

The cost of this third opinion will be paid by the Company. 

This specialist must be familiar with the essential functions of the employee’s regular classification. 

This doctor’s opinion shall be binding. 

(4) Minor cases involving minimal loss of work will require the employee to turn in their doctor’s slip to the Security Office or in a drop box located in each building upon their return to work.  These drop boxes will be checked by the company on a daily basis. The employee must be physically capable of returning to work at that time.

(5) An employee who is off work for a work related accident or illness will be allowed to return to work only as approved by the Occupational Health Department. 

16.4 Union Business Leave 

(a) Upon written request of the Union, the Company will grant officers or elected representative of the Union a short-term unpaid leave of absence for the purpose of attending to Union business, provided there are other qualified employees to perform the work and also provided that no such leaves of absence shall be granted to more than one employee for a period not longer than four weeks. 

Such leaves may be extended by mutual agreement of the Company and the Shop Committee. 

Upon reasonable advance notice, the Company will grant leaves of absence to four employees designated by the Union to attend annual conventions. 

(b) A Union business leave for the purpose of steward’s training may take place twice per year for not more than eight hours duration. 

The Company agrees that upon adequate advance notice of the time of such training program the Company will make arrangements for a leave of absence for such purpose, limited to not more than eight employees at such time, unless mutually agreed to by Company and Union to increase the number excused. 

(c) A request for leave of absence for Union business: 

(1) Shall be in writing: 

(2) Shall be submitted by the Local Union’s President, Vice President and / or Chief Steward if business for the Local Union is the reason for leave: 

(3) Shall be submitted to the Company’s Human Resources Manager; and 

(4) Shall state the purpose for such Union business leave. 

16.5 Military Service Leave of Absence The Company and the Union agree that the matter of leave of absence for, and of reinstatement of, an employee during his period of military service with the Armed Forces of the United States, shall be solely governed by applicable State or Federal statutes, as judicially interpreted. 

16.6 Accumulation of Seniority while on Leave of Absence During all approved leaves of absence, seniority shall be retained and accumulated. 

16.7 Family and Medical Leave Act The Company agrees to provide leave to employees as outlined in the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). 

FMLA is unpaid. 

The Company in accordance to the Act will exercise the option to require all employees to use available vacation in congruence with and consecutively with FMLA allocated time. 

If an employee provides verifiable documentation for an approved FMLA absence 3 days prior to the date(s) he will be absent he will not be forced to utilize a vacation day(s) but may do so. 

In no event will an employee be denied a vacation request based on the fact that he has been approved for FMLA. 

16.8 Return from Leave An employee wishing to return from a leave of absence will be returned to work no later than Monday following notice to the Company, provided the Company receives such notice at least two (2) regular work days in advance and provided that the employee is physically capable of returning to work. 

In no event will an employee who has been absent for any reason, excluding time off per Article 6 including leaves covered by Article 16.2, for more than twenty six (26) weeks be reinstated until satisfactory successful completion of a physical examination including drug screen (as given and required of new hires). 

16.9 Funeral Leave When death occurs in an employee’s immediate family, that is current spouse, parent, step-parent of employee, child, step-child of employee the employee on request will be excused for any (5) five days (40 hrs.) regularly scheduled working days (excluding Saturday and Sunday) during the week of the funeral, one of the (5) five must be the day of the funeral or at a Memorial Service of a later date. 

When death occurs in an employee’s extended family, that is parent of current spouse, step-parent of spouse, grandchild, grandparent of employee, grandparent of the current spouse, brother or sister of an employee, step-sibling of employee, son or daughter-in-law, the employee on request will be excused for any(3) three regularly scheduled working days (excluding Saturday and Sunday) during the week of the funeral, one of the three days must be the day of the funeral or at a Memorial Service of a later date. 

If the regular or step-sibling of the current spouse dies, the employee on request will be excused the day of the funeral.  

If the funeral service takes place more than 200 miles from 14 N. Beardsley Rd. Ionia, Michigan, an additional day of bereavement leave, but without pay will be allowed.  

After making written application therefore, the employee shall receive pay for any scheduled hours of work up to eight hours per day for which he is excused, provided he attends the funeral and provides satisfactory evidence of his attendance to the Company.

