The Power of Reversal - The Objective

When its been relatively quiet
and suddenly out of no where
management is whacking you with
write ups, I don't think its unreasonable
to become suspicious about management's
motive. Particularly, if your home is one
of the three Riverside Drive East properties
that sits directly across from Ford Motor
Company's riverfront property and Ford
happens to be one of the partners involved
in the cogeneration project and you happen
to be its employee.

On the last day before going on the 2006
Christmas holiday shutdown, I was
written up for alleged failure to perform.
On the first day of returning to work on
January 3rd, 2007, I was written up again.
This time for alleged insubordination.
Both these write ups combined resulted in
a six day suspension on paper. I believe I
served three days.

Within a week of returning to work from
the suspension. I was sitting at home on
suspension again, worried to death that
I was on the verge of being fired from my
job.

In all three write ups, my Team Coordinator
(T.C.) was in the picture. Two out of the
three write ups the union equity rep. was
involved. But neither times for for my
benefit. All three allegations of misconduct
were not proved by my accusers. They
didn't have to. The burden of proof was
reversed. I had to prove the allegations
weren't true after the suspensions were
all ready administered.

I've learned that when a process is
suppose to go in a certain direction
and is reversed you are in major trouble
It means that whatever it is
your are seeking to obtain, the objective
of 'reversal' is to ensure that you do not
get it.

Deliberate reversal of a process
is like getting on an escalator and
discovering it's running backwards.
Your objective is to reach the top
steps so you can get off at the top
landing. Unless the steps are switched
to operate in ascension, you'll never
reach your goal of getting off on the
next level. Thus, you will always be
at the bottom steps at ground level
because the steps are descending
not ascending. Therefore, the point of
deliberately reversing a process or
burden of proof or even someone's
fortunes, status, etc, etc, is to keep
the individual or group (s) indiviudals
at the bottom.

When a supervisor intends to write
you up for whatever it is they are
alleging you did or didn't do, they
always tell you, "I'm writing you
up." Then they'll provide a reason.
The last incident there was no
warning. I didn't see it coming.

I was on my job on the assembly line,
when my supervisor approached me
and requested that I attend a disciplinary
interview. Since, I had already been
to HR (Human Resources) in regards
to the two earlier write ups and just
recently returned from a suspension
and had not been subjected to any
additional write ups since my return
to work, I initially didn't understand
the request.

On questioning, my supervisor told
me the interview was for misconduct.
I asked, "Misconduct for what?"
He then mentioned my union brother,
Team Coordinator's name. I instantly
knew that it had to do with the
disagreement I had with the T.C. the
day before. I had forgotten all about it.
Evidently he didn't

I told the supervisor that I would
not attend. There was no misconduct.
Just an disagreement between co-workers.
I asked him to call the union. I was mad
at the T.C. I couldn't believe he went
to management. I needed more conflict
with management like a poke in my eye.
I was not happy.

Shortly after the supervisor left a
second supervisor arrived and made
the same request. I gave her the same
response , "No. I want to talk to the
union." She left. The union rep. arrives.
The rep. instead of challenging the
supervisor's basis for requiring that I
attend the disciplinary interview, he
tries to convince me to go to the
interview.

As I'm telling the rep, "No I'm not
going." I notice from the corner of my
eye, the first supervisor approaching
behind me. He hears my response to
the rep. "No. I'm not going." As I turn
towards him, he says, " All right, that's
it! You're off the clock! Management
lingo for, "Your suspended!" I couldn't
believe what was happening. I asked, "
For what?" He said, "Refusing a direct
order." I asked, " What are you talking
about? I wasn't talking to you I was
talking with my rep.!" He said, " No.
You're off the clock!" He then abruptly
turned and walked away.I thought, "
I'm getting royally screwed here."

I was angry. I was wearing
headphones to protect my ears
from the plant noise and I pulled it
off my head and slammed the headphones
to the ground in frustration. One of the
muffs broke off on impact with the
floor. I got nailed for that. Destruction
of company property. It's the only
thing that I did do.

None of what had occurred made
any sense. I have a disagreement with
a union brother, a T.C., and as a result
I'm required to attend a disciplinary
interview. No write up, just go. I tell
the rep.that I'm not going to the interview,
and I'm promptly suspended by the
supervisor upon him overhearing me.
The supervisor treated both the T.C. and
the rep. as if they were members of
management. It was odd.

