There has been a lot happening in the last two months.  Here is a brief overview of the issues.  I hope this answers some of the employees’ questions.

VERI OFFER

The offer was extended to 194 of our employees.  Over 60% of the eligible employees accepted the offer.

We met with the Company this week to discuss the next step.  The Union proposed to the Company that they consider extending the VERI offer to the employees that were not on the original offer list, but would still have 30 years of seniority by the end of 2010 from their date of hire.  The Company will consider this proposal and get back to us.  They did not reject this proposal, so we are confident that they are seriously looking at it.

FUTURE PROJECTS – Fraser Morgan and Nickel Rim South

The Company is committed to ensuring that these two projects are completed as soon as possible.  There was no discussion on canceling either project, only re-affirmation on the facts that the goal is to complete these projects as soon as we can.

OTHER DISCUSSIONS

The Company stated that they are re-analyzing the business plan for next year to ensure that we are still able to operate in this current economic climate.  There was no discussion on further cut-backs in the near future.

TRANSFER PROCESS

The process on moving the employees from T/L, Craig and CMS is underway and we are hoping to have everything in place by February 1st, 2009.

Your site Chief Stewards involved in the process will keep you informed as much as they can.

If you have any more questions, please contact me or your site Chief Steward.