ࡱ> bda7 =bjbjUU nl7|7|.9al888L4L z||||||$ 9"v8"?88zz6F 8n BP{Ld ^n 0f""nLLUSO Flash  Winter Freeze EditionJanuary 2001 Tidbits From Tom Grievances What is a grievance? The union files a grievance when it thinks there has been a violation of the contract language. Are all complaints considered as grievances? No. A grievance occurs when the CONTRACT language has been violated. Sometimes members have complaints. If these complaints are over the interpretation of contract language where management and the union do not agree, then a grievance is filed. If the complaint is over something that is not addressed in the contract, then a grievance is not filed. Usually, the affiliate tracks these complaints and uses them as the basis for proposals in the next round of bargaining. Who can file a grievance? Your contract section on grievance procedure spells out who can file and the time limits and progression of a grievance. How are grievances processed for USO? Each affiliate (MEA-ASO, MEA-PSA, MESSA-SSA, MESSA-PSA, MEA-FSA and MEA-FSR) files grievances on behalf of their members. Each affiliate has a grievance committee. Advocates are usually assigned from those committees by the affiliate. Grievances are processed by the affiliate. Once the affiliate has recommended moving the grievance to arbitration, the grievance then comes before the USO Grievance Committee. USO is the bargaining agent for all affiliates. This is why, at this point in the grievance process, it comes before USO. Each affiliate has a representative (the affiliates grievance chair) that serves on the USO Grievance Committee. If USO approves the arbitration request, then the grievance goes through the arbitration process. What happens if the grievance is not approved by the USO Grievance Committee for arbitration? There is an appeal process for the grievant to follow if he/she desires. Ultimately, the USO Executive Committee has the final determination on an arbitration request. Spotlight onMEA Financial Services Representatives As part of our continuing series to highlight MEA employees and discuss their positions within the organization, we introduce Ron TomasikMEA Fin-ancial Services representative. Ron described his job at Financial Services as servicing the MEA membership by advising and supplying products for insurance and investment needs. His duties include servicing existing clients through annual contacts to process any changes to the clients account (such as increasing contributions) and marketing Financial Services in his assigned school districts to generate new sales of annuities, investment and insurance products. Ron is one of five reps in the state that also is licensed to sell P& C (auto and homeowners insurance). Ron started in this field 21 years ago while teaching in Flint. As was common in the 70s, many teachers augmented their salaries with part time jobs. Ron had always been interested in and saw the need for insurance. He started selling insurance for the Horace Mann com-pany in 1979. When Mann dropped their part-time positions in 1986, he applied to MEA-FS and was hired. At that time the MEA member-ship was less aware of Financial Services and its role in helping them invest for their retirement. Over the years he has seen his business grow. He credits this to greater awareness of MEA-FS within the MEA family, growth of teachers salaries (leaving more for investment) and general knowledge of the stock market growing. Ron is very successful as a rep. When asked what attributes he has that help him to be so, he replied that mainly its his desire to be of service to people. This is shown in ways such as re-sponding promptly to calls. The writer would add that his comfortable personality plays a major role. Ron clearly enjoys people and inspires confidence. Of the challenges he faces on his job, the most significant would be the need for a comprehensive marketing program that would keep the MEA-FS name fresh in the minds of the MEA membership. Ron retired from teaching this past June, but his MEA-FS clients can expect to see him for a while longer. Spotlight onMESSA Benefit Analyst This section highlights the Regular Benefit Analyst position at MESSA. We recognize that there are several benefit analyst job descriptions, which will be addressed at a latter time. Laurie McManus has been employed with MESSA for 20 years. After 2 years working as a check stuffer and opening mail, she was promoted to a BA position. Knowing each contract and what benefit each contract covers is a task she under-takes everyday. Among her responsibilities are: Pro-cessing claims, answering phone calls from members and the insurance companies, and investigating unpaid claims. The satisfaction of helping members to understand their policy and the benefits it provides them is a very gratifying part of her job. That also happens to be her favorite aspect of the position. One thing she would change regarding the Benefit Analyst position is to decrease the response time from Blue Cross/ Blue Shield regarding a pertinent issue. That would also hold true with management. Tax Tips Following are some tax tips: The personal exemption for tax year 2000 is $2800. The standard deduction for mar-ried filing joint is $7350, single - $4400, head of household - $6450 and married filing separately - $3675. Those amounts are higher for persons that are blind or over age 65. The social security wage base has risen to $80,400. Any wages earned in excess of that would be taxed at the Medicare rate (1.45%) only. The standard mileage rate for all of 2000 was 32.5 cents per mile. Charitable mileage has a different rate - 14 cents per mile, and medical or moving ex-pense rate is .10 cents per mile. For those interested in starting or continuing to fund an Educational IRA, the final date for a year 2000 con-tribution is December 31. Contributions to a Roth and traditional IRA can be made until April 15th for the prior year, just be sure that con-tribution date is clearly designated. For information regarding IRAs, contact MEA Financial Services (800 292-1950) for the name of your local representative. Following are some tips for documenting charitable deductions. When you purchase a fundraiser item (Girl Scout cookies, chocolate bars, poinsettias etc.), youll need to separate the cost of the item from its actual value. If you purchase a box of cookies for $3.00 and a comparable price at the grocery store would be $1.50, then the remaining $1.50 would be your reportable charitable contribution. For donated household goods (clothing, etc.), make a dated list of items including the original cost. The deductible value would be the resale value that is approximately 20-25% of original cost. Dont forget to include those donations you make that come from your grocery or household budget, such as baked goods and homemade craft items, magazines and books. Those items can often add up to significant amounts to be claimed on your itemized deduction form. An often forgotten deduction is the mileage (at 14 cents a mile) for travel while vol-unteering your services to a church, school or other organization. The state of Michigan allows for special donations on line 20 of the MI 1040; con-tributions to colleges or universities, public radio or TV, and public libraries are eligible for a 50% tax credit not to exceed $100 for a single and $200 for a joint return. Donations of books, CDs, videos and cassettes are included. Ask for a donation receipt for documentation. Would you like to feed everyone at a soup kitchen for under $100? If you give up to $400 joint/ $200 single to a soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless shelter, etc., youll receive a 50% tax credit from the state of MI, as well as up to 39% back from your Federal return. Keep track, give smart, take your deductions. Dont let Uncle Sam keep even $1 more than he deserves. Gift IdeasGet a Head Start on Next Year! Holiday gifts for the person who has it all! Dancing Christmas Flamingostands one foot tall; dressed in a fest-ive Christmas hat and pink fur; when you press the wing, music plays and a chorus sings Jingle Bells; then the flamingo begins to tap dance. $25.99 ( HYPERLINK "http://www.stupid.com" www.stupid.com) Laptop BuddhaInstead of saying Youve got mail! your computer says, Youve got Zen! $4.99 ( HYPERLINK "http://www.stupid.com" www.stupid.com) The TinglerA spider-shaped device with a copper handle and a series of copper arms with special tips. You or someone you trust will place this on your head and twist, turn and lift it off your head. The ends of the copper arms move all over your scalp, stim-ulating thousands of pressure points and nerve endings. Testimony given: I dumped my boyfriend, but I still have my Tingler. ( HYPERLINK "http://www.stupid.com" www.stupid.com) Couch Potato WatchNo more searching for that remote! The couch potato watch lets you control your TV or VCR from your watch. $29.95 ( HYPERLINK "http://www.stupid.com" www.stupid.com) Massaging Penhas a vibrator in the end; just press it on any area of your body that needs soothing. $19.99 ( HYPERLINK "http://www.stupid.com" www.stupid.com) Pooliticalsmade from animal dung; comes in Demacrap or Repooplican sculptures; great for your garden; lasts for about two years, slowly re-leasing nutrients into your soil. Just doo it! $19.95 each; purchase both Poo-liticals and save yourself a pile. $29.95 (www. wonderfullywacky.com) Musical Corkscrewnuff said. $118.00 ( HYPERLINK "http://www.neimanmarcus.com" www.neimanmarcus.com Thalia TimeHelper Alarm Clockuses HLT circuitry; performs the following: Acts as your homes master clock and automatically sets every other HLT clock in the house; controls your other household products, e.g. electric blanket, coffee-maker, etc.; lets you know if a smoke alarm goes off and tells you which room its coming from.  