NDP leader Jack Layton dies of cancer. Leaves final letter to Canadians.

Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton has died.
The party issued a statement Monday morning; just weeks after a gaunt Layton held a news conference to announce he was fighting a second bout of cancer.
Layton was 61.
The party says Layton died peacefully at 4:45 a.m. today at his Toronto home, surrounded by family and loved ones.
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Layton inspired a generation. Wayne Marston, NDP MP for Hamilton East — Stoney Creek said Layton should be remembered for the man who “always put Canadians first.”

Below is Jack's final letter he wrote to Canadians:

August 20, 2011
Toronto, Ontario
Dear Friends, 

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.
Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election. 

A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer. 

To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government. 

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all. 

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future. 

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done. 

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
All my very best,
Jack Layton

Harvest Burger closing doors after 32 years

Downtown landmark Harvest Burger will be closing its doors next month and turned into an A&W.
Ippokratis and Georgia Fthenos, owners of the King and Caroline street restaurant, are retiring. They have three grown sons who spent many of their days growing up in the restaurant. The children have now carved careers of their own.
The Fthenos had bought the closed A&W location 32 years ago, and coincidentally, they have come full-circle and are selling the location back to A&W. They will be serving customers until Sept. 4.
Harvest Burger was frequented by many regulars and was a go-to place for the Hess Village crowd after the bars closed at 2 a.m. Georgia said that she has very mixed feelings about closing the business.
“This is our life. We’re excited, but at the same time, we’re really sad. We’re going to miss our customers. We’ve known people for a really long time,” she said.

There was another Harvest Burger restaurant located at 478 King St. E. at the corner of King and Emerald streets. This location was started by Ippokratis’ brother, but has been closed since he passed away of a heart attack three weeks ago. Michael Fthenos, the oldest son of Ippokratis and Georgia, said that it is unlikely to open again.

vkauri@thespec.com THE SPEC

Arcelor Mittal Dofasco CEO loses $3.47 billion

Britain's richest man became the U.K's biggest loser this week as £164bn ($263billion) was wiped off British shares in a single week.

The world's largest steel maker Lakshmi Mittal lost £2.16bn ($3.47billion) following a calamitous six days for stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic sparking fears the meltdown will lead to a double-dip recession. Arcelor Mittal owns the Dofasco plant in Hamilton and there is no word as of yet if operations at the Hamilton plant will be affected in the future.

The steel magnate, born into poverty in India, employs 320,000 people in 60 countries

The share price of Mr Mittal's company Arcelor Mittal, of which he owns 40.83 per cent, plummeted 18.7 per cent this week reducing the value of his fortune to £9.7bn. ($15.6billion)

Rolling Stone cover contest winners THE SHEEPDOGS to perform at Hamilton Festival of Friends

After months of competition and over 1.5 million votes cast online, the wait is over: The Sheepdogs have become the first unsigned band ever to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone. The Canadian boogie rock revivalists, who have been touring relentlessly throughout North America for six years, beat out 15 other bands for the grand prize, which includes a contract with Atlantic Records along with their faces on the cover of the August 18th issue of the magazine.

The Sheepdogs will be performing tonight at Hamilton’s Festival of Friends at 830pm in the Ancaster Fairgrounds, free of charge. This is a great chance for the citizens of Hamilton to see the first performance after winning the Rolling Stone cover contest. 

Local 1005 backs Rolf Gerstenberger and union leadership

U.S. Steel workers of Local 1005 have voted overwhelmingly to back their union negotiating committee.
In a special meeting Wednesday evening, 510 workers voted to back the union leadership nine months after being locked out of the former Stelco plant.

Fewer than 30 members voted ‘no’ to a resolution asking if they supported the committee.
After the lengthy meeting at a Mountain banquet centre, union local president Rolf Gerstenberger said the vote means the next move toward settling the lock out is up to U.S. Steel.
“Everyone knows that what U.S. Steel wants is for us to shaft the pensioners and give up indexing,” he said. “They also want to shaft the new hires.”
Gerstenberger said with steel demand and prices both rising, it may now be in U.S. Steel’s interest to restart negotiations.

A ‘no’ vote could have led to a reopening of contract talks.
The meeting was called after a small group of union members requested it under the union constitution.
Pensions are at the heart of the current confrontation. U.S. Steel is demanding the current defined benefit pension plan be converted to a defined contribution scheme for new employees. It also wants an end to pension indexing for current retirees. In exchange for those concessions, the company has offered to drop earlier demands for cuts in vacation time and cost of living allowances. But accepting its pension demands, is a precondition for reopening negotiations.

