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From the
Secretary/Treasurer, Pam Siefers
RE: Strike Related
Issues—Strike Pay & Medical Benefits
Strike Pay
- We continue to get calls on this, so we thought it was best to post
this summary to our website. The following information is the timeline
for payments to those who perform their strike assignments. Members &
non-members alike are eligible for strike pay, if they honor the picket
line & complete their strike assignment. As a reminder, the striker
must have filled out the Striker Certification form. Without that form,
no pay will be generated.
Week 1 – no
compensation, must perform strike assignment
·
Week 2 – no compensation, must perform
strike assignment
·
Week 3 – striker will receive $200
compensation, providing he performed his strike assignment for weeks 1 & 2
·
Week 4 - striker will receive $200
compensation, providing he performed his strike assignment for week 3
·
Week 5 – striker will receive $300
compensation, providing he performed his strike assignment for week 4
·
Week 6+ - same as above, providing
strike assignment performed for the previous week.
The payments from the
Member Relief Fund are intended to help compensate people for loss of
wages due to strike. Those who take vacation time the first week will
delay their eligibility to draw Striker pay by one week. Those on
disability will not be eligible and should not participate in picketing,
as this may compromise their disability status. If a strike ends
mid-week, the final strike payment will be 1/5th of the
weekly payout. If we pay a total of $600 or more to any striker, CWA
will send out a 1099 at the end of the year, and it must be claimed as
income when the striker files their taxes.
Absolutely, no personal
loans can be made from union funds. I have asked that our Community
Service Committee Member from each area become familiar with the
available resources in their communities (food banks, etc.) in order to
properly assist our folks.
Next subject:
Medical benefits – The company
has been silent on the state of our benefits if we go on strike, so we
are unable to tell our members with any certainty what will happen. As
you know, the company pays the medical premium at the first of the
month, so if we strike mid-month, we would hope that the insurance will
continue through at least the end of the month. What would happen as of
May 1st is unknown. If the company does cancel our
insurance, they are required by federal law to give us the option to pay
the premium through COBRA. Those folks who are in the midst of serious
health issues must consider this, as most other short-term catastrophic
policies will deny anyone with pre-existing conditions.
I have been asked
similar questions (continuity of coverage) about our disability plan,
ability to retire while on strike, etc., and the answer is we don’t
know for sure. The company administers the benefits & they aren’t
talking. Our only real point of reference was the 17 day strike in
1989. During that strike, our medical continued, those who were on
disability when the strike started,
continued to get their disability pay.
Keep in mind, any strike is a short-term sacrifice for what could be a
lifetime of security for you & your family. Support your union! |
