Collective Bargaining Agreement

AGREEMENT


PREAMBLE


(1) This Agreement entered into on this 9th day of August, 1995, (effective July 1, 1995) between POWERMATIC, A DIVISION OF DEVLIEG-BULLARD, INC., McMinnville, Tennessee, hereinafter referred to as the "Company," and the UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO-CLC, hereinafter referred to as the "Union," on behalf of Local Union No. 7431.


(2) It is the intent and purpose of the parties hereto that this Agreement shall promote and improve industrial and economic relations between the Company, the Union, and employees; and to set forth herein the basic agreements covering the rates of pay, hours of work, and conditions of employment to be observed between the parties at the Main Plant and Foundry located on Morrison Road, McMinnville, Tennessee.


ARTICLE I - RECOGNITION
AND REPRESENTATION


RECOGNITION OF BARGAINING UNIT


(3) The Company recognizes the Union as the sole collective bargaining agent pursuant to the certification by the National Labor Relations Board, United States of America, Case No. 10-RC7266, dated the 26th day of December, 1967, for all production and maintenance employees of the Employer's factory and foundry in McMinnville, Tennessee, including store keepers, plant clerical employees, material handlers, tool room employees, tool crib employees, and leadmen, but excluding all office clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.


GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE


(4) The Union may designate a chief steward for each shift of ten (10) or more employees at the main plant and the foundry.


The employees shall be represented by a grievance committee who shall be designated in a manner determined by the Union, and who shall be employees of the Company. The president of the Union shall be an ex officio member of the grievance committee.


Upon proper notice to their respective foreman, members of the grievance committee shall be permitted to visit departments other than their own at reasonable times during their regular shift hours for the purpose of transacting proper Union business under this agreement. The privilege of conducting such business during their regular shift hours without loss of pay is extended providing it is not abused.


The committeeman will be notified by the foreman of the time and place of the meeting within thirty (30) minutes of the time of notice.


DEPARTMENTAL STEWARDS


(5) The employees shall be represented by seven (7) Stewards and one (1) Chief Committeeman at the Main Plant. Employees at the Foundry shall be represented by two (2) Stewards and one (1) Chief Committeeman.


Stewards shall be assigned and directed to areas exclusively by the Local Union President.


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In the event the work force increases to 160 hourly employees, the Main Plant and the Foundry will increase one (1) each.


After properly reporting to their respective foreman, departmental stewards will be permitted to handle promptly, proper matters under the grievance procedure within the department or district which employees they represent. However, permission from the foreman will not be unreasonably withheld. The privilege of conducting proper Union business during their regular shift hours without loss of pay is extended providing it is not abused.


MEETINGS AND AGENDA


(6) Meetings shall be arranged between the Company representatives and the Grievance Committee for the purpose of discussing grievances and such matters as they may arise from this Agreement whenever conditions and circumstances necessitate such meetings. When such occasions arise, meetings shall be arranged by mutual agreement as to time and place. Company and Union representatives shall exchange an agenda of the subjects or grievances to be discussed at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the scheduled meeting unless this requirement is waived by mutual agreement at the time the meeting is requested.


UNION ROSTER


(7) A written list of the Union officers, negotiating and grievance committee members and departmental stewards shall be furnished to the Company immediately after their designation, and the Union shall notify the Company promptly in writing of any changes.


NON-DISCRIMINATION


(8)(a) There shall be no discrimination against any employee because of his membership or non-membership in the Union or because of his acting as an officer or in any other capacity on behalf of the Union. The parties to this Agreement will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or age above the legal minimum. The parties will take affirmative action to insure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin or age above the legal minimum. Such action shall include, but not be limited to, employment, upgrading, demotion or transfer, recruitment or recruitment advertising, layoffs or terminations, rates of pay or other forms of compensation and selection for training, including bulletin boards available to employees and applicants for employment, for the posting of notices setting forth the provisions of this non-discrimination clause. The parties further affirm that they recognize and will comply with Executive Order 11246 and with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Vietnam Era Veterans Act of 1974, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended).