Bereavement leave, and pay is meant to provide for an employee who desires to be off work because of the death of a member of his immediate family.  Time off and pay will be granted only when it is consistent with this purpose.  

If the employee is on vacation during this time, the vacation will be replaced with bereavement and the vacation time will be credited back to the employee.

BEREAVEMENT SCHEDULES FOR A B C

Funeral leave taken on this schedule will be as follows:

10 hr. days In the event of a death in the immediate family as defined in Section 16.9 upon the request of the employee, the four working days for bereavement leave will be administered so that the employee is excused from work for four consecutive scheduled working days and receive 40 hours of bereavement pay.

In the event of a death in the extended family as defined in Section 16.9 upon the request of the employee, the three working days for bereavement leave will be administered so that the employee is excused from work for three consecutive scheduled working days and receive 30 hours of bereavement pay.

Article Seventeen Health and Safety

17.1 General The Company shall continue to make reasonable provisions for the safety and health of its employees during the hours of their employment and will comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding reasonable protective devices and other equipment to protect the employees from injury and sickness. 

The employees are required to cooperate with the Company in all safety and health measures and make proper use of any equipment or devices provided by the Company for such purposes. 

17.2 Injury at Work In the event an employee is injured while working in the plant, and it is necessary for the employee to be sent to the doctor or hospital, the employee will be paid for time lost on the day of injury as follows: 

(a) If the employee returns to work on the same shift, he will be paid for time away from work because of such injury at his straight-time rate, including shift premium, if applicable. 

(b) If the Treating physician does not allow the employee to return to work, he will be paid at his straight time hourly rate, including shift premium, if applicable, for the balance of the shift on which his injury occurred.

17.3 First Aid The Company agrees to maintain on all shifts adequate first aid equipment to meet the needs of employees in case of minor accident and agrees to train or employ persons (who may be office or supervisory persons) possessing at least appropriate certification of competence in first aid, who shall be on hand at all times when employees are working. 

In the event of an accident which requires additional information other than found on the Accident Report, the Company will not interview the affected employee until such time as Union Representation is made available to him.  

The President of the Union and/or Chief Steward will be informed of plant situations of a serious nature that involve fires, severe injuries, or plant evacuations.  

17.4 Safety Committee There will be Safety Committees composed of the Safety Manager or designee, Area Manager and /or Supervisor and two Hourly Employees from each area of the Ventra Ionia Main and Paint plants and 1 Employee from Service Plant. 

The Safety Committee will meet at least once a month and minutes of the meeting will be posted on the bulletin boards and copy given to the Chief Steward. A member of the Shop Committee and /or Chief Steward may attend a Safety Committee meeting as an observer.

17.5 Rest Rooms It is the mutual responsibility of all employees to maintain the rest rooms in a clean and sanitary condition. The Union and all employees will cooperate with the Company to attain this objective. Suitable shower curtains and suitable mirrors will be maintained in the rest rooms. 

17.6 Personal Relief The Company will give consideration in providing reasonable personal relief for personal needs if a relief person is available. 

17.7Hi-Lo Licensing Any employee operating a hi-lo is required to be properly licensed. The Company will notify the Union of employees who are licensed by the Company to drive hi-los. 

17.8 Safety Equipment Allowance The Company will provide an allowance in each year of the contract for the purchase of steel toed safety shoes to be used at work and prescription safety glasses with fixed side shields. The allowance will not exceed $150 per year per employee. 

Employees will only be reimbursed upon submission of an acceptable receipt and verification that the safety shoes and safety glasses meet the appropriate safety standards. 

Beginning on January 1, 2019 the safety allowance shall increase to $200 per employee per year.

Article Eighteen No Discrimination

18.1 No Discrimination The Company and the Union agree that there shall be no discrimination in the hiring, upgrading, compensation, training, promotion, transfer, layoff, discipline, or discharge of employees covered by this Agreement because of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, union affiliation or age, or for any other reason prohibited by law.

Article Nineteen Past Practices

19.1 Past Practices There are no understandings or agreements or past practices which are binding on either the Company or the Union other than the written agreements enumerated or referred to in this Agreement. 

No further agreement shall be binding on either the Company or the Union until it has been put in writing and signed by the Plant Manager on behalf of the Company, and by the Shop Committee and the International Representative on behalf of the Union. 

