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Longshore Clerk and Walking Boss Caucus April 30, 2007
– May 4, 2007
The PMA has formally requested, and announced publicly
it's desire to commence contract negotiations early. The caucus gave the Coast
Committee authorization to follow up and determine the intentions and call for
an early contract caucus. (December, at the earliest. Could be January or
February.) Benefits Plan Specialist Romero discussed "Dependent
Verification Plan" and what is required to put dependents on it. Everyone
will get a notice and will be informed what will be needed to verify
eligibility. If you don't reply after the third notice, your dependent will be
disqualified.
Who
is a dependent: Spouses, Domestic Partners, Natural Children, Step Children,
Adopted Children, Foster Children, and Children Under Legal Guardianships. NOTE: If
your dependent is claimed by another taxpayer, you may be subject to income
taxes on the benefit. (Approx. $250.00 per month.)
Falsifying of information could cause loss of
eligibility.
WELFARE
plan costs for the year ending June 30, 2006 were $383 million, this comes to
$1400.00 per month per individual. This is up from $326 million in 2005 and $280
million in 2004. These ballooning health care costs are not the caused by the
worker, but by the greed of the health care industry. The United States spends
far more on health care per person than any other country. Still, we have 46
million Americans without any coverage. We are near the bottom of the industrial
world in life expectancy, infant mortality and other standard measures of
health.
It is important that we continue to be proactive in the administration of our
health benefits.
Recently the job of monitoring our Welfare Plan has been complicated by
Great-West Healthcare's ill-advised management changes at the coastwise claims
office.
Resulting
in disputes pre-certification and denial of service, causing members to receive
collection notices. "Our commitment to maintaining and improving our
benefits is absolute. As always, we know we can count on the Division's full
support in our efforts to achieve the results we need."
PENSIONS
As of April 9, 2007 our plan was 81% funded based on
the total market value assets of $2,441,429,900.00. (Vested liability of
$3,002,000,000.00) "We must continue to build on the progress we have made
or we will slip back into inadequate pension benefits." You will be
receiving a notice, with cover letter. The notice is confusing and poorly
constructed. It will use different funding level formula then the PBGC uses. It
will indicate that the Plan has enough assets to pay approximately 11 years of
benefit payments at July 2005 level. It doesn't take into account current assets
or scheduled employer contributions.
Brother Romero will be retiring after the 2008 negotiations are complete. A
replacement is being brought on for the next year to be trained. In conclusion,
MAINTENANCE OF BENEFITS (MOB) remains the absolute on-negotiable component of
our benefit programs.
REGISTRATION: The registered
workforce, as of April is 14,265 The Coast Committee continues it's outreach to
Unions world wide. They have made contact with the Mexican Dock Workers and will
continue to attempt
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
The Coast Committee is changing our emphasis to a more
positive, image-building focus, with the purchase of radio and television spots.
Local 10 and local 142 have already played such spots.
RESOLUTIONS:
The caucus chair held up all the resolutions until the
final day. Then he had all resolutions that pertained to the contract, held over
for the contract caucus.
No resolutions were passed that would effect the pensioners in any way.
Respectfully Submitted,
IAN KENNEDY
SEATTLE PENSION CLUB
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