Union leaders have rejected the pension demands, arguing it's not right to deny future employees the retirement security of a defined benefit plan and it's even worse to take away small annual increases from current retirees.
The lockout is the longest labour confrontation in Hamilton steel history.
Workers who used to earn about $30 an hour have been getting by on about two-thirds of their normal pay — $200 a week in union strike pay and Employment Insurance benefits. Those EI claims, however, begin to expire soon.

sarnold@thespec.com THE SPEC

Temp Agencies in Hamilton. Know your rights!!

Treated like second class workers – not getting public holiday pay, vacation pay

and having to pay fees for work only to be denied access to permanent work.

These are just some of the conditions facing temp agency workers who make

40% less then permanent workers. New laws in place are here to protect TEMP workers.

When working for a temp agency it is important to know your rights.

Temp agency workers are covered under the

Employment Standards Act like most other workers.

The temp agency is your employer under the law, not

the company where you work every day. This can be

confusing when you are trying to assert your rights.

It helps to understand how the law covers you and

what to do if there is a problem at work.

No Fees

A temp agency cannot charge you money for

signing up with them, assigning you work or

helping with a resume or job interview. Job

recruiters or “headhunters” can still charge a fee

for finding you permanent employment with a

company.

An Agency Must Give You Information About

Your Assignment

Your agency must give you, in writing, their name

and contact information. When they offer you

an assignment, they must provide you with:

the company name, wage rate, hours of work,

description of work and length of assignment (if

known) and the pay period and pay day. They should

do this as soon as possible. They must also give you

information about your rights from the Ministry of

Labour.

Hong worked through a temp agency at a large computer company for one year. He noticed a posting

at the company for a permanent job that he was qualified for. He submitted his resume but was told

that he could not apply as he was a temp agency worker. The company told him they would have to

pay a penalty to the agency if they hired him. Hong told the company that the law had changed. They

would not have to pay a fee or penalty because he had worked there for more than six months.

The company accepted his resume for the permanent job.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!! (Click to enlarge)

 PROTECT YOURSELF (Click to enlarge)

Hamilton workers continue to be locked out as US STEEL profits jump in 2 quarter

U.S. Steel has reported a sharp jump in second quarter profits.
Late Monday the company released its second quarter results showing net income of $222 million, a sharp turnaround from losses of $86 million in the first quarter of this year and $25 million in the second quarter of last year.

In a news release, company CEO John Surma said, “Our operating results improved significantly from the first quarter, driven primarily by higher average realized prices and stable raw materials costs in our flat-rolled segment. U.S. Steel Europe segment results were slightly lower, reflecting significantly lower shipments and capacity utilization and increased raw materials costs, partially offset by higher average realized prices. Tubular segment results were in line with the first quarter of 2011.”
The company reported second quarter income from operations of $300 million, compared to a loss from operations of $91 million in the first quarter of 2011 and income from operations of $198 million in the second quarter of 2010.

The flat-rolled segment, which includes the company’s operations in Hamilton and Nanticoke, led the recovery, posting income from operations of $374 million compared to a first quarter loss of $36 million and a second quarter profit of $111 million last year.
The company said flat-rolled income from operations improved to $95 per tonne from the first quarter, driven largely by an $83-per-tonne increase in average prices. The company also reported it spent another $40 million to keep the Hamilton plant’s coke ovens operating despite locking out unionized employees since last November.

Raw steel capability utilization rate in the second quarter was 81 per cent for the flat-rolled segment and 90 per cent for the company as a whole, excluding the Hamilton Works.
Year-to-date results show a profit of $209 million compared to a profit of $141 million for the first six months of 2010.

Looking ahead, Surma said in a news release the company expects lower results for the third quarter, reflecting the continued uneven economic recovery in the U.S.
“The United States and Europe continue to face an uneven economic recovery. The continuing fiscal uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe is not helping the situation,” he said. “Reflecting the effects of a slowing economy, we expect to report an overall lower operating profit in the third quarter; however, we expect significant improvement in our tubular operating income compared to the second quarter of 2011.”
The company added flat-rolled results for the third quarter are expected to decline reflecting lower prices because of rising capacity and imports.
Surma is to explain the company’s results to industry analysts in a conference call set for Tuesday afternoon.

THE SPEC 
sarnold@thespec.com