1 A Publication for Fighting Machinists Volume 12 Issue 1 www.goiam.org Retirement Process Dream or Nightmare The process of filing for retirement should be a dream come true. It should be smooth sailing ahead, with no problems. After all you have did your time, done what you have supposed to have done, and are now looking for the best time of your life. But this is not the norm, for our members. Since the move to Davidson N.C. the Employee Service Team has been, well lets just say not user friendly. The following is an actual time line of the events for a recent retiree and his attempts to get retired by January 1st. Called in August and they would not take any information from him.( I was personally told by the Employee Services Center to tell members 4-5 months ahead would be ok). September 23rd they took his name to start working on his retirement and get every thing figured out for him. Called November 1st they assured him they were currently working on it for him. November 21st contact was made and they were working on it. December 5th getting paper work ready, will be sent out. Received paper work December 12th was told he had to have the signed paper work back to them by December 14th. They would not take a fax of his paper work and there was no way to get paper work back to them by the 14th. He will retiree January 1, but will not get a retirement check until February 1. It will be a double check, but he still had to wait an extra month. I do know that if they get the paper work back after the 14th you will not get the first check on time. If you are going through this process it is important that you push them. Also Human Resources in La Crosse have been very helpful to people in trying to get paper work done in time. The Employee Services contact number is 1-866-472-6793. This is a toll free number but using a cell phone may eat up time from your minutes. January, 2012 Inside this issue Page 2. Union Made Products, New Year Opportunities Page 3. The Wisconsin Experience, From the Shop Chair Page 4. Union Meeting Notices; See Additions to Pre-Retirement Information EAP and FMLA are available to those with medical or personal problems. Contact HR or the union office for more information. There number is 1-800-3276373 Don’t wait until it’s to late. Members who are expecting new dependents in their families have 31 days to notify the health insurance carriers to start coverage. Make sure you call the Employee Service Center, telephone: 1-866-472-6793 when your new dependents arrive and arrange for insurance. It is your responsibility to notify on any new dependents. Every member of Lodge 21 is entitled to a free 1/2 hour of consultation per year from Attorney Ross Seymour. His number is 785-2745. This is provided by District 66 as a service for IAM members. Just identify yourself as a Lodge 21 member when you talk to him. For Your Information: If you pass away as an Active Member of Lodge 21 or Lodge 1115 Tool Room, your dependents and spouses can still receive your health care at the current monthly payment for 6 months. Also, they should receive a life insurance policy that currently is $38,000.00. You should make sure that your dependents and beneficiaries know this. 2 Buying Union Made, Buy American made, It saves Jobs These days, as more and more jobs get shipped overseas, it‟s not easy to know what‟s made in America, let alone by union members. With our guide, you can rest easy knowing that your holiday shopping will support good, familysupporting jobs here at home. And that‟s a gift every American can enjoy. For the Sports Fan The sports enthusiast has no reason to go empty handed this holiday. For a budding athlete, grab a Wilson NFL game ball made by Workers United members or a Louisville Slugger bat made by USW members. Or go all out with tickets to an NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, NHL, or MLS game. Pro athletes in these leagues turn to collective bargaining to address critical issues like health and safety. For the Do-It-Yourselfer Need an idea for the guy or girl who can fix anything—or aspires to? Snap-On tools, made by IAM members, are the perfect gift for a DIYer. And if they need a hand with clean up, why not give them an Electrolux vacuum, also made by IAM workers. For the Entertainer Help your holiday hosts serve up a party in style with the gift of quality glass stemware, glassware, and serveware from Libbey, or dining ware from Corelle, made in America by USW members. You can support even more good jobs by grabbing a bottle of red, white, or sparkling wine from Gallo, made by UFCW, IAM, and UFW workers. Even wine snobs on your list will be delighted by all of the varietals of wine harvested by UFW members. List provided by the staff of American