HYPERLINK "http://www.thaliaproducts.com" www.thaliaproducts.com Digital Dog Tagthis dog tag is being field-tested by the U.S. Army; a scanable memory card worn around your neck that houses your medical information, including thumbnail-size X-rays and other images, along with your medical records. ( HYPERLINK "http://www.sandisk.com" www.sandisk.com) So, you thought they had it all. Guess again! Diversity Cadre Training On November 5 and 6, 2000, a cadre of eleven employees from MEA, MEA-FS and MESSA embarked upon intense diversity training sessions coached by Dr. John Leeke and associates. The goal is to have in-house employees orient new staff within the first year of their initial employment on issues of diversity in the workplace. The new employee diversity training will be one full day and will include some of the exercises we experienced during our three-day diversity training. The first half-day of the training consisted of learning the various terms and structure for the new emp-loyee diversity training. In the afternoon and the following day, we separated into smaller groups and applied what we had learned through indiv-idual presentations. The two-day training sessions were very stimulating, demanding and at times, frustrating. The group was challenged throughout the process to anticipate attitudes, behaviors, concerns and questions. But when we left at the end of the second day, we felt secure in our knowledge and coaching skills. The first in-house train-ing session for new employ-ees will be in February 2001. Notice of Training If you are interested in bargaining training please keep reading. MEA is hosting a conference on February 1 - 3, 2001, at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn. This training has been open in the past to all staff. You must arrange for your release from work, transportation, lodging, and meals. USO will pick up $155 toward the registration. Union release time is not available for this training. If you are interested in attending please submit a training form to the USO training chair and forward the registration request to Vera Stafford. Life Without a Union If you take a look behind Wal-Marts yellow smiley face, you wont see the store Sam Walton built out of his dreams nearly 40 years ago. His was a business that cared about employees and the communities they served. Sam Walton made it his personal business to make sure that was the case. Now the store behind the yellow happy face is one of the worlds biggest anti-union companies. All of the retail giants U.S. stores are non-union. Its transportation and distribution network is non-union. Much of its manu-facturing is nonunion, with most of it coming from foreign countries. Recently, more than 700 UAW members at Master Lock lost their jobs when Wal-Mart dropped the company for a Chinese manufacturer whose products had to be recalled. Only 38% of Wal-Mart employees participate in the companys health plan, because of high co-pays and deductibles and strict eligi-bility requirements. The average national warehouse wage is $14.15 an hour. The average Wal-Mart warehouse wage is $11.70 an hour. What does this mean to us? First, its an excellent ex-ample of the difference that unions make for employees. During this season of the year, be grateful for all of the benefits that joining with our co-workers in collective bargaining guarantees us. Second, as consumers, we can make an impact on this sit-uation. Take a moment when you are shopping at Wal-Mart to encourage workers that as a union family, you support their desire for fair treatment and wages. Send an e-mail to Wal-Mart management rep-resentatives to tell them you care about the wages and benefits they offer their emp-loyees, and that the high number of foreign products they stock is unacceptable. E-mails can be sent to:  HYPERLINK http://www.wal-mart.com www.wal-mart.com go to customer service and click on Contact Wal-Mart. USO Calendar January 12 and 13 NSO WAR College Sarasota Hyatt January 16 Communication Committee Room 2 12:30 p.m. January 23 Grievance Committee 1350 Board Room 10 a.m. January 23 Bargaining Committee 1350 Board Room 11:30 a.m. January 23 Executive Committee 1350 Board Room 2 p.m. February 20 Grievance Committee Room C 10 a.m. February 20 Bargaining Committee Room C 11:30 a.m. February 20 Executive Committee Room C 2 p.m. February 21-24 USO Retreat Thomas Edison Inn, Port Huron March 20 Grievance Committee Room Unknown 10 a.m. March 20 Bargaining Committee Room Unknown 11:30 a.m. March 20 Executive Committee Room Unknown 2 p.m. March 20 NSO Caucas Room Unknown 5 p.m. March 31 NSO CBC Westin - Kansas City, Missouri In This Issue ( USO member spotlight ( Tax Tips ( Gift ideasHead Start for Next Year    /0ALMc]u ""###$$$!$"$$$$$$$$%<&>&?&b&c&d&r&s&&&'jOJQJU 6OJQJjOJQJU 0JOJQJjOJQJUjOJQJUCJ56OJQJ5CJOJQJ 5OJQJ CJOJQJOJQJjUmHnHu CJ(OJQJ3  /0ALMNc\]no n o u v $a$$a$.==v ^ _ }~UVmnCD CD56E!F!T"U""""###$$$u&2''((h`h & F' '!'/'0''''''''))G)H)I)])^)*******++,,,,,E,F,_,`,002 39999999):8:.=<===޺ޮޤޒޤ6CJOJQJCJjDOJQJU OJQJhh5CJOJQJjOJQJUjOJQJUjOJQJUjOJQJUOJQJ 0JOJQJjOJQJUjCOJQJU4(_)*,,E,F,_,`,a,00000a22222 3 3 3.4/4T5U55 ^ & F556677):*:7:8:k:::;S;T;;;;+<,<a<<<<-=.=<=== ^==>=T=U=_=`==== OJQJh CJOJQJ jCJOJQJ==T=_=}=====/ =!"#$%' 0/ =!"#$% P  0/ =!"#$%' 0/ =!"#$% P  0/ =!"#$%' 0/ =!"#$% P  0/ =!"#$%' 0/ =!"#$% P  0/ =!"#$%' 0/ =!"#$% P  0/ =!"#$%' 0/ =!"#$% P  0/ =!"#$%' 0/ =!"#$% P  0/ =!"#$%' 0/ =!"#$% P  0/ =!"#$%DyK www.stupid.comyK .http://www.stupid.com/DyK www.stupid.comyK .http://www.stupid.com/DyK www.stupid.comyK .http://www.stupid.com/DyK www.stupid.comyK .http://www.stupid.com/DyK www.stupid.comyK .http://www.stupid.com/DyK www.neimanmarcus.comyK :http://www.neimanmarcus.com/DyK www.thaliaproducts.comyK >http://www.thaliaproducts.com/DyK www.sandisk.comyK 0http://www.sandisk.com/DyK www.wal-mart.comyK 2http://www.wal-mart.com/ i<@< NormalCJOJQJ_HmH sH tH 4@4 Heading 1$@&5CJ8@8 Heading 2$@& 5OJQJ8@8 Heading 3$@& CJOJQJ<@< Heading 4$@&6CJOJQJ<A@< Default Paragraph Font*B@* Body Text5.U@. 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