1) Picket at Comerica Bank in Detroit in support Canadian Auto Workers, Tuesday, Nov., 24, Noon
2) Rally at Wayne State to protest Michigan Promise Scholarship Cuts, Monday, November 23 at 12 Noon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Contact: David Sole: 313-680-5508
Supporters of 80 Canadian workers will picket outside Comerica bank, 500 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, November 24 at noon
Canadian workers of Adraco and Aramco a division of Catalina Precision, have been denied their severance, termination, and vacation pay by the Catalina's creditors Comerica Bank.
The two plants based in Windsor, Ontario employed 80 members of CAW Local 195 and a number of non-union office and supervisors, all of whom are left out in the cold.
"Ontario labor standards afford the right to severance and termination pay in circumstance such as these, however the inaction of the Ontario Government to enforce the provision of the legislation is a disgrace," said the President of CAW Local 195.
Workers are owed $2.4 million Canadian.
"We are targeting Comerica because they are the ones holding the purse strings for Catalina. Comerica is the major creditor, looking to sell off or auction off the assets in both of these facilities in order to attempt to recoup any debt Catalina owes them. Yet the workers both union and salary staff have not received a penny from this employer or Comerica," concluded the CAW president.
Comerica received $2.3 billion in bailout funds from the federal government in 2008 through the TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program).
According to reports in newspapers, The Windsor Star and LeMonde, Catalina's principle officers, Katherine Zickfeld and Gregory Willis, were recently convicted and sentenced to five years in jail and 20 million Euro fine by a court in France for embezzlement and fraud, leaving 300 French workers unemployed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Please support Wayne State Students in the struggle to restore the Michigan Promise Scholarship. The Michigan Promise scholarship provides up to $4,000 to high school graduates for successfully completing two years of postsecondary education. All students who took the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) have the opportunity to receive up to $4,000 if they meet all eligibility requirements.
Protest cutting of Promise scholarships Monday, November 23 at 12 noon Warren and Woodward, Detroit (on Wayne State campus)
Letter form WSU Student Council President:
Dear fellow student,
At noon on Monday, November 23, the Wayne State Student Council will shut down Warren Avenue in front of the Welcome Center for a rally protesting the elimination of the Michigan Promise Scholarship. Loss of the scholarship is just the latest negative result of the Michigan legislature's continuing failure to guarantee Michigan students, and higher education in general, the kind of financial support that will return our families and our state to prosperity.
The Michigan Promise Scholarship's final fate is still under discussion in Lansing, and by working together we can help influence the debate. So come join us and make your voice heard!
There will be free T-shirts, free "Hey, Legislators, keep your Michigan Promise" signs, and student speakers.
If you'd like to tell your story at the rally about how your funds were cut and what this means for you and your family, please let us know. E-mail us at keepthemichiganpromise at gmail.com
I and other members of the WSU Student Council look forward to seeing you on Monday.
What: Protest cutting of Promise scholarships When: Monday, November 23 at 12 noon Where: Warren and Woodward, Detroit (on Wayne State campus)
James Gale, President Wayne State Student Council