Rights at Work and the NFL Players Association! __________________________________________________ The New Year Brings Opportunity... ...to do many different things. One such thing would be to help your Union in some capacity. We are currently in need of a Recording Secretary, you may consider this. Do not be afraid as we all were not born to the position we are in. Something as simple as going to at least 3 Union meetings a year is another way of being involved. For the Foodie America‟s finest steaks and sausages happen to be union made, so why not treat your favorite chef with any of the gourmet selections from Omaha Steaks or Usinger‟s? Workers from both companies are represented by UFCW. Or wow them with a collection of American-made cookware or bakeware from All -Clad or Regal Ware, handcrafted by USW members. Top it off with a set of professional knives from Cutco, also skillfully produced by USW workers. For Families and the Young at Heart Give your family the gift of game night with the classic board games Monopoly and Life, both made by UFCW workers. And for a truly magical gift for your family, splurge on a trip to Disneyland or Disney World. Many of the resort and theme park employees have a union voice at work. For the Jetsetter Help an excursionist get to their final destination with a gift card from one of the many airlines with strong union representation, including: AirTran, Alaska Airlines, American, Continental, United, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit Airlines, and U.S. Airways. Does the sightseer you‟re shopping for prefer the scenic route? Snap up an Amtrak gift card and support union rail employees. Continued on next column. Speaking of getting involved Lodge 21 and District Lodge 66 would like to thank Raleigh Fox for his many dedicated years of service. Raleigh served in many capacities over the years most recently as President of District Lodge 66. His dedication to union service will be greatly missed and not easily replaced. Raleigh recently became a Grandpa and said it was time to spend time with his grandchild. Raleigh may you enjoy many years with your loved ones. 3 The Wisconsin Experience John Nichols of the Madison, Wisconsin Capital Times, commenting on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker‟s persistent efforts to disparage pro-worker policies in Illinois as “job killers” while trying to defend his own anti-union policies, writes: “The October jobs figures for the United States were just released. Illinois led the nation in job creation, adding 30,000 new jobs. “And what about Wisconsin? “Under Walker, Wisconsin now leads the nation in job losses. In fact, of the states that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics described as experiencing „statistically significant unemployment changes‟ in October, only one actually lost jobs: Wisconsin (9,700—almost all of them in the private sector).” Nichols goes on to explain that Wisconsin‟s job losses track right along with the so-called “reforms” Walker rammed through the legislature. Nichols points out that Wisconsin‟s job losses are part of a pattern that began around the time that Walker‟s “reforms” took hold starting last May. “There are a lot of reasons why Wisconsinites are lining up to sign recall petitions,” Nichols said. Before December 1st, leaders of the recall effort reported they had already collected more than half the 542,000 signatures they will need to get the recall on next year‟s ballot. “Citizens are concerned about the governor‟s assaults on basic rights and his undermining of the authority of elected schools boards and town boards. They are angry that he said one thing on the campaign trail in 2010 and did something else altogether as governor. “But the damage the governor‟s policies have done to Wisconsin‟s economy is no small factor in the popularity of the recall movement. When Illinois is creating jobs while our state is losing them, it is clear that Walker isn‟t working for Wisconsin.” John Nichols is the associate editor of The Capital Times. From The Shop Chairman's Desk A reminder for all retirees, and their spouses or beneficiaries When you retire you have a life insurance policy through Trane. This policy amount will differ and is based on when you retired. So if you retired after 8/01/1998 the amount should be $5,000 dollars. After 8/05/2001 the amount should be $7,000 dollars. After 8/07/2004 the amount should be $9,000 dollars. And after 8/05/07 the amount should be $10,000 dollars. These are the amounts that I have found, and I believe them to be the correct amounts. Life insurance for active employees is currently $38,000 dollars, if it would happen that you pass away your spouse or beneficiary, should know that they will need to call Employee Benefits to get the process started. 