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Messages FROM past 608 & 712 Presidents

Rian VanLeuven & Jim Kidder
Both Presidents did not run in the 2009 election.  With the intent to get others involved and assist the Union and it's members in other ways.

OCTOBER 18, 2007

Further investigation is being done with the local Pharmacies/Company/Doctors/Dentists as to why there is still confusion on our prescription medications and Medical/Office/Procedure costs.

MORE INFORMATION TO COME.

IF YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES IN THESE AREA......CONTACT THE UNION HALL AS QUICK AS YOU CAN, SO IT CAN BE DOCUMENTED AND USED IN OUR SIDE OF THE DISCUSSIONS.

Click this link to send in your case.

 
 
Members,

 

I will try to give the latest update I have.  One express scripts can not tell you as an active employee which medicine to take that is between the patient and their doctor.  The type of medicine you take can effect the amount of co-pay that you pay however.  $5.00 co-pay for generic $20.00 co-pay for preferred drug and $40.00 for non preferred drug.  If your doctor requires that you take a specific drug and tells express scripts that it is the only medication that he believes will treat your condition then we get the doctor to put it in writing and e-mail it to Jose.  Montalvo @potlatchCorp.com and it will be authorized to be covered at the preferred co-pay of $20.00 dollars and it has to be the only;by medicine available for the health condition.  Now if the drugs to treat your condition are available and your doctor says that any of the three levels of drugs will satisfactorily treat your condition you can still get the medication want you will just be paying the higher 40.00 dollar co-pay because you just want to take that kind of medicine and in those cases where we want to take that kind of medicine against the doctors advice then the $40.00 doesn't even apply to the stop loss.  Smart Money says that if the doctor writes the prescription to be dispensed as written because it is the only thing he or she wants you to take then your costs should be lower.  And I  am getting asked about the ANCILLARY FEES and there should not be such a thing.  It is pretty simple we should pay no more than $5, $20, $40 dollars for medicine.  Next if we will call Rita Cannon first with our concerns then go to express Scripts it may help stream line the process.  and when we call Express Scripts we want to remember to get the persons name that we talked with.   Rian...  #2  I have heard that Express Scripts sent out the wrong letter again and I have let the company know again.  I was told there was a list of whom the letter was sent to.   I as of 2:45 on Wednesday have not seen the list.   #3 We told the company in Negotiation how to fix the mandatory overtime and Vince has toll me that their is such a creature as excessive OT> and if we believe it to be so we should do the paper work.

 
 

July 11, 2007

 Notice to Members Whom Have Suffered a Work Related Injury since Beginning Twelve Hour Shifts

Recent discussions between your Employer and the Workers Compensation Exchange may have revealed a possible mistake in the calculation of certain payments made to injured employees of Potlatch Corporation Consumer Products Lewiston and Idaho Pulp and Paperboard Divisions.  To make sure that your payments and or benefits were correctly calculated you may want to consider contacting the Workers Compensation Exchange or the Idaho Industrial Commissions Claims Consultants Department in Boise .

Workers Compensation Exchange is the Local Surety (Third Party Administrator for Potlatch) and their phone number is 1-208-743-3701.  The phone numbers for the Claims Consulting Department of The Idaho Industrial Commission in Boise , Idaho are 1-208-334-6000 or 1-800-950-2110.  The mistakes only dealt in some instances with the reporting of wages when working 12 hour shifts and in the area of compressed wages vs. actual contract wages and when on light duty assignments.  This does not mean that every claim had concerns; contact these above listed folks and or your advocates that may have represented you concerning these matters.  This is only intended to provide information to you the members of the USW.   Rian Van Leuven #608 and Jim Kidder #712  

 
February 11, 2007

Recently we were contacted by the United Steelworkers and reminded that due to the merger of the USWA and PACE that our dues would be raising to the international as per the merger document.  These dues which will become effective automatically in Feb. of 2007 will bring us into compliance with the merger document and allow us more time to have informational meetings on when and how we meet the requirements for the full cross over to the dues structure of the newly formed USW.  This integration becomes effective in the 2010 year and we have been as an Executive Board trying to pursue a schedule of how and when to get to the level required.  There will be informational meetings held in February on how to reach the goals and commitments of the Constitution Of the newly merged USW please look for the notices on the bulletin boards in your work area and your Financial Secretary Gary Nissen and I will be sending out an informational notice concerning the automatic increases in February and the dates and times for the informational meetings and the results of any actions taken by the membership at the Local Union Meetings.  

President Rian Van Leuven.

