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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE March 1, 2007 Dear Brothers & Sisters: The continuing paring of jobs in the U.S. auto industry has directly resulted in diminished intake and the layoff of four staff attorneys this year in our collective bargaining unit. The layoffs have occurred in Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin. I have been in contact with all those individuals who received layoff notices in order to discuss and explore their rights under the CBA to bump another attorney with lesser seniority. The liberal bumping rights contained in our CBA can sometimes lead to a domino effect of multiple bumps as the result of one layoff. I would encourage all of you to read Articles One and Twenty- Nine of our collective bargaining agreement dealing with office groupings and layoffs. Earlier this year, the Union was compelled to file a policy grievance through our Council 66 representative, Peter Nickles. One of our New York attorneys received an improper notice of layoff. There was an attorney with significantly less seniority in the particular office grouping that should have received the layoff notice. The Plan quickly acknowledged their error revoking the layoff notice and reissuing it to the proper party. There is another significant change that is likely to come about later this year. Fidelity Investments charges significantly higher management fees than many other firms. There was a 401(k) committee meeting last week with Mike Silver representing the Union on this committee. There was also a representative from Fidelity Investments during the meeting. Elaine Eizelman was impressed by the insightful and hard hitting questions asked by Mike Silver. Mike has served on this committee since 1999 and deserves our thanks for his efforts in helping to upgrade the fund selections available to us and for his watchdog role. The end result of the 401(k) committee meeting is the Plan is seriously considering switching our 401(k) funds to another company. The Union expressed their concern over any penalties that may attach to a premature liquidation of a specific fund. Elaine Eizelman assured me that there will be a minimum ninety days notice given to our members before any transfer occurs. The Plan does have a fiduciary obligation to protect all participants in the 401(k) program and that is the driving force behind the probable change. Fraternally Yours, Paul Colavecchio President AFSCME LOCAL 3357 Home Phone 330-945-7326 Cell Phone 330-310-6040
July 13, 2005 Dear Brothers & Sisters: I am putting together my agenda for our annual membership meeting to be held on October 8, 2005 in San Antonio at the Emily Morgan hotel. Anyone intending to attend should start looking for reasonably priced available flights. All current officers, trustees, union representatives, and grievance committee members will have their airfare, room, and IRS allowed per diem expenses covered. Check with our Union concierge, Bruce Valen, should you have any questions. One of the topics to be discussed at our meeting is the new bankruptcy law and its impact on our practice. The new law goes into effect on October 17, 2005. I telephoned Matt Mason after the law passed and expressed my concerns regarding the personal liability provisions as it applies to attorneys under the new law. Since Matt is the Plans bankruptcy guru in Detroit, I let it be known that the Union will expect the Plan or it’s malpractice carrier to cover any fines levied personally against Plan bankruptcy lawyers under the new bankruptcy law. Roger White, our grievance chairperson, Peter Nickles, our AFSCME Council 66 representative, our grievance committee comprised of Ann Snitzer, Kathleen Perry, Michael Forbes, Lynn Detrie, John Suda, Roger White, and myself, have been working on a number of grievances and potential grievances over the past number of months. Here is a brief breakdown. 1. An attorney is seeking reimbursement for a colonoscopy procedure that was initially determined by either our insurance carrier and/or the Plan to be medically unnecessary. The grievance committee has voted to take this matter to Arbitration. 2. The grievance committee has authorized going to step two in contesting a notice of unsatisfactory work performance against a staff attorney. The manager who “wrote up” the staff attorney in question cited matters that were more than two years old in direct contravention of our collective bargaining agreement. 3. The Plan is not providing the needed paperwork for same gender partners to register for health benefits. While promises have been made by Elaine Eizelman that the paperwork is in the pipeline, the Union can wait no longer. Our new collective bargaining agreement clearly allows for same gender partners to obtain health care benefits. Peter Nickles may go directly to the NLRB if this matter isn’t rectified immediately. 4. Contrary to the e-mail missives of Harrell Bailey, our collective bargaining agreement as contained in article 14.1 places no time constraints upon obtaining reimbursement for work related travel expenses. Currently, the Plan is denying any reimbursement request beyond 90 days. I know of one lawyer who has been denied reimbursement and intends to challenge the arbitrary timeline established by the Plan. I expect the grievance committee will give serious consideration to arbitrating any expense reimbursement denials based upon the doctrine of laches. 5. As many of you know, there were a number of problems with Express Scripts prescription drug services. After the Union and the Plan dealt with numerous complaints without satisfaction, the Plan decided to employ the services of another prescription drug carrier. I am sad to report that the Plan has made good on one of their promises. Four staff attorneys have been laid off this year. One of these attorneys lost their job, one attorney chose not to bump someone in another office and has left the Plan, another attorney bumped someone in another office with less seniority, and the last attorney laid off transferred to another Plan office where there was an opening. Intake continues to lag in many offices, which can only result in the continued erosion of our jobs. Please make sure that your support staff is taking the time to open a new case for each new matter coming into your office. Your job may depend on it. I am sure many of you have been following the recent news regarding the auto industry. I have been also. To keep abreast of current events, you can access the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, and Steve Hofer’s Union Blog on the Internet for up to the minute info. I again want to thank Steve Hofer and John Suda for all their efforts on the Union website. I look forward to meeting with many of you again in San Antonio. I intend to arrive early in order to outfit myself in appropriate local apparel. Remember
the Alamo!
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE February 5, 2005 Dear
Brothers and Sisters:
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