[OAC_Sparky]

NOS2Go4Me,Dec 29 2008, 07:15 AM Wrote:Our aggressive new friend hit the nail on the head earlier: unless things have changed, CAW/UAW employees are paid for a YEAR when laid off and then they start receiving E.I. [right][snapback]278846[/snapback][/right]

Actually, that's not true at all; that's misinformation that's perpetuated by the media and anti-union know-it-alls.

CAW:
The TRUTH is that between EI and SUB we get (IIRC seeing it's been 14 years since I collected either **see below**) 85% of our take home pay THEN IT'S TAXED.

So this is how it breaks down:

Say (for rough numbers) on a 40 hour week a worker's take-home (ie NET pay) pay is $1000.

Times 85% = $850
Minus 30% income tax = $595

You max out your weekly EI payment at $450ish (by the way -- if you don't qualify for EI you don't get SUB either) And SUB picks up the other roughly $175.

So, you are getting the unemployment you are entitled to anyways. The SUB gets funded by the company as a negotiated benefit; the company puts "x" amount into the fund for every man-hour worked.

So:
MYTH 1: Workers sit at home and still get paid. TRUTH: Laid off workers still lose at least $300 take home pay.

MYTH 2: The company has to pay all those workers. TRUTH: The company pays a small supplement (out of the total amount) with the majority of the compensation being picked up by EI.

**side note** It's been about 14 years since I have collected EI or SUB (And even then it was only for a couple of months). EVERY SINGLE YEAR since I've paid THE MAX EI (and CPP) contribution LIKE MOST autoworkers. SO every other person out there in every other profession: seasonal construction worker, educators, etc etc etc. receive MY money when they're sitting at home whether its via EI or from the $60G+ a year I pay in taxes.

UAW:
The "job banks" that everyone is up in arms over is a pool that laid off workers that the company is supposed to utilize either in the plants, for general work or public sevice. The company, of course, is also supposed to find work for them; but they can't be bothered because it's easier to let them sit than make the effort to send them to work.