Article Twenty Waiver

20.1 Waiver It is hereby agreed that this Agreement is the complete understanding between the parties. Any subject, whether discussed during negotiations or not, shall not be negotiated during the life of this Agreement except by mutual agreement by the Company and the Union. 

Article Twenty-One General

21.1 Bulletin Boards The Company will provide space for the Union to install bulletin boards for the Union’s use in agreed upon areas. The Company may only disapprove any material which the Company believes to be defamatory. The Union will provide the Company with a copy of whatever is posted on these bulletin boards.

21.2 Employee Signatures If the Company desires an employee to sign a report or statement, the employee shall have the right to refuse to sign until he has had an opportunity to refer the matter and secure advice from someone of his own choosing. 

21.3 Pay Plans No incentive plan will be implemented except by mutual agreement between the Company and the Union. 

21.4 Pay Day The Company agrees to pay employees once per week. The Company will indicate the hours worked and rate of pay on paychecks or vouchers. 

All 2nd shift employees will be paid on Thursday immediately after their lunch break, employees on 1st will be received by 10:00 a.m. 

The 3rd shift will be paid immediately after their lunch break every Thursday. 

All new hires will be required to sign up for Direct Deposit and will be required to remain on Direct Deposit for the duration of their employment. The deposits will be made in accordance to the schedule noted above. 

21.5 Credit Union The Company agrees to continue its practice concerning payroll deductions to credit unions.

21.6 Union Meetings Union meetings will be held outside of shift hours. Upon Prior arrangements with the Company, Officers and Representatives needed to conduct the meeting will be released in accordance with Article 16, Section 16.4. 

21.7 Payroll Errors If a payroll error occurs over $30 the Company will pay the additional amount due as follows: 

The Company is notified by noon on Friday, the check will be available by 5:00pm Friday, if notification is received later than noon on Friday the make-up check will be available by 5:00pm Monday.  

The only exception will be if the Company has not received the required documentation from the employee, by the date and time referred to above. 

The above referenced days and times will not include any holidays.  

All makeup checks will be available for pickup from Security within 1 working day after being brought to the Company's attention, excluding Saturday, Sunday, holidays or on Fridays.  

Any exception to the above will be discussed with the Union.

Except as provided above, any payroll errors will be adjusted in the next available succeeding regular payroll. 

21.8 Jury Duty

(a) An employee with seniority who is summoned and reports for jury duty as prescribed by applicable law shall be paid by the Company an amount equal to the difference between the amount of wage (excluding night shift differential and premiums) the employee otherwise would have earned by working during straight time hours for the Company on that day and the daily jury duty fee paid by the Court (not including travel allowances or reimbursement of expenses) for each day in which the employee reports for or performs jury duty and in which the employee would have been otherwise scheduled to work for the Company. 

(b) The Company’s obligation to pay an employee is limited to a maximum of 60 days in a calendar year. 

(c) In order to receive payment, an employee must give the Company proper prior notice that the employee has been summoned for jury duty and must furnish satisfactory evidence that he/she reported for or performed jury duty on the days for which he/she claims such payment. 

(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to an employee who, without being summoned, volunteers for jury duty. 

21.9 Copy of Contract The Company will provide one copy of this Agreement to each member of the bargaining unit and provide 25 copies to the Union. 

21.10 Safety Glasses The Company will supply a pair of standard safety glasses with clear lenses at no cost to the employee. If they become broken through normal use, the Company will supply a replacement pair upon return of the broken pair, but no more than a total of two per calendar year. 

If the glasses are lost, broken through neglect, or replacement is requested in excess of two pair per year, the employee is responsible for paying for the replacement, through payroll deduction. 

Employees requiring prescription lenses are responsible for the cost of the lenses and any eye examination. 

21.11 Work Gloves Suitable work gloves will be provided where needed and worn out gloves will be replaced upon return of the worn out pair. 

If gloves are lost or destroyed through neglect, the employee may be held responsible for paying for replacement through payroll deduction, if the loss or destruction becomes abusive. 

21.12 Lockers If the Company has sufficient space, the Company will consider providing lockers to employees, by seniority. 

