Welcome to Local 378's 2010 website!
I hope this
information finds you all well. Spring
is here and we are seeing more work start up then in the past year and a
half. Although the economy is still
weak, we have projects that have put many of our members to work. The project
in Fremont known as Solyndra, has the following contractors employing members;
The Conco Companies, JD2 Inc., Cal Erectors, Schuff Steel, Anning &
Johnson, B.T Mancini, Westco Iron Works, Inc., Olson & Co. Steel, and Viking Steel to name a few.
There have been many man hours for our members and our local. Valero is a project that is still going
strong with many Iron Workers putting in numerous hours. Alamillo Rebar, Inc., The Conco Companies,
and Harris Salinas Rebar have work throughout the Bay Area and we have members
on those projects as well. Upcoming work
will be at the Wind Farm Project in Rio Vista, CA and at the Antioch Bridge.
The Iron Worker
Pin Ceremony is coming up on the 16th of July.
This month, an invitation will be mailed out to those who have attained
25 years or more. We hope to see you all
there so please attend this year’s ceremony.
If you have an
email address, please contact the office at 707-746-6100. You can check us out on our website www.ironworkers378.org. The website is updated daily. We can also be found on Facebook, search for
us as “Ironworkers Union Local 378”
(you must be a Facebook member to view the account). We have many members on
there and it’s also a good place to find information.
Certificate of Disability
Do you know what a Certificate of Disability can do for you when you are injured and off work?
1. It freezes the hours in your hour bank and extends your medical benefits for you and your family. The length of time your medical benefits are extended depends on the time you are off. Your doctor should put an estimated date that you can return to work. If you are off longer, the doctor can fill out another certificate and this will extend the benefits again.
2. It can close any gap in your pension credit hours, for when you retire. When you retire and you have a gap it can cost you money on your monthly pension check. If you have a Certificate of Disability on file, it will close any gap and insure that you will not lose any monthly benefit that you are entitled to.
You can file a certificate of disability for any injury, whether it is work related or personal.
It is best to file the certificate at the time of your disability, as when years pass, we forget who the doctor was, or the doctor retires and we are unable to find them. This may not sound important to you when you are young and many years from retirement, however, it could cost you money when you do choose to retire.
So as you can see a Certificate of Disability is very important.
President/Business Agent’s Report by Bobby Lux
As President
and Business Agent of Local 378 I have many opportunities to represent you and
the needs of our members. During the
week of April 18th through April 21st 2010 one such event
presented itself. I attended the
Building and Construction Trades 2010 Legislative Conference held in
The theme of
the conference was “The Right Jobs, The Right Future, Right Now!” There were approximately 2500 union members,
with their respective General Presidents representing thirteen different
building trades. I have to say it was
impressive to look around the room and see the members sitting in areas
designated by the state they were from.
However,
what was more impressive was the first speaker, Vice President of the
Biden spoke
to the group like another working man in a manner that was comfortable and
reassuring. In fact, “Assurance” was the
theme of his speech.
Biden spoke
to the issue of jobs in the future and how the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act assures that jobs will continue to be prevalent in the construction industry.
Biden spoke
to the fact that there will no longer be a ban on Project Labor Agreements
(PLA) previously banned by the Bush administration on Federally Funded
Projects. In fact, the construction
contracts of three new nuclear power plants were signed under PLA’S. This is evidence that there is assurance that
the future of union labor is strong.
Finally,
Biden spoke to the future of “Green Construction”. He assured the various trade industries that
there is plenty of room for everyone to participate in this area. However, this will require Ironworkers to
become educated and trained in the field of Solar and Wind Construction.
In closing,
I want to say that I had the opportunity to speak to Local 378’s Congress and
Senate representatives. I expressed the
need for them to continue to lobby for the creation of jobs that will put our
Local members back to work.
FYI, this
year’s Ironworkers Annual Picnic will once again be held at the
Good Luck
Work Safe
Bobby Lux
Trust Fund
It is important that you contact the Trust Fund of any of the following reasons:
1. Pension (Information on retirement). The Local can request your pension credit hours for you, however, we are unable to provide any more information on retirement and these questions should be asked directly from the Trust Fund as this is what they are paid to administer.
2. Health and Welfare (Information on your medical benefits). All information on new changes to your medical and drug plans are kept directly at the Trust Fund, and you should contact them first.
3. Annuity (Information on your balance). We cannot request this information for you.
4. Vacation (Information on vacation payouts). If you do not receive your vacation check the first place that you should call is the Trust Fund. This is where your checks are mailed from and we do not have the information at the Local.
If for some reason you do not get your questions answered in a satisfactory manner you can than contact the Local and speak with Emilio Rivera.
Always remember to keep copies of everything that you send to the Trust Fund in case it gets lost in the mail, and also request the name of the person that you speak with for your records.
