Laurence Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 To IA 695 members.... please submit your election ballot as soon as you can. Many of the nominated candidates are "white ballotted" (no opposing candidate) and you can see them listed on the 695 website as well as in the letter that accompanied the ballot, but you're vote still makes a big difference. You are stakeholders in this endeavor and coming out of Trusteeship, a high voter turnout sends an important message by showing that the membership is fully engaged in its future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 I agree 100%. CrewC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afewmoreyears Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 If only IA, the reps or anyone else was engaged in OUR future... It seems as though the farm has been given away over the last number of years... I am still infuriated over the 400Hrs... It's a $10,000 penalty... along with my Dues.... I am disenchanted.... totally... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted December 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 The 400 hours, though nothing to be happy about, isn't so hard to understand when you look at it as math. Lets say the Producers typically give us X number of dollars in wage increase... Y dollars in pension... and Z dollars in health care increase. If health care costs are approximately Z, it works out well but if they suddenly skyrocket to, say, Z times 5, we have a problem. From our perspective, the Producer should just agree to pay Z times 5. Hell, they're rich, right? But, of course, it's not that easy when they come back and say... "No, we'll only pay Z." They could stand pat on that offer but we argue about it for a while and then they agree to Z times 4. That's pretty good but it means we have to cover the diff but it's still a win for us, even though our people who have to work the 400 hours don't feel that way. But show me an industry where the workforce can qualify for health insurance that is vastly better than the majority of all company health plans in this county and do so by working only about 3 months per year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afewmoreyears Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Blah Blah Blah..... it sucks... sorry Laurence... Let me save any readers the X,Ys and Zs....... They want to get rid of us.... PERIOD.... If they did not, there would be ways for people short 5 hrs, 10 hrs or 50 hrs to save them from the loss of their families medical insurance.... anything... Borrowing, buying, anything.... The fact that if you are short 1 hr, your done... until you can re qualify.. means they want to get rid of us... rid themselves of our expense... If this was not the case, there would be a lifeline for those who are in danger of missing by any number of hours... By the way... Happy Holidays... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted December 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 You can have that lifeline. It will result in more payouts for health care so you'd have to take that into account, but you can have it. Just offer a plan to cover the cost and get everyone to agree to it. Maybe you can convince the Producer that they should give us more money or maybe you can generate the money by raising the qualifying hours or the premiums or you can convince Washington to lower health costs by regulating pharmaceutical companies and changing to single-payer health care or any number of other plans that cover the cost of the extra people you want to reach with that lifeline. But you can't cover the cost of those extra people we wish we could cover without new money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afewmoreyears Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 I am not the paid negotiator.... not my job..... It's the job of the people who are PAID to represent us... Maybe YOU GUYS can convince them.... how's that for a concept? I'm out working on the shows... Those "extra people" are humans.... your brothers.... with families... If those "extra people" wanted to pay a grand for 50 missing hours... then there you have it.... but there is NO program to do that... or anything else... Like you said, can't cover the cost of the "extra" people... so .... get rid of them... Whats the point of voting for any persons who want US to come up with the programs.... and US to convince the producers... You made my point. Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted December 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 And thank you for engaging in the conversation. Even if you don't personally agree, I suspect others may recognize that it's rising health care costs and not the IA that created the problem and we cannot force producers to pay whatever it is we ask for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afewmoreyears Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Again, have a great holiday Laurence... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted December 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 At the risk of again being side-tracked to defend the IA for not being able to win everything they ever ask for, I continue to extend my encouragement for all Local 695 members to submit their ballots in time to be received before the Jan 12 deadline. As we emerge from Trusteeship, a high level of participation in this ballot represents an opportunity to show those who are watching that the members of Local 695 are engaged, are connected to what is happening in our industry, and are committed to seeing our Local move forward to aggressively fight to protect jobs and protect our members. If you don't vote, don't complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Schulz Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 I'd like to turn in my ballot, but I have no information on any of the candidates. Is there any literature out there regarding the background and the mission of each of the candidates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted January 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Each candidate is free to send out literature but perhaps because so many candidates were "white balloted" (which means nobody wanted to run against them,) there has been very little campaigning this year. Postage is expensive and that also discourages campaigning. I'd like to see candidates be able to post statements on the website but the prior administration was disinclined to embrace the technology and the Trustees may not have wanted to force a big change in election procedures and so this is a subject that the members may want to take up after the Trusteeship ends... which will be when the newly elected officers are installed in a couple of weeks. So if you don't know much about the candidates your best bet might be to ask some friends who know them. Anyone who wants to PM me is welcome to my opinions. I keep saying this... a small vote count hurts the Local. Even if you don't know all the candidates, please make an effort to submit the ballot with at least one name checked so that you will be counted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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