608                          TABLE TALK               712

       2009  Issue #8                                                                                                                                                                           December

Countdown to Contract – 275 days

The Strike Vote

The use of a successful strike vote empowers our bargaining team with an effective tool for negotiating a fair contract. It is not a vote “for a strike” and it does not necessarily mean a STRIKE will happen immediately or at all.  It tells the employer that the union’s members are unified and support the negotiating team.

It is an unfortunate reality that rarely do workers make substantial gains without the threat of job-action. Often a strike mandate alone is sufficient to get the Employer to take the Union seriously in negotiations but not always. It would be irresponsible for the Standing Committee to recommend strike action until every available option for reaching an agreement has been exhausted.

Our first priority is to negotiate a fair and equitable agreement on behalf of our membership. Strike action is a last resort.

EXPRESS SCRIPTS

In a future survey, you’ll be asked if you’ve had any problems with receiving medications from Express Scripts. For example, were you sent the wrong meds; did they arrive late; were they shipped to the wrong address or were there problems in delivery with meds sensitive to heat or cold.

You’ll also be asked if you’d prefer to drop Express Scripts and go back to the way we purchased our drugs before 2007.

If you were hired recently, you may not know that prior to our current contract, we bought our prescriptions locally and claims were handled by Regence Blue Shield. Our copays were 10%, which were applied to our medical/surgical out-of-pocket maximums.

Our current contract gave our prescription business to Express Scripts, one of the nation’s “big three” mail order pharmacies. While we can still purchase locally, our copays are less expensive when we purchase from Express Scripts.

However, prescription copays are no longer applied to our medical/surgical out-of-pocket maximums. Our meds are fully paid when our copays for generic and preferred brand name drugs add up to $500 per person or $1,000 per family. There is no stop-loss for non-preferred brand name drugs.

PENSION UPDATE

            According to Jim Kidder, an hourly representative to our pension’s Board of Trustees, the Trustees have decided no changes to our benefit level, early retirement penalties, etc., need to be made at this time. This is because the fund’s investments are recovering as the market begins its climb out of the recession.

   The Trustees have made adjustments to our investment strategies and will continue to monitor progress. They will meet again in April. However, at this time, as long as the market continues its recovery, the Trustees believe no further action will be needed to restore the fund to a healthy funding level.

   Some 23,000 employees from 300 companies participate in our pension. Of those, 712-608 members lead the way in early retirements per membership capita.  The Trustees would like our members to understand that if you are considering retirement just to secure retirement benefits, you might want to reconsider. For one thing, the fund is recovering with no changes in benefits anticipated at this time and for another, if our funding level falls to the point where the federal government has to step in, all participants, both active and retired will see their benefits reduced.

  If you didn’t know, our pension benefit levels are in two parts: $100 per month for every year of service to December 31, 2005 and $75 per month for each year of service since January 1, 2006. Because 2006 was a contract year for our two locals, the pension Trustees granted us an exception for that year to receive the $100 per month benefit until September 1.

  Our early retirement penalties are as follows: For the $100 per month benefit level, 3% a year for ages 60-65 and 6% for ages 60-55; for the $75 per month benefit, 6% for each year for ages 65-55.

  Our joint 712-608 pension committee members are for 712, Doug Piper, CPD I/M, Phil Stevens, CPD planner and Mark Rhodes, IPP planner and for 608, Jerry Enyeart, IPP Shipping and Brent Reed, CPD I-Fold

Percentage Raise Versus a Flat Rate Raise

     This is a side by side comparison of a percentage wage increase as opposed to a flat rate raise or across the board raise.

Based on $20/hr for this example – 2.5% was applied to $20, which is $.50, then that amount was used as the flat rate raise.

As you can see, year for year a percentage wage increase makes more sense.

2.5%/hr Raise                                                 Flat rate Raise $.50/hr

Year             $/hr                                            Year             $/hr

  1                20.50                                            1                20.50

  2                21.012                                          2                21

  3                21.535                                          3                21.50

  4                22.068                                          4                22

  5                22.611                                          5                22.50

  6                23.176                                          6                23

  7                23.755                                          7                23.50

  8                24.348                                          8                24

  9                24.956                                          9                24.50

  10              25.579                                          10              25

The Table Talk will be archived at www.usw-608.com. If you have any ideas for future issues, please feel free to send them to our e-mail address: catoffice@cableone.net If you would like the Table Talk sent to your home computer, email the CAT office with your home email address.