Dec. 19 - REGARDING THE PERSONAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT FOR TEAMSTERS:

NOTE: If you have Group Health, this does not apply to you.

You have an opportunity to save from $100 to $300 by reducing your annual deductible.

If you (and your spouse, if you are married, or your domestic partner, if covered), take the Personal Health Assessment between November 1 and December 23, 2011, your annual deductible under Trust Medical Plan A for 2012 will be reduced from $200 per Individual and $600 per family to $100 per individual and $300 per family.

IMPORTANT: If the *Personal Health Assessment is not taken, your deductible will be increased to$300 per individual and $900 per family. To take the Personal Health Assessment, go to https://wateamsters.online.staywell.com or contact StayWell at 1-888-388-8259.

 *The personal health assessment results are only viewed by StayWell a third party company hired by the Trust. The results are not shared with the Trust, the employer or the unions. The only information shared are total numbers for the entire group; for example, 30% reported high cholesterol. They use that information to determine what programs they would make available to participants to help mitigate costs and improve health.

Dec. 16, 2011 -Important Member Participation Survey- Your Input Needed - Click Here to take survey

Dec. 1 Chapter Meeting Summary (Download PDF)

Dec. 14, 2011 - We are currently in the process of planning 2012. The schedule will posted as soon as the rooms and locations are confirmed.

Dec. 2011 - News from the Education Committee:

Education/Training Committee preliminary work has been done, please review and give comments to Hans Hunger, Gael Serviss and Troy Lee. See the Education Training Outline and the Questions about the Cross Training. (Word docs).

Nov. 2011 - UPDATE on Lay-off
Mediation Held on Nov. 1

In July of this year members of Local 17 were again impacted by the County’s planned reduction in force. The Union felt and has maintained the process practiced in this action wasn’t a correct interpretation of our contracts with the County and grieved the actions.  Ultimately, we were able to ensure the correct members were regrettably given layoff notification and allowed to exercise their bumping rights. However, we still needed to arrive at a remedy that limits the confusion of the layoff process witnessed last July. Initially the County wanted us to re-negotiate the layoff language, naturally that would not be a direction we would agree to in mid-contract. So both parties entered into mediation.

On Nov. 1, Troy Lee, Mark Holden and Roberta Burnett were part of a four hour Layoff grievance mediation with PERC (Public Employment Relations Commission) and Pierce County management.  At that mediation; the parties agreed the process used in the July 26, 2011 layoff situation was not done in accordance to section 7.6 of both Collective Bargaining Agreements. The emotional turmoil caused by this process is impossible to reverse (or easily forgotten), but the following is the agreed upon outcome of the mediation. It should limit the stress and confusion any future reduction in force actions will cause.
 

We agreed to the following understanding:
 "On July 26, 2011, the County notified Local 17 Bargaining Unit employees of potential layoffs. Those actions caused some employees to receive layoff notices that ultimately were not laid off. The County agrees in the future to the extent possible to first reconcile the bumping implications in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement so that the most likely employee(s) to lost their job(s) is/are the only person(s) to receive layoff notice(s).
 
Local 17 and the County agree that this settlement resolves the grievance filed on August 1, 2011."