CAW and Caterpillar Inc.’s Electro-Motive Canada to reach settlement over plant

The union representing some 500 Caterpillar employees at the shuttered plant in London, Ont. says it has reached a tentative settlement agreement.

The deal between Canadian Auto Workers and Electro-Motive Canada, the locomotive factory purchased by Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc. 18 months ago, was reached after nearly two weeks of negotiations. A ratification vote is scheduled for Thursday, with details reserved until then.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Tim Carrie, president at CAW Local 27, which represents the 465 employees.

“We worked really hard, I think we made accomplishments, but nothing takes away from the feeling of the permanent loss of jobs.”

Carrie said the deal goes beyond the minimum standards as required by law, which guarantees one week of severance per year to a maximum of 26 weeks, and nothing for employees with less than five years employment.

He said about one-third of the workers at the plant have more than 20 years’ experience.

Electro-Motive announced the closure of the London plant on Feb. 3, following an employee lockout that began Jan. 1.

Original Article
Source: Star
Author: Laura Stone

Diane Finley sells old-age pension changes to the young

Diane Finley had to wrap up her lunchtime address Tuesday before the Fairmont Royal York went ahead with its prearranged fire drill.

But by then, the human resources minister had pulled enough rhetorical alarms to empty a downtown fire hall.

In her demographics tutorial to the Canadian Club, Finley sought to do something the federal government has not done since Prime Minister Stephen Harper pulled the Old Age Security card from a hat in Davos almost a month ago — provide some context for voters.

Since his speech to the World Economic Forum, the government has handled the OAS file ineptly, letting the opposition parties frame the debate — or scaremonger, as the government would have it.

Either way, it is something opposition parties are wont to do when a major policy change is tossed out completely unadorned by detail.

Oil executive son's testimony at Prince Rupert Northern Gateway pipeline joint review panel

The most moving moment of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel hearings in Prince Rupert which wrapped up Saturday were spoken by Lee Brain, the 26-year-old son of an oil executive.

Here is an excerpt of his speech:

My oral evidence today comes in the form of a story, an experience I had three years ago which directly reflects the impacts this project will have on me, and my community.

The story begins after a lifetime of debating with my father -he thought it was high time for me to finally experience first-hand the magnitude and power of the oil industry.

So in the summer of 2009, I had the opportunity to spend one full month on one of the world’s largest oil refineries, producing 800,000 barrels of oil per day. At the time, it was under an expansion project to produce up to an astonishing 1.2 million barrels per day and for confidentiality reasons, the company and details of the project will remain unnamed.

Bob Morris, Indiana Lawmaker, Calls Girl Scouts A 'Radicalized Organization'

An Indiana lawmaker has decided not to support a resolution celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts because he feels the group is a "radicalized organization" that "sexualizes" young girls and promotes homosexuality.

In a letter sent to Indiana lawmakers obtained by the Journal Gazette, Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) said he plans to pull his two daughters out of their Indiana Girl Scout troop because information he found online about how the organization allegedly operates. One source he mentions is conservative "news" site World Net Daily.

The Associated Press reports:

... Morris said he found online allegations that the Girl Scouts are a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood, encourage sex and allow transgender females to join. He also wrote that the fact that first lady Michelle Obama is honorary president should give lawmakers pause before they endorse the Girl Scouts.

Joe Walsh: Birth Control Debate 'Not About Women'

Opponents of U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh fired back at the conservative Illinois congressmen over the weekend after he said the national debate over birth control coverage is "not about women."

During a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing last week, Walsh told the all-male panel that President Barack Obama's plan to eliminate co-pays for birth control was an attack on religious freedom.

"This is not about women. This is not about contraceptives. We know, you've said it, we've said it up here. This is about religious freedom. This is about religious liberties," Walsh told the panel.

Since Obama announced the plan, the always outspoken Walsh has made his opinion on the matter very well known. Last week he sat down with "conservative watchdog group" Accuracy in Media and said the president "stabbed [clergy] in the back," with the contraceptive requirement.

One of Walsh's opponent's in Illinois' 8th District, however, believes her GOP rival's positions are out of step with his constituents. Iraq war veteran and Democratic candidate Tammy Duckworth released a statement blasting Walsh for his stance on birth control coverage.