(b) Wherever in this Agreement a noun or pronoun is expressed male or female gender, it is understood and agreed that such noun or pronoun shall be interpreted interchangeably as male or female gender.


ARTICLE II - UNION SECURITY
AND RESPONSIBILITY


SOLICITING MEMBERSHIP


(9) The Union agrees that there shall be no solicitation for Union Membership during working hours on Company time or at Company expense.


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DUES DEDUCTION


(10) The Company will deduct from employee's wages and remit to the proper officer of the Union all dues, initiation fees, and assessments levied by the Local Union and International Union of such members of the Union as individually and voluntarily certify in writing on check-off cards supplied by the Union, that they authorize such deductions.


REMITTANCE TO UNION


(11)(a) An abstract of the above deductions, showing names and amounts deducted from each individual will accompany the monthly remittance to the Secretary-Treasurer of the United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on or before the twenty-fifth (25th) of each month.


(b) The Company shall furnish the Financial Secretary and the President of the Local Union a monthly written list of those Union employees from whom deductions have been made and the amount of the deductions. The written list shall include those Union employees from whom no deductions were made and the general reason therefore.


EFFICIENT OPERATION


(12) The Union agrees that it will do everything within its power to cause the employees covered by this Agreement individually and collectively, to perform and render efficient work and service, and that it and its members will wholeheartedly cooperate with the Company in the introduction or operation of new equipment or changes in processes or production methods to improve quality or to improve the Company's competitive position.


FAIR DAY'S WORK


(13) The Union recognizes the responsibilities imposed upon it as the exclusive bargaining agent of the employees covered by this Agreement; and realizes that, in order to provide maximum opportunities for continuing employment, good working conditions and fair and equitable wages, the Company must be in a strong competitive position, must produce efficiently, must maintain quality, and at a competitive cost consistent with fair labor standards. The Union, through its bargaining agency, assumes responsibility for cooperating with the Company in the attainment of these goals. The Union, therefore, agrees that it will cooperate with the Company to assure a fair day's work on the part of its members.


ARTICLE III - MANAGEMENT'S
RESPONSIBILITY


COMPANY RIGHTS


(14)(a) Any of the rights, powers or authority the Company had prior to the signing of this Agreement are retained by the Company, except those specifically abridged, delegated, granted or modified by this Agreement and any supplemental agreements that may hereafter be made, provided the exercise of these rights does not conflict with any provisions of this Agreement.


(b) The management of the Company and the direction of the working forces, including the products to be manufactured, the location of the plants, the schedules of production, the schedules of hours and shifts, the methods, processes and means of manufacturing, the right to hire, promote, demote, transfer, establish reasonable rules of plant conduct, discharge or discipline for proper cause and to maintain discipline and efficiency of employees, improve quality, reduce costs and


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establish and attain reasonable work and production standards, are the sole and exclusive rights and responsibilities of the Company, except as provided in this Agreement and all supplemental agreements.


It is understood and agreed that this section will not be used for the purpose of discriminating against Union members.


The foregoing enumeration of the Company's rights shall not be deemed to exclude other inherent management rights.


ARTICLE IV - SENIORITY


DEFINITION AND APPLICATION


(15) For the purposes of this Agreement, an employee's seniority shall be his length of continuous service with the Company from his last date of hire. In effecting changes in employment status of employees, plant seniority shall be applied as specified hereinafter in this Agreement.


PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES


(16) All new employees shall be regarded as probationary employees during the first thirty (30) working days of their employment with the Company, exclusive of any absences. A probationary employee shall have no seniority rights, his retention as an employee is entirely within the discretion of the Company and the Company's decisions on handling of probationary employees may not be the subject of a grievance either by the employee or by the Union. After satisfactory completion of the probationary period the employee will become a permanent employee, will become covered under this Agreement, and his seniority reverts back to the original date of hire.