The union rep. and I left my work area
and headed to the union office. Once at the
union office the rep. provided me with
a copy of the supervisor's disciplinary
report. A sub rep. was also present.
After reading the report I finally
learned what the alleged misconduct
was. Harassment!

The harassment allegation was absolute
nonsense. How do you harass someone
you never associate with unless it pertains
to your job. T.C.s bodies are in the
bargaining unit, but some T.C.s (actually
too many) heart and mind are with
management.

We've had many members lose their jobs
due to job cuts. And there are T.C.s who
will assist management in cutting their
own union brothers and sisters jobs for
browny points. That's basically what the
essence of the disagreement was about
between myself and the T.C.

Conclusion in a Nutshell.

While on suspension awaiting my fate, it
occurs to me that the recent suspensions
has something to do with my house, Ford
and its cogeneration partners. In a
letter dated February 10, 2007,
addressed to HR and in plant union,
I wrote:

"attached find info from EWCC website.
Please note that Ford is a partner. No
wonder the rash of write ups. Management
is setting me up to be fired."

What happened to the T.C.'s allegation of
harassment? In letters to the Local union
president I question why the T.C.'s
harassment complaint did not trigger
Appendix 'O' Harassment/ Discrimination
Internal Complaint Resolution Procedure
("The Procedure") of the collective agreement.
The T.C. is a visible minority. He's east
Indian.

Given that the supervisor wanted me to
attend a disciplinary interview based
on the T.C's allegation of harassment,
according to the procedure, I should have
been notified of the complaint before
the commencement of an investigation.

But I wasn't notified of the complaint
because there had not been an investigation
prior to the supervisor asking me to attend
the disciplinary interview for misconduct.
Yet the supervisors and the union reps
required that I attend a disciplinary interview
for alleged harassment that neither the union
and management informed me or investigate.

An investigation did eventually take place,
but only because I pointed out in my letters
that no investigation of the T.Cs harassment
complaint had occured. The conclusion
of the union's after the fact investigation
was that there was no evidence of harassment
as per the Ontario Human Rights Code.

A union rep. asked me if I would be willing
to sign a grievance. I told the rep. I'd need
to see the union fact sheet first. The rep.
said that he didn't have to show me the
fact sheet because it was his facts.

I wan't just being set up to be fired,
I was also being set up to have no income.
You can't collective employment insurance
if you are terminated from your employment
due to your misconduct. I understand that
you can't collect social assistance if you own
a house and have any savings. So I would
have to lose everything first.

I was wondering how much will my home
be worth once EWCC breaks ground? Will
EWCC breaking ground wipe out the
equity I have built up in my home?

Check out my previous post for
recent Windsor Star news on the
cogeneration project.

EWCC IN THE NEWS

Cogeneration project set to begin
Dave Hall, Windsor Star Published:

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Construction is expected to begin
within weeks on a $212-million
cogeneration plant adjacent to
Ford Motor Company's old powerhouse
on the city's near east side.
The East Windsor Cogeneration
Centre, a joint project of Pristine
Power Inc. and Fort Chicago Energy
Partners, both of Calgary, is expected
to begin producing 84 megawatts of
power by summer 2009.
The new power plant is expected
to make the automaker's engine
plant more competitive and
environmentally friendly.
Email to a friendPrinter friendly
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"It required a great deal of co-operation
to build a power plant in an urban setting
such as this and we got it from Ford, the
city and the neighbourhood," Jeff Myers,
president of Pristine Power, said during
groundbreaking ceremonies Friday.
Myers, who helped build the West
Windsor power plant in Brighton
Beach 15 years ago, said the new plant
is "a direct result of the Ontario government's
commitment to high-efficiency cogeneration."
The project resulted from a bid process
conducted by the Ontario Power Authority
which has seen plants capable of producing
400 megawatts of power built or approved
in recent months.
Provincial Energy minister Dwight Duncan
said another 600 megawatts will be awarded
during the next round of bidding.
"This plant is good for the environment
and will provide more efficient, less expensive
power for Ford which will help keep them more
competitive," said Duncan.
Power generated by the plant will be fed
into Hydro One's grid when Ontario's power
demand peaks. Built by Toronto-based
Aecon Group Inc., the 84-megawatt,
natural-gas fired cogeneration plant
will operate on Ford property behind
the existing plant and will be considerably
smaller and quieter.
The investment also includes a $300,000
donation to a city-administered sustainability
fund, with the money to be used for as-yet
undetermined environmental or energy-efficient
projects.
Mayor Eddie Francis said the city will begin
discussions with the project developers to work
out guidelines for use of the funding.
"It's a nice giveback to the community on top
of everything else this project will mean," Francis
said. The project will be the fifth privately owned
power plant in Windsor.
© The Windsor Star 2007