1-866-472-6793 from 6:00 am until 6:00 pm our time. Also the insurance carrier is Prudential and their contact number is 1-877-232-3619. Retirement documents to have ready, birth certificates, and if you are divorced and your ex-spouse is entitled to any of your pension, you probably have a QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Orders) with your divorce decree. You will have to make a copy and send that in as well. When you call for retirement they will ask you about this and give you a phone number to call as well. 1-727-395-1987 this number is good from M-F 9 am till 4 pm eastern time. ( user friendly for our time zone Not). They are located in St Petersburg Fl. Nothing like have benefits scattered all over the place. I would like to welcome Brad King to the Shop Committee. Brad started his term January 2 and he will be an asset to Lodge 21. Brad works in Plant 7 on the V-1 Shift in Department UOO and is a welder, on the bay C line. I would like to thank Mike Baird for all that he has done for Lodge 21 over the years, and I am sure that if you need help he would help you to the best of his abilities, Mike will be missed , his knowledge and his commitment to help Union members has always been an asset. The time for 2014 negotiations should have already started. By that I mean language issues that you see should be brought forward now. If you see something that needs change please contact your Union Rep. And do not be afraid to offer a solution as well. These all get documented and put in a file for those negotiations. Language is a big issue and in all cases it should rank right up there with wages. We need to pay attention to language. Language is the heart of a contract. We hope and pray that you and your family enjoy a happy New Year and a prosperous one as well. Bill Huiss Shop Chairman 4 Lodge 21 Membership Status Working Members: Laid Off Members: 490 125 Pre Retirement Information What you should do. 90 days prior to the date of retirement call the Employee Service Contact Center at: 1-866-472-6793.. The Employee Service Contact Center is responsible for your pension calculation and retiree medical and life insurance processing. Within 4-6 weeks you should receive information. This will include your years of service and what amount you would receive per month for all five (5) pension options. ( PENSION Multiplier is currently $43.00 per month per year of service). Retiree Dental, You can only take dental if you COBRA it. The cobra cost is 102% of the full premium. And you can only have this for 18 months. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act is known as cobra. See Department of Labor web site @ http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/ cobra.htm. Return signed pension papers as soon as possible. Stop in at the Union office to sign a retirement card. 4-6 weeks after retirement you will be sent to Gundersen Clinic by the Company for a hearing test. Get a copy of results and take it to the District Lodge 66 office at 1307 Market Street. If after 6 weeks you have not been contacted call 787-2504. The Regular Monthly Union Meeting of IAMAW Lodge #21 will be held on: January 14th, 2012 9:00 A.M. at the District Lodge 66 Union office 1307 Market St. La Crosse, WI REMINDER: RECORDING SECRETARY NOMINATIONS Hope you can attend! January Retirees Conrad Miller & Glenn Wood Good Luck and a Happy Retirement!! Deceased Members Bruce (Bud) Ackerson (Active Member) Daniel (Big Dan) Strangstalien (Active Member) Erling Antony Sr. (Retiree) Everett Breyer (Retiree) Jack Lundgren (Retiree) William Thompson Sr. (Retiree) Missed but not forgotten. With the departure of the Benefits Dept. from Building 17, the Union Office does not receive notice of members who have passed away. If you know of any member of Lodge 21 who has left us , please notify the union office so we can pay them respects from the membership. F M LA Questions on F M L A can be tricky to answer, I have found that you can contact the Department of Labor in Madison and usually get an answer pretty quick. They will also fax you some of the answers to your questions. The number for the D. O. L. is 1-866-487-2365 on the national toll free contact center is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm eastern time. The T T Y number is: 1-877-889-5627 and the Wage and Hour division in Madison WI is: 608-441-5221. The 21 Newsletter is an official publication of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 66, Local Lodge 21. The newsletter is published at 2219 East Avenue South, La Crosse, WI 54601. Phone: (608) 788-6575 Fax: (608) 788-8182 Trane Internal Union Number is 2399 (787-2399) Editor email is huntsgeeze @aol.com