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USO Newsletter Who am I? MESSA Benefit Analysts There are several types of Benefits Analyst at MESSA.:
There are eight Disability BA'S that process disability claims, 23 BA's who process regular claims, 32 BA's in the certified call center, and two BA's who process employees claims only. In the Spotlight Sharon Fry, MESSA Benefit Analyst Sharon has been a Benefit Analyst for 26 years and, over the years, has seen many changes in her job. “When I first became a Benefit Analyst, we paid all claims at MESSA. We only needed to know two plans but now we have many more policies. What we once did by hand, the computer now does all the math,” said Sharon. For Sharon, MESSA has been her family away from home. Sharon worked as an auditor for 15 years but returned to her job paying claims because she loves the work. In Sept., Sharon will celebrate 30 years of working at MESSA. She said, “I’ve enjoyed coming to work every day for 30 years. I’ve given the best eight-hour work day to this company that I could over the years.” When Sharon’s not paying claims, she’s quilting or sewing. She also loves to bake cookies and pasties. Friends and movies round out her passions. The next time you see Sharon, thank her for her contributions to MESSA and to our members. Did you know? USO had its beginning in 1983 when MEA, MESSA and MEAFS associate and professional bargaining units filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold representative elections. At issue was whether USO should be the bargaining agent for the groups. The MEA PSA petition also included local option UniServ directors. Elections were held in the MEA ASO, MESSA SSA and PSA and the MEAFS ASO units and USO USO was chosen as the agent. In 1983-84, NLRB held protracted hearings over whether local option UniServ directors should be in the same unit as MEA PSA. As a result, local option UniServ directors voted to be a separate bargaining unit (MEDA). In 1984, both MEDA and USO bargained contracts for their respective professional staff members. That situation continues today. In 1986, the MEAFS Field Representatives were organized by USO and collective bargaining began for them. USO means quality representation The United Staff Organization (USO) is an independent labor organization representing more than 550 employees of MEA, MESSA and MEA Financial Services. USO is the certified bargaining agent for the associate and professional staff of those affiliates. USO provides:
USO works for you! Mother Jones – “The most dangerous woman in America” “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living!” are the famous words of union activist Mother Jones who viewed herself as a “hell-raiser.” Mother Jones was born Mara Lou Hawse in Ireland in 1830. She came from a long line of agitators. Her grandfather was hanged for being an Irish freedom fighter and her father was forced to flee to America with the family. She didn’t start our being a union organizer but the deaths of her husband and four children during a yellow fever epidemic and the loss of her property during the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, forced her to support herself. Mother Jones became involved in the labor movement and joined the Knights of Labor. She founded the Industrial Workers of the World (WWI) in 1905 and was active as an organizer and educator in strikes throughout the country. She was involved with United Mine Workers and gained recognition for organizing the wives and children of striking workers. In 1903, she organized children working in mills and mines in the Children’s Crusade. In a march to the home of President Teddy Roosevelt, the children carried banners demanding time to play and to go to schools. The march brought the issue of child labor to everyone’s attention, including the U.S. Senate who declared her “the grandmother of all agitators.” In a 1913 child labor strike in West Virginia, Mother Jones was arrested and convicted with other union organizers of conspiring to commit murder. Her arrest caused such an uproar that she was released and the Senate ordered an investigation into conditions in local coal mines. Mother Jones was in her 50s when she became interested in labor unions and she was known as the white-haired radical labor organizer. She was 101 when she died in 1930. She is buried in an Illinois cemetery near victims of an 1898 southern Illinois coal mine riot. Today Mother Jones is the name of an independent nonprofit magazine that is committed to social justice and known for its investigative reporting. |
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