Agenda: Financial Secretary Dennis McLaughlin will speak about his experiences as a delegate attending the Summer Organizing Institute in Mexico. Chief Plant Steward Dave Kitchen will report on the June 17^th Step III meeting. President Fusco will give an update on recent meetings with the Company and the Financial Officers will report on the 2004 outlook for Strike Defense Fund investments.

Lisa pointed out the large gap or "doughnut hole" in coverage that exists after reaching $2,250 in drug expenses in a year, coverage stops and you have to pay for the next $2,850 entirely yourself. Medicare payments won’t kick back in until you’ve spent $3,600 of your own money for prescription drugs.

Who are the big winners with Medicare Part D? Lisa explained that drug companies, the managed health care industry and corporations like GE will benefit the most. Drug Companies succeeded in lobbying for a bill that does virtually nothing to moderate costs. The Medicare prescription legislation actually prohibits the Medicare Administration from using its purchasing power to lower drug prices for beneficiaries. And it prohibits Medicare "D" participants from purchasing lower-priced drugs from Canada. Drug companies should see a big jump in the volume of drug sales with some estimates as high as $13 billion more per year.

Corporations that provide prescription plans for their retirees will receive $90 billion dollars in subsidies under the new Medicare Plan. The first payment going to GE is expected to be at least $80 million, according to the UE Research Director.

Private insurance companies will also gain a huge and unjustifiable windfall from the plan. Private plans "cherry pick," enrolling the healthiest and youngest seniors, therefore having lower costs. They are paid about the same per person as the traditional Medicare plan. Despite this situation, the new prescription plan will provide billions of dollars in increased payments to the private insurance industry. The biggest fear with the Medicare legislation, according to Lisa, is that it provides for a "demonstration project" in 2010, which could lead to the privatization of Medicare.

Grievance activity so far this year stands at 44 cases. During the same period last year, the Union had 111 grievances filed. The 2004 grievances fall into a couple of categories: those that deal with our concern over lack of manpower for the heavy schedule and the others over the company not keeping overtime records properly.

Looking at the first issue, we maintain we are not properly staffed in Plant Services and Maintenance areas and therefore (using contractors) the company is spending more money on building and equipment repairs than they should. You might ask yourselves, "Why should the Union care what GE spends on maintenance? They’re a rich company, let em spend the money." Right! Wrong! We know that if someone in management is selling others on the idea that outside contractors are cheaper than hiring GE workers - they’re selling a bad bill of goods. After the 2002 announcement, we found that contractors inflate the price of doing business and that reflects on our overall ability to compete for the work. However, in our opinion, in their effort to keep in-directs numbers low, the company is blind to the effects of such practices. They on one hand offer appreciation - free ticket night to a Seawolves game and a family day in the plant, all in an effort to build morale while on the other hand refuse to hire additional workers in maintenance, and the morale there is not good. The plant services group is constantly under the gun to get things fixed to support production but they are not given the support necessary to accomplish the goals. Our maintenance leaders are constantly forced to make decisions to contract jobs because they know, with the existing manpower, there are some things we cannot get to soon enough. The Union has and will continue to press the company to properly man the plant services groups.

Grievances concerning overtime are of particular concern to us especially those that relate to record keeping. The contract is clear it states "A record of overtime worked by employees (or credited to them) will be maintained by the immediate supervisor". For the most part the company claims they do not violate nor will they tolerate their management violating the contract. But this is exactly what is going on. When Stewards check overtime records that are incomplete or non-existent because supervisors are too busy or ignorant of the rules, they find a contract violation. I wonder what position the management would take if we forgot or simply ignore part of our job because we are to busy. We will continue to request that Stewards monitor overtime records on a weekly basis to make sure there are no violations and aggressively enforce the contract.

In 1953, John Nelson’s commitment to those principals were put to the ultimate test when he was fired by GE for refusing to assist the Butler Committee in its attempts to destroy our Union. President Nelson’s prolonged battle to protect the Local and overcome one of the severest attacks on Americans’ civil rights took its toll on his health. With his case still pending in the courts and his health failing due to the tremendous pressures on him, John Nelson died at the age of 42 on December 28, 1959.