Lockers provided remain the property of the Company and are subject to inspection periodically by the Company. 

If an employee’s locker is to be inspected, a steward will be asked to observe. 

21.13 Messages Outside calls to employees at work are discouraged. If an outside call for an employee comes in, a message will normally be taken, and delivered to the employee within a reasonable time. If there is a real emergency call for an employee, the employee will be allowed either to take the call or to return the call promptly. 

Article Twenty-Two Employee Assistance Program and Controlled Substances

The Company and the Union both believe that substance abuse is to be avoided in an industrial environment. The Union agrees to cooperate with the Company in stopping substance abuse by employees, and in maintaining a work place free from controlled substances such as alcohol and drugs. 

22.1 Employee Assistance Program The Company and the Union recognize that an employee’s job performance may be adversely affected due to a variety of reasons, including drug or alcohol abuse. The parties also recognize that such problems can be treatable. 

Whenever possible, the Company will assist and support employees who actively seek help for these problems. 

Employee support is available through the Employee Assistance Program. 

The Company and the Union encourage each employee who has a problem of drug or alcohol abuse to seek assistance before these personal problems lead to disciplinary actions including discharge. 

Employees who voluntarily request assistance in dealing with a drug or alcohol abuse problem, prior to the problem affecting their work, may participate in the Employee Assistance Program without their participation jeopardizing their continued employment with the Company. 

However, volunteering to participate in the Employee Assistance Program will not bar disciplinary action for a violation of this policy or any other Company policy or work rule. 

22.2 Drug and Alcohol Testing The parties recognize that drug and alcohol testing can be a useful tool to identify persons with an abuse problem, and to monitor their success in recovering. The Parties also recognize that random testing of all employees would be an unwarranted invasion of the employee’s privacy. Consistent with these principles, the parties agree as follows: 

(1) There will be no random drug or alcohol testing of the employees with seniority, except as provided for by an individual last chance agreement. 

(2) An employee with seniority shall be required to submit to drug or alcohol testing where: 

There is reasonable suspicion that an employee has been using, possesses, or is under the influence of a prohibited substance. “Reasonable suspicion” is defined to include, observation of behavior, such as abnormal speech, unsteady walking, breath odor, observation of physical manifestations frequently associated with some form of substance abuse, such as needle marks. 

There is an on-the-job accident or injury and where reasonable suspicion is involved and, where deliberate acts of carelessness were performed. 

The Company will not drug test when an employee has minor cuts, scratches, bumps and bruises and minor accidents such as slips in oil/water, stepping on clips, etc. 

Prior to a test, either the Plant Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Human Resource Manager, or the shift manager must approve. 

If the test result is positive, the test results may be used as a basis for discipline or discharge. 

A first time positive test shall result in the employee being required to attend the EAP and with full participation with a “Last Chance Agreement” (LCA) for up to 12 months. Subsequent positive tests after the expiration of the “LCA” can result in immediate termination. 

The Company is not prohibited from disciplining, up to and including discharging, an employee with seniority for just cause based on facts or circumstances other than a positive test. 

(3) The Company shall require applicants for employment to submit to drug and alcohol testing as part of the pre-employment screening. The Company shall also require probationary employees to submit to drug and alcohol testing. 

22.3 Other Rules Regarding Controlled Substances The subject of this Letter of Understanding concerns the use of an Employee Assistance Program and substance abuse testing. It does not affect Section 3.3 of the Agreement, except as otherwise stated in this Letter of Understanding. 

The parties recognize that, under the just cause standard, the Company has the right to discharge an employee for proven involvement in the sale or other distribution of controlled substances (e.g., possession with intent to deliver), even if this occurs off Company premises and not on Company time. 

If the Company has probable cause to believe that an employee is involved in such distribution (e.g., by being bound over for criminal trial after a preliminary examination), the employee may be suspended pending further investigation. If the employee is then proven to be involved (e.g., by criminal conviction), the suspension will be converted to discharge. 

If the employee is exonerated, the suspension will be lifted, and he will be made whole including appropriate back pay. 

It is understood by the Company and the Union that the procedure outlined in section (2)(a) and (2)(b) of this Article will be reviewed after one year. At that time, either party may propose change(s) which must have mutual agreement before any of the procedures in this Article are changed. 