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The Real Estate Lawyer -Reviewing the Offer

In my posts, 'My Worse Fears May Come True',
Part I & II, I wrote about having two different
real estate lawyers look at the two offers made
by EWCLP (East Windsor Cogeneration LP).
The second lawyer was more generous with
providing information than the first lawyer.
Luckily the second lawyer didn't look at the
purchase agreement until after he provided
some useful information.

I've provided some excerpts from the lawyer's
letter to me. Hopefully this info. will be useful
to you as well.


1. "The closing date is always some time after all
conditions are waived. The reason is that the
lawyer will not generally do a title search or
anything else until the offer is firm. They will
also need some time to prepare all the paperwork."

2. "Your lawyer will take care of paying off your mortage. "

3. "I agree that tenants insurance is a lot cheaper
than homeowners insurance."

4. "Closing funds will be paid to your lawyer .
He will then pay off your mortgage, take
his fees and give you the balance."

5. "The usual adjustments on a sale are
for property taxes and fuel oil if the house
is heated. If they take over your insurance,
there may also be an adjustment for that.
The idea of adjustments is to allocate expenses
that were paid in advance."

6. "...that payment be by certified cheque.
That is standard on all agreements."

Note: But if you think you're going to
lose sleep at night because the corporation
may put a stop payment on the certified
cheque,then cashier's cheque may be the
better option. My understanding is
that banks usually do not allow a
stop payment on certified cheques,
but you never know. Big corporations
have a lot of influence. Why chance it.
Better to lean on the side of caution,
right?


Links that you might find of interest:

Real Estate: Meeting with a lawyer
http://real-estate.lawyers.com/Real-Estate-Meeting-with-a-Lawyer.html

What to expect when you buy or sell a house
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-to-Expect-When-You-Buy-or-Sell-a-House&id=164506

Articles of interest for Ontario Homeowners
http://www.newhomesandcondos.com/html/articles.html

East Windsor Cogeneration LP - Half a House?

I was really ticked off the other day at the
EWCLP's agent from Buckingham Realty.
He forwarded a letter to me requesting to
set up meeting as EWCLP was still prepared
to negotiate a deal. I took that to mean that my
counter-offer was not accepted.

Prior to submitting my second counter-offer,
I got a letter from Jeff Meyers the President &
CEO of EWCLP directing me to provide my
offer to the Buckingham agent and the agent
would provide my offer to EWCLP. Funny
thing about that was, the agent had told me
earlier that apparently EWCLP's Counsels,
after receiving my first counter-offer, did not
want me faxing my material to them.
According to the agent, the Counsels' said
that my material could only be provided by
a lawyer to them. I thought, "Excuse me."

Anyways, I wasn't comfortable with the idea
of giving my offer to EWCLP's agent. Wonder
if the agent didn't submit my offer to his client.
He could tell me that he did, but in fact didn't.
Or submit my offer but later they claim they
didn't get it, then what? How do I prove that
they did receive it without my own record.
Besides, I didn't have a lot of faith in their agent.

I faxed my counter-offer to EWCLP's
Counsels. On August 31, 2007, the Buckingham
agent called me at home to tell me that "they"
in reference to EWCLP didn't receive my offer.
Right then I knew. He was playing games and
I told him exactly that. I told him that they did
get it. I faxed my offer to EWCLP's lawyers. He
asked, "When?". I told him I'd have to check my
records and call him back. I called him back
few minutes later and announced it was faxed
July 31st, 2007.

The agent , with his imperious attitude, then
told me I was suppose to give my offer to him,
like the letter directed me to do. He said, "That's
what they want!" His attitude pissed me right
off. I shouted, "I don't give a fuck what they
want! He insisted and I said, " Don't tell me
what to fucking do. I'll do what I think is in my
best interest." I was mad as hell. Who did this
man think he is? God himself? I told him,
"I didn't agree to co-operate with you,
now did I?'' Later the same day, I ended up
faxing a brief letter to Jeff Meyers explaining
why I did not do as directed in his letter.