On July 22^nd the Company announced plans to invest $1 million in the Radiator Cab area of Bldg. 12. On January 1, 2005 Phase Two of the " Clean Air Act" goes into effect. That means that all domestic locomotives, built after that date, will have to pass an emission test. The new "Tier Two" Radiator Cab has twice the amount of labor as those we currently produce. By redesigning the existing assembly area, the company hopes to create a more even flow of cabs to meet increased production demands. The company also plans to hire 30 more 800020 assemblers into the Cab area. To facilitate the construction work needed to overhaul the area, the company has proposed temporarily farming out some of the work and placing a portion of the existing workforce in other areas of the plant. While welcoming the investment, the officers have made suggestions to minimize the impact the transformation will have on Local 506 Members, therefore there will be further meetings scheduled with Union Relations on this matter

• "Welcome New Members" – There have been quite a few new workers joining our organization since the last time we printed that message. As our most recent members, we hope all of you are settling into your new jobs. We also hope you are beginning to understand more about the Union you have joined; and the contractual language and benefits that have been gained over the years through aggressive democratic rank and file involvement. Your involvement with Local 506 will help strengthen and advance the Union.
• Employment Activity - President Frank Fusco has greeted all of the new members at their GE orientation meeting and he has kept good tabs on the employment numbers. As of Monday, August 9, 2004 we had all 130 laid-off members recalled and 360 new hourly workers had been added, all since last fall.
• Boycott Vlasic products – Vlasic Pickle workers in Imlay City, Michigan have been locked out since May 10^th. Negotiations broke down over the company pushing health care costs onto the workers – costs so steep that a proposed 2.5% wage increase in the first year would amount to a $1 pay reduction. No wage increases have been offered for the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th years of the contract.
• Congratulations - Karen Rubay, Bldg. 6 and Dave Perry, Bldg. 18C have been appointed to serve on the Veterans Affairs Volunteers Service Committee. They will be joining Local 506 Executive Board Members Roger Zaczyk and Matt McCraken who were appointed to the VAVSC in 2002.
• Times News Ad – A recent ad in the Times prompted several calls to the Hall. The ad asked GE Retirees, who worked in the Plant between 1940-1980, to call a 1-800 number. President Fusco called and found out the ad was placed by a law firm that was looking for information to support a claimant’s asbestos case.
• Get Well Soon – Plant Services Chief Steward Ralph Mannarino is still recovering from a nasty accident earlier this year in which he broke his leg. We all hope Ralph will be back soon (Especially acting Chief Steward Jerry Anthony).

On July 16, 2004, $918.00 was collected for a somewhat unique cause. While Local 506 Members are accustomed to donating money to other striking UE Members and to workers engaged in regional strikes, this was the first time the officers and executive board recommended a collection for GE Workers engaged in strikes overseas.

We know the reasons for the collection weren’t fully understood or even popular with every member. But as the UE strove to organize southern workers in the 80’s when factories were migrating from the "Rust Belt," labor must now extend its organizing efforts and its support for workers globally. All to create a fair playing field, one that eliminates the device global corporations use to "whipsaw" (pit) workers from one country against another over "Who can do it the cheapest," thus lowering or keeping out of reach, a standard of living that all workers deserve.

BRIDGE THE HEALTH CARE GAP

Local 506 joined with the Northwest PA/Erie Jobs with Justice on Saturday, June 19, 2004 as part of a National Day of Action to call attention to the 44 million Americans lacking quality, affordable heath care.
All over the country similar groups gathered on bridges that day with a theme that called on the government to "Bridge the Health Care Gap."

Local 506 Members participating in the JwJ Day of Action were: Roger Zaczyk, Patte Dillen, Pat Rafferty, Dan Ebert, Frank Barnes, Mark Pierson, Frank Fusco, John Brandt, Sean Lynch. UE Organizer and JWJ Chairman Andrew Dinklelacker, UE International Rep.
 Debbie Gornall and Vicky Hoover from UE Local 683 also demonstrated.

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