Article Twenty-Three Miscellaneous

23.1 Gender The masculine gender shall include the feminine, and the singular shall include the plural, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. 

23.2 Headings The headings of articles and sections are included solely for convenience or reference. If there is any conflict between any such heading and the language of this Agreement, the language shall control. 

Article Twenty-Four Skilled Trades

24.1 “Inter-Class Bid If Skilled Trades bid “Inter-Class” – Mechanic Journeyman (Assembly, Molding) to another Mechanic Journeyman (Press Lines/Welding) position the following shall occur: 

(1) a 30 day trial period to allow Management to assess the individuals Skills & Abilities at the new position. 

(2) During this 30 day period their former position is held open if they choose to return to it or Management disqualifies them. 

(3) If at the end of the 30 day trial period it is determined that they are not at the Journeyman level in their Skills & Abilities for the new position, the JAC will assess their Abilities, Skills & Education, to determine where in the Apprentice Classification they will be placed and the accompanying wage. 

At that time, they will be considered an Apprentice. 

(4) If at the end of the 30 day trial period it is determined that they are at the Journeyman level in their Skills & Abilities for the new position, they will be recognized as a Journeyman in that Classification and paid accordingly. 

24.2 “Out-of-Class” Mechanic Journeyman to Machinist Journeyman position the following shall occur: 

(1) a 30 day trial period to allow Management to assess the individuals Skills & Abilities at the new position. 

(2) During this 30 day period their former position is held open if they choose to return to it or Management disqualifies them. 

(3) The JAC will assess their Abilities, Skills & Education, to determine where in the Apprentice Classification they will be placed and the accompanying wage. 

At that time, they will be considered an Apprentice. 

24.3 Continuous Operations Scheduling Arrangement 

(a) The nature of the Company's business sometimes requires significant amounts of overtime. If this occurs over an extended period of time, it may be beneficial for the Company and the employees involved for the Company to make changes in work schedules. Although the Company has the right to change schedules under subsection 10.1(b), the type of changes involved would require changes which would otherwise not be consistent with the terms of this Agreement (e.g., premium pay). 

(b) The employees involved will be assigned to A, B, C or D shift. 

The A's and the B's will be on the "day" shift and the C's and the D's will be on the "night" shift, with a normal schedule being a 12 hour schedule. 

There will be a 30 cents shift premium for those assigned to A and B and a 45 cents shift premium for those assigned to C and D. 

The Company will add 2 dedicated weekend shifts; an E day shift and a F night shift. 

The E shift will receive a 30 cent shift premium and the F shift employees will be entitled to a 45 cent shift premium to coincide with the shifts as noted above. 

The standard hours for E shift will be 6 am – 6 pm and for F shift the hours will be 6 pm – 6 am Saturday and Sunday; the employees on E and F shifts will be paid for 40 hours. If additional weekend help is required, it will be on a voluntary basis. 

For purposes of vacation scheduling for E and F shifts one day will be considered 20 hours. 

Section 10.1 (a) does not apply to these employees. 

(c) The lunch break under Section 10.1 (d) will be a 20 minute paid break. 

(d) Section 10.2 will not be in effect for the affected employees, any work in excess of 12 hours per shift or on a day off will be treated as overtime work. 

Saturday work will be paid at 12 hours overtime pay understanding that the employee must work their next regularly scheduled workday after to qualify for the Saturday overtime pay, unless prearranged between the employee and supervisor. 

All hours worked on a non-scheduled Sunday will be paid at double time. Any hours worked over forty hours per week will be paid at time and one half the employee’s regular rate of pay. 

(e) A primary purpose of this scheduling arrangement is to provide a schedule with days off. Therefore, if the Company requires an employee to work seven or more consecutive days and the employee works as scheduled, then hours worked on the seventh consecutive required day and for each consecutive required day thereafter will be paid at two times the employee’s regular rate, until the employee has been given the opportunity for a day off. 

(f) In applying Section 10.1(e)(1) for these employees the deadline for scheduling overtime for an employee’s scheduled day off will be the start of the lunch break of the shift on the day before the work is to be performed.  

If an employee wants to work on a scheduled day off, the employee may volunteer to work and may be allowed to work, as the Company has the need. 

