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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1988-08-23, Page 3Fcundry workers cha over to ' continental Almost 250 employees began working "continental" shifts at Western Foundry this week. The change has come in response to the increased product demand the foundry has experienced this summer. The change means that workers will put in 12 -hour shifts instead of the more common eight-hour shifts. This provides workers with longer consecutive periods of time off, while allowing the company to meet the needs of its customers. The foundry is operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, turning out products for its major customers, Ford and General Motors. Management became concerned with the amount of over- time it was necessary for workers to put in to ensure that contracts would be met. Before the change, em- ployees were working six days a week. Under the new schedule, in a 28 -day rotation, each worker will receive 14 days off. The decision to change to the new hours came about through dis- cussions by a joint union -manage- ment committee. Several alternatives were pre- sented to the workers and 80 per cent of them favored the change to con- tinental shifts. .. According to union representative Brian Leachman, the change may not be permanent. "Hopefully it will only last until peak season is over," he says. Wayne D. Phibbs, the human resource manager for Deadline is threatening Blyth Festival project Plans for expanding facilities at the Blyth Festival Theatre have been threatened by an announce- ment that the provincial govern- ment's commitment to the program will lapse on Sept. 7, if the theatre has not raised its share of the expansion costs. The community theatre, whose reputation as the home of new Can- adian plays is becoming increas- ingly well known, had hoped to con- struct facilities t i alleviate the over- crowded, artistically -inadequate and sometimes unsafe conditions the company has been rehearsing and performing under for over 10 years. The proposed theatre expansion qualified for a 50 per cent subsidy -some time ago; - but- since then the grant program has been restructured. A letter received from the provincial -citizenship and culture ministry on July 7 informed that the theatre had only two months to take advantage of the grant for which it had qualified. If the festival cannot raise $750,000 by that deadline (locally and through a hoped-for $613,000 commitment from the federal government) , it will have to re -apply for thegrant under new rules that limit provincial commitment to 33 per cent of the costs. The theatre beard intends to raise a total of $620,000 independent of government grants. To date it has raised only $195,000, $115,000 short of that demanded by the government. The letter from the ministry took the board by surprise. Several major fund-raising events had been scheduled to take place after the arbitrary Sept. 7 deadline and can't be rescheduled quickly enough. The board has resorted to appeal- ing for help to patrons, audience members and private sponsors. As part of this effort, the theatre is emphasizing its value, not just to the performers and area theatre fans, but to the community as a whole. Among the facts, mentioned in a recent media release were the following: —A 1985 study by the University of Waterloo indicated that the theatre injected over $690,000 into the local economy each season. —Over 3,000 people attend the Blyth festival each week,, many of whom spend, much, n ore than the price of their ticket on, meals, accommodation and souvenirs. —Almost 40,000 people will have seen plays at the Blyth Festival by the end of this season. —The seasonal theatre company of over 100 creates a' significant demand for housing and services in the town. —The cultural sector is the sixth largest employer in Ontario: the average Ontario consuine spends $216 each year on cultural activities. There is concern, however, that even if the community does manage to somehow raise the needed funds by the September deadline, funding from the federal and provincial governments may still be delayed. The theatre finds itself in some- thing of a Catch-22 situation. The federal government is unwilling to commit itself to financing the con- struction until the provincial government does. The provincial government says the festival must obtain federal coMmttments before it is wiling to commit to its share of the price. The festival was hoping that the provincial government would foot half of the,$1,8 million bill ($900,000) and the federal government another third ($540,000), leaving the festival to raise $360,000. Worried that one level of govern- ment might come through with fewer funds than expected, the festival is attempting to raise twice that amount, $720,000. The proposed $1.8, million struc- ture is actually something of a bar- gain. The estimated price of the facility proposed under the original feasibility study was $3.5 million. The lower-priced construction which is hoped to be undertaken will provide the bare minimum facilities to allow the festival to continue growing. "It's certainly something we need desperately in order to continue to flourish artistically," artistic director Katherine Kaszas told The London Free Press, "What we want is fairly simple e .. not luxurious by any, means. What it will do is serve us 10 to 20 years down the road in terms of allowing our various artistic programs to continue to develop." Included in the $1.8 million price tag is an expanded rehearsal hall, larger wings, new seats, a higher stage ceiling and new, larger dressing rooms. A garage on Dinsley Street, which has in the past been used for rehearsals, storage, workshops and the occasional performance, will have heating, air conditioning and ventilation installed. Also, an addition almost three times larger than the garage itself will be built to provide adequate space for storage, workshops and rehearsals. Theatre fund-raisers are con- cerned that a failure to raise the needed $310,000 will result inas long delay in the construction of new facilities. The staff would end up going through the entire -application procedure again without even the possibility of receiving as, much money as it .had under the original application. Western Foundry agreed that the new shifts were being employed on as trial basis. Mr. Phibbs says he realises that some employees are not pleased with the deal, but considers it the best option open to the company. "Clearly it (the change to con- tinental hours) is a change in a small community, but we have had to find some way to meet customer demand. "I'm not trying to suggest that it's easy for anybody to work a 12 -hour shift," he says, "but I've worked before at places where they've gone from eight to 12 -hour shifts and loved it." When asked if the longer hours would result in a decline in production quality, Mr. Phibbs said it is not anticipated. "We don't expect a decline in the quality of our 1 products. We have really dedicated workers. People here are proud of the quality of the products they produce." Maintenance staff at Western Foundry have been working the longer shifts for some time. As of Sunday, the vast majority of production workers changed over to the new hours as well. Although workers will enjoy longer periods of time away from work under the new schedule, they will have to work some nights and two weekends a month. WHITE HOT ® Western Foundry workers have hour shifts and the plant is operating 24 hours a tracts. changed over to 12 day to fill major con- CKNX 'BROADCASTING . LIMITED FESTIVAL MUST RAISE FUNDS — The Ontario government has set Sept. 7 as the date when the Blyth Festival must have a commit- ment in place for half of its proposed $1.8 million expansion project if the province is to contribute. The proposed expansion will provide better work and storage space for the festival, as well as improve- ments to the theatre itself. Building permits are approved by Morris council A. N. (Al) Skelton Robert V. Elsden, presi- dent of CKNX Broadcasting; Limited, announces the ap- pointment of A. N. (Al) Skelton, to the position of vice-president and general manager. CKNX Broadcasting is a Blackburn Group Inc. company. Several building permits were approved at a recent meeting of Morris Township Council to be issued on the recommendation of Chief Building Official Leo Sanders. Permits were approved for: Bodmin Ltd., south half of Lot 11, Con. 5, a swine barn; Ross Nichols, Lot 26, Con. 6, a sunporch; Bert Hastings, south half of Lot 9, Con. 2, a granary; Betty Kelly, south part of Lot 6, Con. 7, a carport and Creg Duck, Lot 1, Con, 4, a residence. ELECTED MODERATOR rev. Dr. Perrie of Wingham was elected Moderator of the Presby- terian Synod of Hamilton and London, meeting in Hamilton in April of 1927. He was nominated by five presbyteries and had served in the ministry for many years. If you had to entirely rebuild your home tomorrow, could you? 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