Santorum In '95: 'I Was Basically Pro-Choice All My Life, Until I Ran For Congress'

WASHINGTON -- Prior to entering public office, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum was a self-admitted pro-choice Republican unwilling to dabble in the cultural conservative politics that now defines his presidential campaign, a review of old campaign documents and interviews shows.

This past week, the Pennsylvania Republican-turned-GOP primary frontrunner made a number of eyebrow raising statements meant to demonstrate an uncompromising posture on social issues. He's questioned President Obama's theology, argued that prenatal testing is a form of eugenics, and stated his opposition for contraception funding.

His campaign has insisted that these are side issues, but when pressed during an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday morning, Santorum's top spokesman Hogan Gidley exulted in his boss' consistency on such topics.

"I mean, that's who he is," Gidley said. "He doesn't have to tack to the right on social issues like Mitt Romney because he actually firmly believes those things."

NDP membership hits record ahead of convention

The NDP says its membership has reached a record high of 128,351 in advance of next month's leadership convention, thanks largely to big gains in Ontario and Quebec.

Close to 45,000 Canadians have joined the NDP since October, according to figures released Tuesday. Saturday was the last day people could join the party and still vote in the leadership convention next month.

"We're thrilled with the growth we've seen since the start of this leadership race and it reflects the historic growth we saw in the May 2011 election," said Sally Housser, the interim deputy national director.

"I think it's really exciting for all the people that enjoy the democratic process to have nearly 130,000 who now have the opportunity to vote for the next leader of the Official Opposition."

The NDP had 83,824 members in October, but that total, provided by the NDP Tuesday, does not include more than 2,400 people who were previously identified as "federal" members. The total number of NDP members in September, before the federal members were distributed among the provinces, was 86,545.

Rick Santorum-Linked Hospital Chain Saw Suicide Attempts, Abuse, And Loss Of Parents' Rights

WASHINGTON -- Three weeks ago, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) canceled campaign events in Florida on the eve of the state's primary to be with his ailing daughter in a Philadelphia hospital. His three-year-old, Bella, has a genetic condition that can be fatal and had contracted pneumonia. On the phone from his daughter's hospital room, the presidential candidate told reporters, "It's been a very hectic 36 hours."

Bella recovered, but Santorum rejoined the campaign with his daughter's health still on his mind. Stumping in Minnesota, he insisted that children like his daughter who are on the "margins of life" would not get adequate medical attention under President Barack Obama's health care reform law. He went so far as to invoke former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's infamous charge that the federal law would create bureaucratic "death panels."

"In top-down, government run systems, patients become commodities, and their value is based on their usefulness to society," Santorum elaborated to The Huffington Post. "Often times, those with special needs are not viewed as 'useful' by society's standards -- and far too many like our little girl have been forced to receive inadequate care and in many instances no care at all."

Super PACs Overtaking Campaign Fundraising

WASHINGTON -- An unmistakable dynamic is playing out in the money game among Republican presidential candidates: New "super" political action committees are growing more powerful than the campaigns they support.

For two of the GOP front-runners, their supportive super PACs raised more money and have more cash left in the bank than the candidates' own campaigns. Helping their efforts are major financial gifts from wealthy business executives, whose contributions can be essential to the groups' continued operations.

The Mitt Romney-leaning Restore Our Future and Newt Gingrich-supportive Winning Our Future raised a combined $17 million last month and spent nearly $24 million during the period. That financial strength allowed the groups to splash the airwaves in key primary states with millions of dollars in TV ads.

The proliferation of new super PACs continues to underscore how the groups, which can raise and spend unlimited sums, are influencing the race. Their fundraising last month provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the identities of the rich supporters who will help elect the next president, along with details on how the millions of dollars they donated have been spent.

Supreme Court To Revisit Affirmative Action In University Of Texas Case

WASHINGTON -- Affirmative action is heading back to the Supreme Court, and this time its prospects for survival are poorer than ever.

The Court announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to hear a challenge to the University of Texas' affirmative action program, which is used in sorting through applications after the automatic admission of all in-state applicants who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

The state's top 10 percent law was passed as a race-neutral way of facilitating diversity on campus after a federal appeals court in 1996 banned affirmative action in Texas' public universities. Then in 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court -- in a majority opinion written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor for herself and the Court's four liberals -- approved of certain types of race-conscious admissions practices in higher education for the purpose of achieving a diverse student body. In response, the University of Texas reinstated affirmative action, this time to assess applicants who would not be automatically admitted under the top 10 percent law.