Imagine had I done as directed in the letter,
given my offer to the agent, I bet I would
have heard too late, that EWCLP did not receive
my offer and it would be twisted to make it
look like I was the bad guy. How would I have
proven that EWCLP received my offer if my
offer was given to their agent? These people,
think co-operation means co-operate even if it's
not in your interest. In fact your expected to
knowingly co-operate in harming your own
interest? I don't think that's reasonable.

My meeting with the Buckingham agent was
on Wednesday, September 12, 2007. It lasted
maybe all of a of a minute. Why? He informed
me that he had already made a deal with my
neighbour. I was pissed. I wasn't angry because
he made an agreement with them first. I was
angry because of the way he went about it.
He played me! He turned the process into
a game.

Something that should have be straightforward
right from its inception was turned into a
childish joke. He was quite pleased with
himself. As if to say, " See, this is proof that
you're stupid and I'm smarter than you. Didn't
you see that, you idiot, it was the point of
this entire exercise. To show you how
superior I am to you. You didn't think my
client really wanted to buy your house,
now did you? "

The agent had lead me to believe that an
agreement would be negotiated and
reached with me first. Then the same
agreement would be presented to my
neighbour who would have to agree
accept the agreement. In other words
if my neighbour did not agree, then no
deal. As according to the agent, EWCLP
did not want to get stuck with half a
house. The agent after informing me that
an agreement had been reached already
with my neighbour, had the audacity to
tell me that their property was none of
my businees.

The entire thing was done backwards,
but I decided that it was easier to go with
flow and try to work around problems in
the agreement, than to continue arguing
with an agent, whose response to every
protest or suggestion was, "No." It became
evident to me that negotiation and dictation
had the same meaning to him. He's nothing
like the Remax agent who sold me my house.
The Remax agent was helpful and he
wasn't even my agent but the Seller's.

A real estate agent from Manor Realty
told me early on that he would be willing
to represent myself and my neighbour
in negotiations with EWCLP as it made
more sense to negotiate together. I agreed.
Unfortunately, my neighbour didn't. We
both were left wondering, why? It sure
would have made things easier. I took
a mental note of the fact that my neighbour's
son and family who lived directly behind
us, moved out of their rented house at the
end of June.

I happen to notice they were moving their
stuff out of the house one day, while
I happened to be watering my garden. The
son told me they had found an apartment
on far eastside of the city. Most of their
stuff was in storage as the apartment
could not accommodate all of their belongings.
He hoped they would be able to get another
house sometime next year. I can't recall
whether he indicated they intended to
rent or buy a house.

So far according to its agent, EWCLP has a
conditional agreement for half a house. Half
house because my home style is a semi-
detached sometimes referred to as a duplex.
I wonder who they're going to blame for that?

East Windsor Cogeneration LP

East Windsor Cogeneration LP (EWCLP), who
are they? Here's an excerpt from one of
their informational letter from January 2007.


" EWCC is a new cogeneration facility to
be located in Windsor on the existing Ford
powerhouse site. The purpose of this
cogeneration facility will be to provide Ford
with a source of steam to be used in their
current operations and to fulfill a long
term contract with the Ontario Power
Authority to supply the electrical grid
with up to 84 MW of electricity.''


excerpt from letter of October 2006


"Pristine Power Inc., as the lead developer
of the EWCC has extensive experience in
power project development and operations
in the province of Ontario. The owners of
Pristine have been directly involved in four (4)
cogeneration projects in Ontario including the
West Windsor Cogeneration plant..."

"Fort Chicago Energy Partners, LP is an
equity partner in the EWCC. It holds operating
interests in the Alliance Pipeline, the Alberta
Ethane Gathering System and Aux Sable, a
natural gas liquids extraction and delivery
facility. "


Check out EWCC website. Did I tell you yet,
that I am an 18 years and 10 months, employee
of Ford Motor Company of Canada?

And also, according to the law, I'm represented
by a trade union, National Automobile,
Aerospace, Transportation & General
Workers Union of Canada (CAW-Canada),
and my workplace is governed by a collective
agreement.

http://www.eastwindsorcogen.ca/

http://www.pristinepower.ca/

http://fortchicago.com/

When the Corporation Comes Knockin'

If a corporation was person he/she would be
an egotistical, self centred, manipulative, lying,
deceiving, dishonest, evil, prick or bitch.
Some believe a corporations has all of the
characteristics of a sociopath, more commonly
knowns as a psychopath . No, not Jeffery
Dahmer people eating psychopath ( a canibal),
not literally anyway, but a psychopath
all the same.

