September 14th Business Manager Update
Brothers and Sisters,
As summer comes to a close, your officers and I hope this letter finds you and your families happy and healthy.
MEETINGS
We are having a “Special Called Meeting” September 24th at 6:00 pm. Please notice the time change. Our parking lot is starting to take shape and we will be able to put a tent outside if the weather will just cooperate. We will vote to ratify our past wage and fringe allocation. You are required to wear a mask and social distance as per our State’s orders. Please keep an eye out for an email blast. All distributed allocations are posted on our UA Local 98 web page (UALocal98.com) and went into effect the first week of June 2020. All Retiree Meetings are cancelled until further notice. E-Board meetings are getting back underway on the first 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.
ELECTIONS
Our Biden/Harris signs arrived at the hall on 9/9/20. The Agents and Officers did their best to dispatch them to the job sites. If you haven’t received one and would like one you can contact the Office Administrator, Kristina, at [email protected] or 248-331-7232.
Are you registered to vote? You can check your voting status by logging on to the Secretary of State website mvic.sos.state.mi.us. We are currently updating our list of candidates we are supporting. The list can be found under the About section under Political Action on our webpage. Local 98 will continue backing both party’s candidates who have proven to be true Union supporters. We will continue to update our endorsement list as the election nears.
COVID-19
Anyone that knows of a Local 98 member or spouse that has died of Covid-19, please have the surviving partner or family member contact the Union hall as the U.A. has an extra bereavement fund to assist unfortunate families in their time of need. Due to HIPPA laws we cannot make first contact with the families ourselves. So please help out our member’s families.
Any concerns with COVID-19 safety protocols or lack of PPE contact the Safety Hotline number at 313-340-7339.
Michigan residents have access to free with no copay required COVID-19 testing for members and family. Located at the old State Fair Grounds on Woodward and 8 Mile Road in Detroit, you must call for an appointment at 313-230-0505, our code is 289488PL.
UNION HALL
The Union Hall is open to essential foot traffic only and we are continuing to use the West doors as our main entrance. Masks are required and you need to make an appointment to visit. Remember, the Training Center can be used.
SUB APPS/OOW Changes
SUB is still closed until our travelers or job calls slow down. Please fill out SUB Apps electronically now. 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.
LICENSE RENEWAL
For all continuing education opportunities call Training Coordinator Paul Baker at 248-585-1435. BAs Gary Glaser and Tom McWilliams are now admins on the Must/Most program, contact them if you need help.
RETIREES
We would like to congratulate all of our Brothers and Sisters who have retired this year:
1/1/20 Richard Michael and Michael Whitson 2/1/20 Preston Banks, Jeff McMahon, Michael Burgin, and David Puvalowski 3/1/20 Tim McCabe 4/1/20 Mitchall Conn and Donald Baloh 5/1/20 Gerald Kulka 7/1/20 Scott Hawkins, Dawn Melancon, and David Thibodeau 8/1/20 Jeff Wacker and Daniel Becker 9/1/20 Thomas Hamann and George Kopy.
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 Brotherhood, Carlo Castiglione Business Manager Plumbers Local 98