 

 
 
Recent Discussions at the bargaining table between the company and the USW locals 608 and 712 are moving forward and have been communicated with the division communicators of the Contract Action Team.  We are currently waiting on the position on some very essential areas important to the membership and those are in the area of Successorship, Retroactivity and parts of the Medical and Dental proposals.  There are also some key components that involve the Pension and or 401K.  The message that I would like to send is that the T.A's. (tentative agreements ) that have been reached at the bargaining table are largely due to the involvement of the membership and their communications through the surveys and area communicators.  It has not been necessary to ask for more hands on help from our International Union however I have been assured if needed it is a phone call away.  The process seems to be somewhat baffled by directions from leadership within the company ranks and when we are able to move beyond those concerns your bargaining committee feels that you will have an offer to look at and consider.  Allot of the issues that would have derailed any attempt to have a viable offer for your consideration have either been resolved and withdrawn form the discussions, however as I have stated your direction to us was very clear on certain issues and the above remaining issues are what we are working on now.  Out of the National Paper Bargaining Council in order to have a longer than three year agreement there have to be certain elements of a labor offer met before we can even go to a membership vote.  We are scheduled to meet with the company again on the 1st and 2nd of March and we will report on the results of the meetings of those dates in an upcoming Table Talk.  Please continue to use your area communicators and remember that unless you read it in a Table Talk or it has been communicated to you by one of your Area Communicators, Elected Presidents and or Bargaining Committee members that you should consider it as a rumor at best.  We continue to work for the best interests of the majority and thanks for your continued support. 

 Rian/Jim

 

 
The Local will be sending its delegation to the District 12 Conference in April of this Year.  We will be traveling by ground transportation to conserve costs.  So that we can send the full delegation allowed by the constitution.  These District meetings are important and we will be submitting resolutions to this conference and asking our new brothers and sisters  to consider these resolutions to the International Convention in 1998.  Along with this the Lewiston-Clarkston CLC will be hosting the Idaho State AFL-CIO Convention in June at the Red Lion Hotel and Convention Center.  The 10th through the 13th.  We have been told that an invitation for our International President to be a part of that convention has been sent and The President of your Local has been asked to provide some details and an itinerary for his possible trip to Lewiston by the President of the Idaho AFL-CIO.  We have been fortunate to have some of your Local Leadership serve in various capacities at the request of gov'tmental agencies and State and National Labor Organizations or Boards and you should hold your head very high that the caliber of these folks is being recognized on a state and national level.  We have communicated for years that these folks hold their respective positions at the request of the membership and as such we hold these positions in the trust of those who elect us.  We will strive to work as hard as we can for you and we all realize that while we may never resolve every ones individual concerns we will tirelessly strive to resolve those of the majority.     

  As Always Fraternally Yours Rian !!!

 

 

March 7, 2006

Sisters & Brothers,

I will give you the update from the Union Management meeting.   CPL made significant profit last month and was ahead of budget in most if not all categories.  This is also good news in that the company "Profits were up" and "the division posted a positive cash flow" for the month .  Brent Jensen reported on Safety and Tom Nielson gave the report on POWER.  Tom and the leadership of the locals will be looking at an interview process for the new POWER facilitator sometime in the fall.  Negotiations first and all other things in a prioritized fashion after that.  We also asked for the plans in the coming year and those since they deal with issues directly concerning the business will be discussed at the Union Meetings.  The future at this time seems to be growing for the consumer side of the business and the challenges we face in other business segments are being taken on aggressively by our brothers and sisters in the IPPD segment and as soon as the pricing index for that segment takes off on firm ground we expect the same results.  There are many things that drive the potential in our areas of operation.  We as members of the USW take our jobs and responsibilities very seriously we are hoping that we will be doing it in cooperative environment and not one of the 1960's and or 1970's.  We will see how the new CEO approaches his new job.  It was encouraging and or a shock to see that the Board of directors realize the value of its employees and does not want us to suffer economically when we work for the corporation. 

Remember we are the ones whom will be the leaders of our industry when it comes to Clean Air, Clean Water and Healthy Forests.  The USW has been holding meetings across the United States with leaders and activists from locals that are involved in industries that are resource based, and it is the intention of our International President that we will continue to strive to protect the Family Living Wage jobs of those industries while protecting the recourses that provide those jobs for our Children and Grandchildren so that they, have the same opportunities if not more than we do today to raise their children.  These challenges may change some of the names, (FTTP, CPPT, TREE) you have heard from in the past, however the faces for the most part should not change.  There is a renewed determination and drive across the faces of the USW and its members since the merger and I believe it is going to be the best thing to happen in the organized Labor movement in the Last Twenty Years.  Our District 12 Director Terry Bonds wants to visit with us this Spring or late Summer and we look forward to showing off our part of heaven in Idaho.  Also our International President and part of his family are planning a return trip sometime in the early fall and we will try to plan something for them then.  We will be seeing more of each other in the future and remember to give the area coordinators and shift communicators your thoughts and comments.  In a moment of recognition I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that our past Regional Director and Vice President Roger Heiser has announced his retirement and we will be holding a recognition of years of service at the upcoming Region XI conference in April.  Also President Jim Kidder has been asked to serve on the Board of Trustees for our Pension Benefit Plan and as a Trustee for our HRA plan.  He will be going to formalized training for this new responsibility in April and we thank him for taking his time from his family and his other duties to do this for us, remember the leaders in the USW work for the members. 

As Always Fraternally Yours,

Rian VanLeuven --Pres. USW #608