January 10, 2021 Business Manager Update
Brothers and Sisters,
On behalf of all your officers and staff, we hope you and your family are safe and healthy this coming year. We would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding during this insane year. We now can add an attack on our Capitol by the Village People and every pissed off Walmart shopper from around this country. We again were to witness another senseless killing of a Union Brother serving as a Federal Employee at the capital, he also served our country without fail in our military. How much is enough? This madness has to end. Just for information this pompous spoon fed Non–Union President, who people seems to want overthrow our Democracy and way of life, on the way out the door just last week signed another ABC sponsored anti-union bill on DOL residential jobs. This hurts the nonunion as well, lowering all of our wages again.
I understand people questioning our government, we do it every day. This is a self-made mess we must fix together. I recently saw a member or two on Facebook showing themselves march on the Capital and I will make this clear, as I am no saint, we do not ever want to stop a member from their right to “free speech”. Hell, that’s what we do! I ask you few, do not risk any member’s life by not following the quarantine protocol for 14 days. Let’s not be that Union who brought back a spreader event and put our families in jeopardy. This is not how anyone envisioned this chapter of our lives.
MEETINGS
Union Meetings are still on video due to the hall being closed. The next video will be posted on Thursday, January 14th at 7:00 pm. At that time the old video from December 10th will be pulled down. You can access this video on our Local 98 website at the member section under Member Zone. The next video Union Meeting after that will be February, 11th at 7:00 pm. This will be the unfortunate norm until at least April 1st. For virtual meetings we will follow the same rituals and officer reports as usual. The confidentiality of our business matters has to be our priority. We will have to trust our elected officers, E-Board, and Committees to keep a transparent look at things down here. If you would like something added please call down and leave your suggestion. All bills will be previewed by the Finance Committee and recently our Executive Board. If you feel a need, you can set an appointment to ask questions.
Any member who would have been recognized at our 2020 awards ceremony that we had to postpone will be recognized later this year. If you are due a pin and would like it now instead of waiting, please call the hall and we can mail it to you.
E-Board meetings
E-Board meetings are the first and second Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. If you need to contact or see the board please call V.P. Jim Cools at 734-307-9841.
Retiree Meetings remain cancelled at this time.
DUES
By now you have received a letter about the status of your Union Dues and about the 2021 Dues Gift Program. Many of you have already taken advantage of this program. We are updating the systems at the hall in an effort to streamline the process. As of now, you can pay online, over the phone, or by mailing in a check. You can also set up auto-payments. If you have any questions or need to pay dues please contact Kristina Lodovisi at (248) 307-9800 ext. 4 or on her cell at (248) 331-7232.
2021 OPEN ENROLLMENT
The 2021 Open Enrollment Packets have been sent out and you should have received yours by now. We want to take this time to remind members about the new Opt Out Plan we have. This is available to those members with access to insurance through their spouses. The new Opt Out Plan comes with Dental, Optical, Hearing, and a $3.00 an hour contribution to your HRA (Health Reimbursement Account) for every hour worked. This is a great way to build up a savings for medical related expenses. If you would like more information on this plan or any of the other Local 98 Health Insurance Plans please give Jon a call.
COVID-19
As I write this over 373,000 Americans have died by Covid-19 related illness and over 22.5 million people have contracted the virus and it will affect our health care eventually. If you test positive for Coronavirus STAY HOME until your results are NEGATIVE. The Training Center remains closed to open foot traffic. For continuity or training questions contact Paul Baker at the center at 248-585-1435 ext. 123. Until the center opens back up, Blackboard will be used by our apprentices unless a certification or hands on is required. The current update is much bigger than any we have experienced so far. This is no drill. This is now a set reality of everyday life. WEAR YOUR MASKS! If you are fortunate enough not to have experienced a loss in your family, do the rest of us a favor and act like you have! Any concerns with COVID-19 safety protocols or lack of PPE contact the Business Agent in the area or the Union Hall.
UNION HALL
The Union Hall is CLOSED TO ALL TRAFFIC. You will need to schedule an appointment to come to the hall. The West doors will continue as our main entrance. Properly worn masks are required. There is a COVID-19 questionnaire that MUST be filled out by everyone entering the Union Hall. All the officers are working remotely at this time.
SUB APPS/OOW CHANGES
It is your responsibility to fill out a sub app when you are laid off. Please fill out SUB Apps electronically. This can be found on the web page under the OOWL section. If you’re still having unemployment issues call BAs Gary Glaser or Tom McWilliams. For any member issues dealing with benefits contact Jon DeRoo. If you are less than a year from retiring, please set a meeting with Jon today.
NOTE ON DISABILITY
If you are filing for Social Security Disability you will need to file for your Local 98 Disability Pension at the same time in order to make sure you get all your pension checks. Social Security normally takes at least a year and sometimes a lot longer. If you file for your Local 98 Disability Pension at the same time, then when you receive your award from Social Security, we will be able to pay you all the retro money owed.
POLITICS
City of Detroit Residents – Local 98 in conjunction with other Trade Unions are in a heated process to pass a Responsible Contracting Ordinance in the City of Detroit by changing the Equalization Credits, this will allow our Detroit Union based contractors a leg up to play on the same field as our nonunion competitors. City Council member Janeé Ayers is leading the charge for us. We have put together a group of members, owners and spouses to help push their City Council reps to an acceptance of our change. We made a great change in Oakland County in to an acceptance of this language and my hope is to have a positive effect in Detroit with its passing. All the information will be on the 98 web page.
It’s time we put Union Members on these boards instead of consistently being disappointed in those who should be fighting for us leaving us in the cold. Please consider yourself or your spouse stepping forward to run for a position in your neighborhood. Please call down to the hall and get in touch with us to discuss how we can help us help ourselves.
LICENSE RENEWAL
For all continuing education opportunities or classes, call Training Coordinator Paul Baker at 248-585-1435. BAs Gary Glaser and Tom McWilliams are admins on the Must/Most program, contact them if you need help.
RETIREES
Congratulations to brothers Thomas Frazho, Scott Hirsch, and Steven Sanders on their retirement on January 1, 2021. We wish you a long and healthy retirement.
IN MEMORIAM
Our deepest condolences go out to the friends and family of our brother Steven “Bones” Schroeder (aka Keith Richards) who passed away on December 17, 2020.
GOOD/WELFARE
Special thanks to Detroit members Paul Baker, Rodgers Straughter, AK Bennett, Gil Garza, and owners from Ben Washington & Sons, Reagan Mech and Ben Kari for their help with Responsible Contracting. It’s great to have partners on all sides.
We are looking for Residential and Service Plumbers at this time. This is a great opportunity to expand and grow, as many members are looking to retire. If you know anyone working Non-Union or is a past member that may be interested, have them call Organizer Rob Moses at 248-763-2187.
In solidarity I remain, Carlo Castiglione Business Manager Plumbers Local 98