Business Agent’s Report by Jason Gallia
Hello Everyone,
I attended a meeting at Alameda County Building Trades,
where we had The Hayward Unified School
District talk about Measure I. Meassure
I is a 200 Million dollar Bond with
a Project Stableisation Agreement. This Agreement has a local hire requirement
of 30% Hayward residents. Hayward voters passed this bond with a 72% yes vote. The
Schools under Measure I are Martin
Luther King Jr Middle at 30 million, Schafer Park Elementary at 25 million,
Tyrell Elementary at 21 million, Fairview Elementary School at 23 million and
East Ave Elementary School at 21 million. These projects are 100% funded.
Remember work safe;
always carry your dues receipt with you.
I will see you on
the job.
Business Agent’s Report by Jeff McEuen
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
Hope
everyone is well and enjoying all this wet weather we’re having. We certainly
need the water. I always say with a lot of water comes a lot of work. Well we
have the water and I know you’re probably saying, “Where’s the work”? We do
have some on- going projects in Fremont at Solyndra with Conco, Schuff Steel
and JD-2 finishing up and B.T. Mancini, Pacific Erectors and Westco Iron Works with
work still going on. At Western Digital, Lee’s Imperial Welding and Westco Iron
Works are doing some extensive seismic upgrades, working two shifts. Also some
bridge decks out along I-580 in Livermore, CMC will be performing the work out
there.
I said I would keep you informed on the Russell City Project,
hopefully to be constructed in Hayward. The Chabot/Las Positas Community
College has filed a law suit against the project concerning the emissions this
plant would create. If they did their homework like good college people should,
they would know that this power plant has state of the art technology using the
cleanest fuel (Natural Gas) and reduce emission by 40%, then we could
decommission the older plant that is keeping the lights on to their colleges
right now but polluting at twice the rate.
That just shows you what we’re always saying about
having the right people in critical political positions. Have people on your
School Boards, your Water Boards, City Councils, Supervisors, in the State
Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Governor, that are considerate
to our interest, that believe in the way we do business is the way to do
business. Let’s stick together this political year and put those people in
office that want to help us preserve our way of life and start things moving in
the right direction and will put our people back to work. The only way we can
change the way it is now to something better is to GET
THE VOTE OUT.
Always fighting for you and your union,
Jeff McEuen
Honorary Withdrawal
If a member takes an Honorary Withdrawal he would need to be current with his membership dues first.
If the member is only going to be gone for 6 (six) months there is no advantage to him taking a Withdrawal, as when a member returns from a Withdrawal he pays a $200.00 Withdrawal card deposit and 3 (three) months dues at the time of his return. Six months dues for the year 2010 is $237.00 and to come back after 6 (six) month from a Withdrawal it would cost $318.50. It would cost the member an additional $81.50 for the six months they were out.
If the member were going to be out longer than 9 months, it would be beneficial to the member to take a Withdrawal.
How does the Honorary Withdrawal affect the member’s California Pension?
Basically, there is no advantage and the only affect to the pension would be if the member were out for 2 (two) years, or more, he would than have a break in service and could possible suffer when he retired.
If a member has not vested prior to taking a Withdrawal and he was out longer than 2 (two) years, he would lose the time that he had already accumulated. In other words he would not be eligible for a pension and would have to start over to vest.
How does the Honorary Withdrawal affect the member’s International membership?
When a member takes an Honorary Withdrawal it in effect stops his membership. If the member came back and worked only 4 years he would not qualify for Honorary Membership and would not be able to lower his monthly dues to $8.40 per month if he were injured and unable to work. He would continue to pay full Journeyman dues.
How does Honorary Withdrawal affect Lifetime Membership?
When a member takes an Honorary Withdrawal he would have to be a member again for 20 continuous years to qualify for the Lifetime Disability Membership and be on social security, or he would have to be a member for 25 continuous years to qualify for a Lifetime Old Age Membership. So in essence he would have lost out on becoming a Lifetime member if he takes an Honorary Withdrawal.
RETIREES KORNER by Dick Zampa Sr.
Hi Guys,
By now all of you should have received the post card
from Local #378 about the Pin Ceremony, Friday July 16, 2010, 12 noon at
the Concord Crowne Plaza, located at 45 John Glenn Drive, Concord. We received this information at our April
Retirees meeting and decided to still hold our Retirees meeting on Wednesday,
June 2 as noted on your calendar.
Inasmuch as the Pin Ceremony will be held on July 16 which is closer to
our August meeting, we will hold our Retiree meeting on Thursday, July 15 at 10
a.m. at the Union Hall. This will allow
our members traveling from out of state to attend the meeting. So, mark your calendar now and plan to attend
the Retirees meeting on Thursday, July 15 and the Pin Ceremony on Friday,
July 16.
A little added attraction for paid-up members of our
Retirees Association: the member traveling the furthest and the one with the
oldest book number will each receive a $100 prize. This was approved at our April meeting. You must be a paid-up member of our
association to be eligible for the prize. So, if you haven’t joined up or paid
up for 2010, do it now. Remember, wives
are always welcome.
I hope to see many old friends there. It will be an exciting couple of days.