(g) Eligibility days for holiday pay under Section 13.2(b) will be that employee’s regularly scheduled workdays. 

If the Company decides not to schedule an employee to work due to a holiday, and that workday would normally be a 12 hour shift for that employee, the employee will receive 12 hours pay. 

If an employee is scheduled or works during a holiday, they will receive 12 hours of holiday pay. Also, actual time worked on a paid holiday will be paid at two times the employee’s regular rate. 

If the employee is not scheduled to work on a recognized holiday, he will be paid 12 hours pay, and must qualify under the provisions of 13.1 and 13.2 of the current bargaining agreement. 

(h) An employee’s vacation week will be scheduled starting on Sunday if that employee is scheduled to work that day, and end on the following Monday. If an employee is not scheduled to work that Sunday; that employee would start on Saturday and end on the following Sunday. 

A vacation day will be charged and paid at 10 hours per day. 

(i) Apprentices who have related school instruction under the Apprenticeship Program may have a conflict between their class time and their work schedule. Work time missed due to this conflict will be considered “hours scheduled” under paragraph (d) above.

(j) The Company and the Union, through mutual agreement, can implement or discontinue this alternative schedule at least 30 days in advance. The Company and the Union will discuss scheduling options with the employees in the classifications involved before implementing this alternative schedule.

 Bereavement Schedules for Continuous Operations Schedule

(1) In the event of a death in the immediate family as defined in Section 16.9 upon the request of the employee, the four working days for bereavement leave will be administered so that the employee is excused from work for four consecutive scheduled working days and receive 48 hours of bereavement pay.

In the event of a death in the extended family as defined in Section 16.9 upon the request of the employee, the three working days for bereavement leave will be administered so that the employee is excused from work for three consecutive scheduled working days and receive 36 hours of bereavement pay.

(2) In the event of a death in the immediate family and extended family as defined in Section 16.9 upon the request of the employee working on the E or F shift, the working days for bereavement leave will be administered so that the employee is excused from work for two consecutive scheduled working days and receive 40 hours of bereavement pay.

24.4 Apprenticeship

(a) An apprentice in the Apprenticeship Program will start at the established rate and will progress toward the Journeyman rate in eight equal steps. 

Each step will be for six months, during which the apprentice must have 1,000 hours of work in the trade, as provided in the Apprenticeship Program. 

The Apprenticeship program will not deviate from the CBA, Company Work rules or Attendance Policy, but will adhere to the Apprenticeship Program Standards. 

An apprentice who is removed from the Apprenticeship program will return to the classification he was in before he became an Apprentice. 

After ratification of this agreement, any new apprentice who is removed from the Apprenticeship program will return to an open position in the plant in which he has the seniority to hold. 

24.5 Semi-Skilled Future openings in the Semi-Skilled Maintenance Classification will be filled first by internal candidates and then by external candidates meeting the Classification selection criteria. 

The Company will be removing the Maintenance “A” Classification; those presently in the Classification will be grandfathered in to the classification but will be replaced by a Journeyman or Apprentice when they leave. 

The selection criteria for the Semi-Skilled Maintenance Classification will be as follows: 

Sign Job Posting, submit a resume, take and pass and Objective Test to determine their Mechanical Aptitude/Blueprint Reading ability, satisfactory review of their Attendance – Discipline and Safety Records, Pass a formatted interview with the hiring Supervisor/Manager, and finally the selections done by hiring Supervisor/Manager (If candidates are equal, then the one with the most seniority will be offered the position). 

Following their selection, the employee will have to complete limited advance educational training in an acceptable time line set by the Company. 

24.6 Skilled Trades General

(a) For purposes of Article #7, all employees entering the skilled trades classification, including those currently enrolled in the Apprenticeship Program will utilize their seniority date in that specific skilled trades classification with overall plant seniority recognized for benefits such as vacation. 

(b) If an employee is involuntarily removed from a Skilled Trades Classification for reasons other than performance or attendance when returned to the Skilled Trades that time spent out of the classification shall be included in departmental seniority. 

(c) Personal tools used by a skilled trades employee are the responsibility of the employee. The Company, in its discretion, may pay for a replacement tool, e.g., if worn out or broken through normal use, but is not obligated to do so.