UNION REPRESENTATIVES SENIORITY


(17)(a) For the purpose of lay-off, recall, and shift retention only, the President and Vice President shall possess top plant-wide seniority during their term of office providing there is work available which they are capable of performing.


(b) Departmental Stewards and Chief Stewards, for the purpose of lay-off, recall and shift retention only, shall head the seniority list of their designated district and shift during their term of office provided there is work available which they are capable of performing.


(c) In the application of paragraph (17), sub-paragraph (a) and (b) above, the following procedure will be followed: the President, Vice President, Chief Grievance Committeeman and Departmental Stewards shall possess super seniority on their respective jobs and will not be laid off from their respective jobs until all jobs in their respective classification are curtailed.


(d) Departmental Stewards super seniority in their respective departments will prevail over the President, Vice President, and Chief Grievance Committeeman, unless and/or until the President, Vice President, and Chief Committeeman have nowhere else to exercise their seniority, in which case the President, Vice President, or Chief Committeeman could then bump the Departmental Steward.


(e) Chief Committeemen and Departmental Stewards super seniority is limited to their respective shifts and area, such as foundry or main plant.


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SENIORITY LIST


(18) Effective with this agreement, a complete list of seniority dates of all employees within the bargaining unit shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Union. The Company shall furnish the Departmental Stewards and Chief Stewards with a current list of all employees in the bargaining unit setting forth their seniority status once every six (6) months. A copy of the current seniority list will be posted every thirty (30) days at a designated location at the Main plant and Foundry. Should the list be found to be incorrect or if changes occur in the list, a corrected copy will be furnished to the Union and a copy posted within five (5) working days.


LOSS OF SENIORITY


(19) An employee shall lose his seniority for the following reasons:


(a) he quits voluntarily;


(b) he is discharged for proper cause;


(c) he is absent from work for three (3)
consecutive work days without proper
notification to the Company unless he has
valid reason for not reporting;


(d) he fails to report for work within six (6)
working days after notice of recall by
certified mail to the last known address on
the employee's personnel record without valid
reason therefore, provided he notifies the
Company within three (3) days of his
intention to return to work;


(e) lay-off for twelve (12) continuous months or
period equal to his accumulated seniority up
to a maximum of five (5) years.


FORCE REDUCTION


(20)(a) When a reduction in force is required, the employee or employees with the least plant seniority in the classification and shift involved shall be laid off first. Such employees shall be entitled to exercise their seniority in any classification in which they are qualified for, with the result that the most junior employee in the classification on that shift will then be laid off. If a non-cell employee elects to bump into a cell, they can only displace the junior employee in the Cell "B" classification and must be capable of performing 20% of any of the work required in the cell. In the event there is no Cell operator "B" in that cell, but there are junior employees to him classified as Cell Operator "A", then the employee would be placed in the cell as a Cell Operator "B" provided he can perform 50% of any of the work required with the result that the junior Cell Operator "A" would then be laid off.


In the event a force reduction is required in a cell, an "A" Cell operator or an employee who had previously held the cell Operator "A" classification in that cell may displace a junior employee in either the "A" or "B" cell classification provided they can perform the work required in that cell as outlined in sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph. A cell Operator "B" can only displace a cell Operator "B" in another cell provided he is capable of performing 20% of any of the work required, except that if there is no junior Cell Operator "B" to displace but there is a junior Cell Operator "A", then the employee would be placed in the cell as a Cell Operator "B" provided he can perform 50% of any of the work required with the result that the junior Cell Operator "A" would then be laid off. In no event shall 50% of the employees in a given cell be displaced during a six (6)


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month period of time from the date of the latest force reduction that affected a particular cell.


(b) An employee may exercise his seniority provided that when, in the opinion of the Company, he has the physical capacity and the qualifications to perform the work required in such classification. In order to so exercise seniority, the employee must be capable of performing the work required without a special training period, except that an employee who has held the classification previously, and changes have been made to the classification since he last held the classification, such employee will be allowed a familiarization period of up to five (5) working days. If the employee is then not capable of performing the work required without training, such employee will then be disqualified from the classification. Once an employee has elected to exercise his seniority on a reduction in force, he shall not be entitled to again exercise his seniority unless another reduction in force occurs or he is disqualified.


