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LOCAL
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS
September, 2005
Bedford, IN 47421
Phone#279-1113
Home Page
www.iue-cwalocal84907.com
#279-1113
UNION MEETING
Due to the election of Officers, there will be no Union meeting in the month of September.
VOTING TIMES:
NIGHT SHIFT: September 6th, 2005 from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am. (Tuesday after work.)
DAY SHIFT: Wednesday, September 7th, 2005 from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
VOTING WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE LAWRENCE COUNTY FAIR GROUNDS, HIGHWAY 50 WEST, BEDFORD, IN 47421.
In the case of a tie, the run-off election will be held on Saturday September 10th, 2005 at the Lawrence County Fair Grounds, Highway 50 West, Bedford, IN 47421. Voting times will be from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm for all shifts.
BE SURE TO GO OUT AND VOTE!!
Following is a list of the candidates to be voted on in September:
PRESIDENT
David Baker
Dusty Davis
Earl Wilson
VICE PRESIDENT
Steve Butterfield
Phyllis Gassaway
Frank Nelson
Travis Vincent
RECORDING SECRETARY
John Boshears
Debbie Flynn
Judy Harrison
Paula Leonard (Lowery)
FINANCIAL SECRETARY
Donna Daniels
Tammy Hudar
Jeff Ritter
Sherri Short
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Gary Davis
Steve Ingle
Terry Kirk
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
David Edwards
Ray Fleetwood
Dave Haste
Troy Johnson
Jim Lobbes
Scott Patton
NIGHT SHIFT CHIEF STEWARD
Bill Ater
Bill Blackwell
Robbie Phillips
Al Strunk
DELEGATES (VOTE FOR 2)
Chris Begarly
Phyllis Gassaway
Judy Harrison
Scott Patton
Robbie Roberts
Travis Vincent
Note : Donnie Gratzer withdrew his candidacy for Financial Secretary on 08/04/05.
From the desk of the President
Insurance information
Following is a list of contact numbers for insurance issues:
Medical: Visteon Service Center
1-877-807-2660
Prescription Drug: Conexis
1-888-645-9303
Dental: Met Life
1-800-942-0854
Vision: UniCare
1-800-843-8184
Life and AD&D, Optional Employee Dependent Life and Voluntary AD&D:
Met Life
1-888-478-3664
Accident & Sickness: UniCare
1-800-843-8184
Alert!: If you use the services of the Stress Care Center of the Bloomington Hospital, expect some charges that will not be covered by insurance. You will be charged for use of the basketball court, rock climbing wall, etc. even if you do not use them. The Benefits Reps have been trying to talk with Anthem and Bloomington Hospital to resolve this issue. Bloomington Hospital insists on listing these services as recreational therapy on their billing. Recreational therapy is not a covered service through Anthem, so you will be paying for these services out of your pocket, even if you do not use them.
Labor Day history
In the late 1880’s, labor organizations began to lobby various state legislatures for the recognition of Labor Day as a state holiday. The first states to declare it as a state holiday in 1887 were Oregon, Colorado, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Then, in 1894 Congress passed a law recognizing Labor Day as an official national holiday.
Today, Labor Day is observed not only in the United States, but also in Canada and other industrialized nations. While it is a general holiday in the United States, its roots in the working class remain clearer in European countries.
It has come to be recognized in the U.S. not only as a celebration of the working class, but even more so as the unofficial end of the summer season. In the northern half of the U.S. at least, the summer vacation season begins with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day. Many colleges and some elementary schools begin classes immediately after Labor Day. State parks, swimming pools and campgrounds are all quite busy on Labor Day, as vacationers take one last advantage of the waning hot season. September is the month that marks the beginning of Autumn.
While you are enjoying your holiday, think about those who made it possible for you to get this day as a paid holiday. Union workers fought for a day to honor the working class. That is what a union is about. Fighting together for a better way of life.
Union Plus Website
The Union Plus web site offers
many benefits to union members. Through the web site you can apply for a
credit card, obtain scholarship information, get credit counseling, get legal advice and much more.
Example:
Helping working families with higher education.
Are you trying to pay for higher education for yourself or your children? Visit the Union Plus Education Services at www.unionplus.org/education to gain the information you need to help turn your education dreams into reality.
Through the Union Plus Education Services, you can:
· Access affordable education loans, including consolidation loans. Everyone who receives these loans will also receive a $50.00 gift certificate from Powell’s Online Bookstore, the largest unionized Internet book retailer.
· Talk to a Financial Aid Counselor.
Members can talk directly to union experts at 1-877-881-1002.
· Visit the Online College Planning Center.
By visiting www.unionplus.org/education , you can access the Union Plus College Planning Center, where you will find everything from career assessment help – to assistance in completing college admission forms – to comprehensive descriptions of thousands of campuses and higher education programs – and much more.
· Search for scholarships.
Members can visit www.unionplus.org/scholarships to find scholarships available through unions and other organizations.
Visit www.unionplus.org today and explore the many benefits that are available to union members.
With razor-thin vote, CAFTA is approved
In a narrow vote that came only after a rare Capitol Hill lobbying blitz by President Bush – and a stretch of legislative rules to allow more time to drag in the votes – the House of Representatives approved the Dominican-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in July. Labor had fought hard for the measure’s defeat.
The razor-thin, 217 – 215 tally gave President Bush his first trade victory. But it didn’t come easy.
“CAFTA did not win on the merits,” said United Auto Workers President Ron Gettlefinger. “The Republican House leadership had to hold the vote open and President Bush had to twist arms and load up the energy and transportation bills with pork-barrel projects to win the narrowest possible victory.”
CAFTA will eliminate most barriers to trade and investment between the U.S. , the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Labor helped lead the effort against the pact, which will encourage American companies to move jobs out of this country while doing little to raise living or working standards for Central Americans.
“CAFTA is for multinational companies who want to make a profit by shutting plants in the United States and moving to places with cheap labor,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) in a House floor speech.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelose (Calif.) said Bush’s victory will be short-lived. “As our manufacturing base erodes, we have a president who is contributing to the further erosion of that base,” Pelose said. “We will take our message to the American people that we are the ones looking out for them.”
Fifteen House Democrats voted in favor of CAFTA, while 27 Republicans voted against it. President Bush pressured many lawmakers by offering special favors, and threatened to veto other critical legislation, including the massive transportation bill, if more votes for CAFTA failed to materialize. Specifically targeted were legislators from Southern textile states, where some 200,000 jobs have been lost since NAFTA passed 10 years ago and where CAFTA is unpopular.
Despite the disappointing loss, Gettlefinger said, “it is a positive development that so many fair-minded legislators from both parties were able to resist enormous pressure and cast a vote against CAFTA, and in favor of their constituents, who need a fair playing field that will help raise living standards in all countries.
