Local 640 membership, Pleae see the below communication from the National Union regarding our benefits. A ballot to vote on the tentative benefits agreement settlement is being mailed to your home address. Please review. Our Local 640 executive board supports passing this benefits settlement and believe it is a good thing for our members. It is extremely important to attend the upcoming meetings in Alton and Pensacola where we will discuss this offer in detail. The meeting in Alton is on Friday 10-24-14 at 6pm at the Machinists Hall at 159 Shamrock East Alton IL. The Pensacola meeting is tentatively scheduled for next week as well. The location and date will be announced very soon. Ballots must be received back in the mail using the self addressed stamped envelope by October 30, 2014 to be counted. SUMMARY OF TENTATIVE SETTLEMENT OF NATIONAL BENEFITS LITIGATION AGAINST AMERICAN WATER A ballot is in the mail to every union member at American Water to accept or reject a tentative Settlement Agreement of the unfair labor practice litigation against American Water. The Unions that are signatory to the National Benefits Agreement unanimously support the this Settlement, because we believe it is a good deal for our members and fair value for our lawsuit. The NLRB, which is responsible to ensure that the settlement fairly remedies the damages to our members, has approved this Settlement. The unfair labor practice case grew out of a breakdown in 2010 national benefit negotiations and the Company’s implementation of cuts in health care and new hire VEBA contributions in January 2011. The Utility Workers filed charges on behalf of all the Unions. We won before an NLRB judge in October 2012 and before the NLRB Board in July 2014. The Company appealed, and the case is now pending before the Federal Court of Appeals in Chicago. Here’s what our members get in return for settling the lawsuit. First, there will be $10,000,000 in payments to be allocated to members on a pro rata basis for medical expenses, opt-out payments and VEBA contributions for which they have potential claims because of the Company’s cuts. Second, there will be a renewed, 2014-2018 National Benefits Agreement. The employee share of health care costs will be reduced from 29.5% to 25% and cannot be increased during 2015, 2016 or 2017 (and likely 2018). VEBA contributions are reinstated. Pension, disability, life insurance, VEBA contributions and employee stock option are locked in for four years. Third, beginning January 2015, employee health care contributions will not be increased by 8% (as the implemented plan provided), but will be reduced to $90 for single and $230 for family and out-of-pocket maximums will be reduced to $2500 per person/$5000 per family. Fourth, the Settlement gives each Local Union the OPTION of deciding (when their Local contract opens) of extending their Local contract with no take-aways and a 2.25% wage increase. If the Settlement is ratified by a majority vote, it will take effect on October 31, 2014. And we will start immediately on the process of calculating and allocating the pro rata distribution of the $10,000,000 Settlement Payment to the employees who were injured by the cuts in health care and VEBA contributions. The Company will also start immediately an open enrollment for the health care plan with lower out-of-pocket maxes and monthly employee contributions. If the Settlement is rejected by the members (and that is your right), our unfair labor practice litigation will continue. We expect to win in the long run, but everybody knows there is no such thing as a sure thing in lawsuits. And we could lose all or some of our case. The only thing that is a sure thing is that it will take at least 2-3 years to get a final resolution of this case. The Settlement is a sure thing. And we believe it is a very good thing for our members. Please vote.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 00:22:12 +0000
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