In any event, not a person you'd want want
to spend any of amount of time with. So
when the corporation comes a knockin' at
your door in the form of its representative (s),
don't be fooled by the warm, friendly demeanor
and pie-in-the-sky promises. Sooner or later
the mask will come off and the real deal will be
seen. You can't hide your true self indefinitely.
A prick can be nice, but he will always be
a prick and a bitch, will always be a bitch even
when she is smiling at you.

Don't be surprise if you are betrayed in
your dealings. In fact don't be surprised
to discover that the corporation wasn't the
only one to betray you. When you pulled
the knife out your back you discovered that
intermingled with corporation's fingerprint,
was maybe your, neighbour, friend, relative,
co-worker, etc. etc. The point being, some
people become morally and ethically
challenged as soon as money comes into the
picture, particularly big corporate money.

For some it's not about the money. For
whatever reason, they simply just don't
like you and thus do not wish you well. So
they have no problem engaging in activity
that they no will harm you. In fact that's
motive for getting involved to begin with.

Others suffer with inferiority complexes,
the root of superiority complex. Therefore,
these individuals have need to always show
that they are superior to you and others.
Unfortunately, their need to feel superior
to others only shows the depth of their
inferiority complex. Let's face it, if you
really believe the other person or persons
is inferior to you, why expend so much
energy, physically and mentally on them?

Watch on-line the documentary, The Corporation
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12998.htm


The Corporate Pyschopath
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s1158704.htm

My worse fears may come true. Part II

When I first read the purchase agreement, it
gave me the creeps. It wasn't that I thought
the agreement was illegal, because I didn't
know whether it was or not, there was just
some items that didn't seem to fit right to me
and didn't feel right. There are times when
you do not need anyone to tell you something
is wrong. You just know it is.

As mentioned in my earlier post, I had two
different lawyers review the purchase
agreement and their responses were telling.
Although the agreement is legal, it's not a
good agreement for me. They didn't tell me
that, but their behaviour did. Lawyers can
read a contract and get a sense of what's
really going on, what the likely intentions
of the other party is, and thus the likely
outcome. If it's not good for you, you'll get
very little assistance, if any, from the lawyer
once they've read the agreement.


The lawyer may not have addressed all your
concerns or dismissed or minimized those
raised by you. That's a good indication that
you have to take a closer look at the purchase
agreement and make certain there is nothing
in the agreement that can potentially harm
you. That's what I had to do.

Both Seller and Buyer have the right to add
conditions to the purchase agreement to protect
their interests. Now, a corporation may not see
it that way, but all parties to the agreement
have the same rights. So don't let the
corporation bully you, because it will try
to by extension of its representatives. The
corporation only wants you the Seller to act
in its interest not your own. This is a problem
that I presently encountering.

In later posts I will identify the name of the
corporation and provide more information on
my situation. Until then, take care.

My worse fears may come true. - Part I

There's nothing worse than the fear that no
matter what you do to protect your interest,
that the corporate buyer might succeed in
leaving you worse off than it found you.
Worse off meaning, no house and no money
or leave you with a house that's worth squat.

I know what you're thinking, you got a
contract (purchase agreement) how could
that happen? Didn't you have a lawyer look
at it before you signed on the dotted line
dummy? Yah, I had a lawyer look at the
agreement. In fact I had a lawyer review the
first offer and a different lawyer review the
second offer. But here's the thing that you
should know, that just because a lawyer
reviewed the agreement doesn't make it a
good deal for you.

A real estate lawyer reviews the offer to
ensure that it is a legal agreement. A good
lawyer looking out for your interest will not
only review the agreement to make certain it's
legal but ensure it's a good deal for you too. A
contract can be legal but a bad deal for you, just
as a good or bad deal, could be a contract that's
illegal.

Worse case senario: Imagine to your utter
horror, to discover that the cheque provided
to you on closing, buy the corporate buyer for
the sale of your home bounced. You review
your purchase agreement and you note that
it doesn't specify the type of cheque, such as
certified cheque, or cashier's cheque. It just
simply says cheque or negotiable cheque.
Which means the money hadn't been guranteed
by the bank. It also means that an unscrupulous
corportation just made off with you house for
free. Do I hear lawsuit?

The difference between a certified cheque, cashier's cheque, bank draft,
money order and traveller's cheque. Shttp://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/DrDon/20050823a1.aspee link.