Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter Weekend and the fantastic weather. The membership allocated the last of the raise of our contract, which was $2.50, and it broke down as follows: Check - $0.61, Mid America SMA (John Hancock) - $1.00, Mid America Pension - $0.25, Health and Welfare - $0.14 (HRA card), JATC - $0.25, and Defense Fund - $0.25. The check will show 40.25 (the increase plus the Defense Fund addition of $0.90 to $1.15), Mid-America Pension $5.63, Mid America SMA $7.06, the JATC $1.45, and the Health and Welfare will be $12.41 (that is inclusive of the $1.05 for your HRA Card). Next year we will be negotiating for a contract.
On the Health and Welfare side of things, you should have all received your HRA Card (Blue Master Card) for paying for various medical expenses. If you need one for your spouse, you need to call the Fund Office at 844-395-4467 to request one. They only send them to the member initially. Also, a reminder that if you have an individual bill over $600 and you pay for it with the HRA Card, you must submit a copy of it to the Fund office, so you do not receive a 1099 at the end of the year and have to pay taxes on it as income. The HRA money is tax deferred money, this is the reason. Group Administrators is working on an app that would allow you to take a picture of the receipt and immediately upload it, so it is taken care of. A letter will be coming soon reminding you of this requirement. My preference will be to eliminate that requirement all together. I will work on that in the meantime.
I am still working on a date for the pre-retirement meeting; when I have a date, it will be announced immediately. Golf Outing is Coming up! Get your foursomes registered. June 2, 2019 is Golf day. Let’s make this bigger than last year. I don’t have a lot of foursomes signed up. Work has slowed down quite a bit. There are short calls happening weekly. The contractors are still planning on a good year and are still bidding more work. We have seen the last couple years with stellar work, many of the young ones have not seen a typical year where we are slow during the Spring. Governor Pritzker says we will have a Capital Bill for more work on infrastructure. Hang in there.
I would also like to thank all the People out at the Costco job. From what I have been told, everyone working thoroughly impressed Novak (the GC), Span (the building supplier and erector in other areas for all Costco’s), and Costco. The speed, professionalism, and quality, all in a short schedule, blew them away. You should all be proud of the work you did and are doing. I have said it before; it is noticed what we have here in Local 498 by many people in the area and beyond. Keep it up. Thank you everyone. Nada is doing exceptional. She is really catching on considering a Labor Union office works is nothing like the private sector offices she is used to. Once she gets all the quirks of how we do things and the requirements by the various governmental entities for labor organizations, she will be a great asset to the Local.
As always, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask them, and I will do my best to answer them. My door is always open. In Solidarity, Mark.
Dear Members, Work has slowed down a little for us as well as for the nonunion out there. I still have a couple projects I am working on turning. I never know for sure the results until we have our people on site working. We got the slide work at Americold, so that will complete out our portion of the project. That has been a huge win for us that has been recognized by our International as well as other trades. Recently we were able to put guys to work with a fence company and a rack company. Calls from our members as well as other trades help us to find these smaller projects and turn them fast. I am still in talks with a Contractor in Wisconsin about signing up. He knows the level of skill our members have, and that has been the selling point from day one.
You guys are doing an awesome job in the field. The reputation of 498 is not only well known in our own Union world, but the nonunion know of it as well. Any heads up of questionable work going on is always appreciated. Stay safe and stay strong. We are all in this together. In Solidarity, Ben.
Dear Members, This is a list of the Upcoming Training: On May 4th, we will be doing an Arial/Scissor Lift certification class. It starts at 7:00 a.m. On June 1st is the next weld test. If you would like more info or would like to sign up for either one, let me know so I can put your name on the roster. Paul Kauffman, Apprentice Coordinator.
As an update: we were notified that Roger F Deets had passed away on April 11th. He was a member of the Death Benefit program and the contribution rate will be $39.39. As you have read the Death Benefit has increased to JIW hourly rate (currently $39.39). We have included beneficiary forms with the last newsletter. Please complete and return the forms at your earliest convenience. If you are a new participant, please note the $39.39 prepay is necessary to start the program. Since the JIW hourly rate will change each year for those who made multiple pre-pays so as not to be in arrears we would request that you refrain from it for record keeping purposes.
Just a reminder that we are cashless office. Please pay by Check, Money Order, Credit Card or Pre-paid Visa/MC.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BRIDGE STRUCTURAL ORNAMENTAL AND REINFORCING IRON Workers Local Union No. 498 A.F.L.-C.I.O 5640 Sockness Drive Rockford, IL 61109
Local 498 Calendar May 21st – Regular Member Meeting June 2nd – Charity Golf Outing June 18th – Regular Member Meeting July 16th – Regular Member Meeting August 20th - Regular Member Meeting September 17th - Regular Member Meeting October 15th - Regular Member Meeting Reminder, the Executive Board meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month. The Retirees’ meeting is the second Tuesday of each month at 8:00 a.m. at the Alpine View Restaurant (Charles St. and Alpine) in Rockford. Contact Ralph Pedersen – 815/234-8163.
Golf Outing!!! June 2, 2019 Let’s make this bigger than last year. Signed up to get your foursome. The opportunity to pay a full year (12 Month Dues) and receive the free wind shirt will expire on April 30th, 2019.
