JANUARY 25, 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 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, February 11th at 7:00 pm. At that time the old video from January 14th 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 March 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.
Our awards ceremony will be put off until next year. If you are due a pin and would like it now please call the hall, 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.
COVID-19 Information & Vaccines!
As I write this over 418,000 Americans have died by Covid-19 related illness and over 25 million people have contracted this disease. This is now a set reality of everyday life. WEAR YOUR MASKS! Any concerns with COVID-19 safety protocols or lack of PPE contact the Business Agent in the area or the Union Hall.
Vaccines! We now are covered in Detroit as an essential worker. If your job is related to the City of Detroit (this means any job in the city you may be working on) you can call and get a scheduled Vaccine at the TCF Center. The number is 313-230-0505 between 9am and 8pm M-F. Oakland County opened us up this last week but only gave us 50 available slots to Oakland County residents. We are sorry for the short notice, but I hope as more vaccines become available we can do better on our notifications. Please get on our Facebook page or watch for emails from the Union Hall. At this time our Information for Macomb or Wayne County is slow to get out.
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
The rumors are true that the Key Stone Pipeline out west is temporarily shut down, at the same time we seen our Governor shut down Line 5 in MI. Local 98 has had a crew working out of Local 798 all summer in Wayne County. We have not had members there in force in years. Yes, I am pissed. But we knew this was coming as Biden tries to show concern for his other supporters, so score 2 for the Green Party. The good news, our new President has fired a long time NLRB anti- Union judge Peter Robb and replaced him with a pro-labor person. He has also put former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who was the Boston Building Trades President and is a card-carrying Laborer, on as the Labor Secretary of the United States. I still see newer members and some older members who dislike the idea of a non-Trump era. I can’t express how important these picks are to us as a labor organization. We have 2 appointed UA members on Biden’s transition team as well, and one of them is on the Energy Advisory Board. Think about this, in Michigan we are now down to 1 Blast Furnace in Dearborn and Zug Island (US STEEL) is nearly closed. We better remember who was in charge during this collapse and promised us these steel mills would be saved. That would be Trump, both parties are not perfect, it’s up to all of us to keep them to their word.
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 Brother Steve Blair on his retirement. We wish you all the best in the next phase of your life.
IN MEMORIAM
Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of our Brothers Donald Trombley, who passed away on December 21, 2020, and Thomas Hrlic Jr., who passed away on January 19, 2021.
GOOD/WELFARE
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