(c) An employee who elects not to exercise their seniority in (b) and there are bumping opportunities available will be classed as a voluntary lay-off and will go out of the plant.


(d) An employee who has exhausted his seniority rights to bump classifications for which he is qualified in (b) above may apply to the Personnel Office for placement in a pool job defined as labor grades 8, 9 and 10. He will be placed in a job in the pool in accordance with his seniority and physical capacity to perform the work available.


(e) When a reduction in force becomes necessary, the Company will post a notice on the bulletin boards at least five (5) days in advance of the lay-off identifying the department and/or classifications affected. The five (5) days notice shall not be required if the layoff is due to conditions that were beyond the control of the Company (such as an act of God, fire, flood, storm, or power failure).


FORCE INCREASE


(21)(a) In restoring the workforce after a force reduction, the employee or employees with the greatest plant seniority, either in the plant or out of the plant, will be recalled first subject to their physical capacity and qualifications to perform the work required, except that employees who are laid off out of classification and are still in the plant will have recall rights only to those jobs they have held since being laid off from their regular job classification subject to their seniority.


Any employee who is on voluntary lay-off will not be recalled to any job until a job in his regular classification on any shift is open. In the event the employee's regular job classification is eliminated after a voluntary lay-off, or if they have not been recalled after a twelve (12) month period, they will no longer be considered a voluntary lay-off and will be subject to normal recall procedure. Employees being recalled to jobs in labor grades 8, 9 and 10 will be recalled subject to their physical capacity and seniority only.


With respect to restoring the work force in a cell, the senior qualified employee classified as a cell Operator "A" shall be eligible for recall to either a cell Operator "B" or cell Operator "A" classification provided they are qualified to do the work required in that cell. A senior qualified employee classified as a cell Operator "B" shall only be eligible to be recalled to a cell Operator "B" classification provided they can do 20% of the work required, unless they had previously held the classification of cell Operator "A" in that cell in which case they could be recalled to a cell Operator "A" classification. A senior qualified non-cell operator can be recalled to a cell


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Operator "B" classification provided they can perform at least 20% of the work required in the cell.


(b) All employees must return when recalled to their regular job classification and shift or recalled to a classification which is equal to or higher in labor grade then their regular classification on their regular shift. If an employee refuses recall to his regular job classification on a shift other than his regular shift, then the employee shall forfeit future recall rights to his regular job classification on those shifts. If an employee refuses recall to any other classification and/or pool job, he shall forfeit future recall rights to such classification and/or pool job on that shift.


JOB BIDDING PROCEDURE


(22)(a) When vacancies occur or new jobs are created, all such openings shall be posted by the Company for three (3) working days; however, before the job is posted, employees currently holding a job in the open classification will be given the option of changing shifts in accordance with their seniority for the open job. Employees on lay off status may bid for the open job, however, it is understood and agreed to that the Company or the Union will have absolutely no obligation to notify such employees of the job opening. The Company will provide the Chief Steward at the Main Plant and Foundry with a copy of all bids at the end of the bidding procedure along with the name of the successful bidder.


(b) To be eligible for a job vacancy, an employee must have completed the probationary period and be considered a permanent employee. The successful bidder on a job shall not be entitled to bid on another opening for a maximum period of ninety (90) calendar days unless the bid is for a higher labor grade.


(c) Employees bidding on a job shall be selected from the bidders on the basis of qualifications, physical capacity and seniority. When qualifications and physical capacity are considered relatively equal, the most senior employee will be given the job. However, jobs in labor grades 8, 9 and 10 will be filled by considering only seniority and physical capacity to perform the job. If no person who is qualified bids on the job, the Company may hire a new employee for the job. If the Company is unable to find a qualified candidate on the outside within six (6) months, then the Company will either cancel the bid or bid the job as a training classification and select and train the most qualified senior employee, if one is available.


