Sentinel September 2020

SHOP STEWARDS SEMINAR CANCELLED FOR 2020

Based upon the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Shop Stewards Seminar originally scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, 2020 has been cancelled. Any attempts to hold a Seminar of this magnitude at the Local 464A Union Auditorium would not only be a violation of State law and CDC Guidelines, but would also not be in the best interest of the safety and welfare of our outstanding Shop Stewards.

We are hopeful that we will once again be able to schedule this most important training seminar for our Stewards next year.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF PENSION BENEFIT STATEMENT – PLEASE READ

Every participant who has a vested accrued benefit under the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 464A Pension Fund, the Local 464A Finast/Stop & Shop Employees Pension Plan, or the New York-New Jersey Amalgamated Pension Plan for ACME Employees and who is employed by an employer who contributes to the Pension Funds may request a statement of his or her accrued benefit from the Pension Funds. The benefit statement is an estimate of the monthly benefit you have earned, based on the latest information available to the Pension Funds.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR MEDICAL BENEFITS UNDER THE LOCAL 464A WELFARE SERVICE BENEFIT FUND

Part-time Members who are enrolled in the Welfare Fund may enroll their eligible child dependents. “Eligible child dependents” include natural or adopted children of a Member up to age 26. Children involved in a legal adoption process will be covered when placed, provided the children otherwise meet the requirements of the Welfare Fund as a dependent.

NOTICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH AND CANCER RIGHTS ACT OF 1998

Do you know that your Plan, as required by the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998, provides benefits for mastectomy-related services, including all stages of reconstruction and surgery to achieve symmetry between the breasts, prostheses, and complications resulting from a mastectomy, including lymphedema.

Call the Maxon Company at 1-800-999-3309 for more information

THE COVID-19 WORLD HAS IMPACTED OUR WORKPLACE



Working safely and working smartly in our supermarkets, warehouses and processing plants has become demanding and stressful. Apart from the wearing of masks and observing social distancing, many of us have also become policemen finding it necessary to regulate the actions of customers and some coworkers to assure proper safety. Unfortunately, the situation may get worse before it gets better, especially if we see a large spike in the number of cases in the New York-New Jersey Metro Area.

STATUS OF MAJOR CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS



The new COVID-19 World has changed so many of our practices and procedures. Among those changes are the manner in which we negotiate our Collective Bargaining Agreements.

As we know, our contract demands and selection of those to serve on the Contract Committee were all conducted at store level to avoid hundreds of people congregating at the Union Hall. The demands have been tentatively formulated and will be reviewed by the Contract Committee, which was selected by the Executive Board Members working for that particular Company participating in negotiations.

LOOKING AT THE UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION THROUGH THE EYES OF A UNION PRESIDENT

One thing we can all be sure of is that neither President Donald Trump nor Vice President Joe Biden will take full responsibility for supporting you and your family – that’s our obligation. So then what are the things that matter about the candidate we support from a Union point of view, based upon economics and a better lifestyle?

First, no one likes to be told which candidate they must vote for, and this article will not do that. Second, we also will not deal with personalities and will not insult the integrity of either candidate.