Once a job is posted and awarded, and the job again becomes vacant within thirty (30) working days from the date of the award, the job will not be re-posted but instead will be filled in accordance with this paragraph based on the original posting.


(d) If a successful bidder is unable to perform the new assignment after an appropriate trial period of up to thirty (30) working days he shall be given the opportunity to return to his old classification.


(e) A successful bidder on a job posting shall be assigned to the job within ten (10) working days of the end of the posting period unless extenuating circumstances are involved. In any event, the successful bidder shall receive the appropriate rate on his new classification not more then ten (10) working days from the date the job is awarded. If the job is awarded to an employee and accepted in writing by the employee and he subsequently refuses to accept the job, he shall not be entitled to bid on another job for ninety (90) days.


(f) Job vacancies which will extend for a period of thirty (30) working days or more because the incumbent is on leave because of illness or injury or has been discharged pending final disposition, shall be posted as a temporary opening immediately upon positive determination that the vacancy will continue for


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thirty (30) working days or more. In the event the incumbent loses his seniority status, the successful bidder shall be considered to have been given a permanent job award.


(g) Employees who are awarded a job of Cell Operator "B" will be given training opportunities to learn all steps within the cell so that they may be upgraded to Cell Operator "A" within a one (1) year Period. To be eligible to be upgraded to Cell Operator "A", they must be qualified to perform that work in each defined step of the cell. The Progression Committee will review the progress on a quarterly basis. An employee who is not qualified to be upgraded will be told what improvements would be required in order for them to become upgraded. Employees who have not been qualified in each step within the cell will not be upgraded until they have become qualified in each step. The Company will not unreasonably withhold training opportunities to cell employees.


(h) A committee will be established to review the JIT step progression system which will meet on a quarterly basis. The committee will consist of the Industrial Relations Manager, the Plant Superintendent and the respective Supervisor for the Company and the Union President, Chief Steward and the respective Steward for the Union.


(i) When a vacancy occurs in a given cell, the job vacancy will be posted in accordance with sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph. At the same time, the Company may hire a new employee as a cell operator trainee without having to post the trainee job. The cell trainee may be placed in various cells as needed and for filling vacancies created by successful bidders without being temporary transferred, until such time that a cell job is posted with no successful bidders, or within six (6) months, whichever comes first. At that time the cell operator trainee will be permanently assigned to that cell as a cell operator trainee for that particular cell and any movement, thereafter, out of the cell would require a temporary transfer consistent with the labor agreement. Once assigned to a cell, the trainee would progress to cell Operator "B" after he becomes, in the opinion of the Company, qualified to perform twenty percent (20%) of the work required in that cell or after six (6) months from the date he was employed, whichever comes first. The experience a trainee gains while classified as a cell trainee will not be considered in determining the qualifications of the successful bidder for a job opening award.


TEMPORARY TRANSFER ASSIGNMENTS


(23)(a) When operating conditions necessitate the temporary transfer of an employee from one classification to another classification to fill a vacancy or opening for a temporary period, such employees shall be paid as provided in Paragraph (41) "Temporary Transfer Rate."


(b) The Company will afford the opportunity for the transfer to senior qualified employees, provided that they can be spared from their job, that the remaining employees can perform the work satisfactorily and they are qualified to perform the work required. In the event no one desires the transfer, the junior qualified employee will be transferred. A senior employee displaced from his original bid job shall have first opportunity to move back to his job on temporary transfers provided the temporary opening exceeds eight (8) hours.


(c) A temporary transfer shall not exceed fifteen (15) days worked but may be extended by mutual agreement between the Company and the Union.


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(d) A list of temporary transfers will be given to the Departmental Steward weekly from his area for all transfers made during the preceding week. In addition, a list of all temporary transfers will be given to the Union President monthly for all transfers made during the preceding month.


(e) When it becomes necessary for the Company to temporary transfer Departmental Stewards from their designa ...