¢ SHAP Approved for New Product!
While
it comes as no great surprise to anyone who has watched the rapid construction
of the new Paint Shop building, the corporation has approved a new product to
be built at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. Details and timing of the new
product will be announced by the company at a later date.
¢ Understanding SUB . . .
Employees
with one or more years of seniority are entitled to coverage under the SUB
agreement between the UAW and Chrysler. SUB, or Supplemental Unemployment
Benefits, is provided as additional income protection in case of a layoff. In
the past, it was determined by a complicated formula, specific to each
individual. With the 2011 national agreement, SUB and Unemployment together will
total 74% of your straight time forty-hour pay.
¢ SUB pay is limited during the
life of the 2011 agreement. However, only indefinite layoff time is supposed to
count towards those limits, which are listed on your pay stub. Temporary layoff
time is not intended to count against your SUB limit.
¢ . . . and Short Work Week
Short
Work Week (SWW) pay is part of the SUB Plan and, therefore, has the same
requirement. Once a full-time Chrysler employee acquires one year of seniority,
they automatically become eligible for SWW. SWW is paid on the following basis:
if
eligible, you are entitled to 80% of the difference between 40 hours and the
number of hours offered to you that week.
¢ As an example, if the plant
works three 8-hour days and then shuts down for a parts shortage, an eligible
employee is entitled to 80% of 16 hours (that is, 40 hours less the 24 hours
available to you), or 12.8 hours pay for the two days the plant is down. If the
plant shuts down after you work 39 hours, an eligible employee gets 0.8 hours
pay for the missing hour.
¢ Overtime hours count towards the
40 hours in a week; provided, however, that no more than 2 hours of unscheduled
overtime after the shortage can be held against your 40 hours.
¢ If you have questions about SUB
or SWW, please see your Chief Steward or Benefit Rep.
¢ Next Membership Meeting
The
next meeting of Local 1700 will be held on Sunday, January 22, 2011, at 12:00
noon at the Local 1700 Hall, 8230 East 8 Mile Road in Detroit. The agenda will
include the regular order of business.
¢ Understanding Your Rights
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
Congratulations
to our members hired in January of 2011. One of the changes which takes place with having more than one year of seniority is
your entitlement to protection under the Family and Medical Leave Act, first
passed by Congress in 1993. A summary of your rights and responsibilities under
this act is listed below. If you have any questions, please talk with your
Chief Steward.
Eligibility Requirements
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To
be eligible, a SHAP employee must meet both of these: employed by Chrysler
for at least 12 months and have worked for at least 1,250
hours during the previous 12 month period. Chrysler exceeds the requirement
to have 50 employees within 75 miles.
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Who is Covered
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The
FMLA protects an employee to miss work for medically necessary reasons for
themselves, spouse, parent or child.
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Personal Illness
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You
are protected from action by Chrysler is you are qualified and you are unable
to perform your job due to a serious health condition. You are permitted a
maximum of twelve weeks off per year, provided you continue to
qualify and your condition is serious. This time may be taken in one block or
as many as needed, based on the direction of your doctor
|
Family Illness
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You
are permitted time off to care for a spouse, parent or child, provided you
qualify and the condition is certified as serious. This is limited to 12
weeks in one year, and may be taken in one block or as needed, based on the
direction of the doctor treating the serious medical condition.
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Birth or Adoption
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You
are permitted time off to care for, or bond with, a new born child, new
adoption, or new foster child. This time is limited to 12 weeks in a one year
period, beginning with the birth or adoption. You may take as much of the 12
weeks as you wish, up to the maximum; however, once you return from this type
of FMLA leave, you may not take any additional time off for new born leave
during this year.
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Intermittent Leave
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The
law recognizes that employees or family members may suffer from certain
illnesses which require care only at certain times. Therefore, the law
permits an employee to be absent on intermittent leave as necessary, based
upon the direction of your doctor or the doctor treating your family member.
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Paperwork Requirements
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You
are required to provide certification to the employer (or in our case, to the
employer’s representative, Sedgewick) from the doctor that declares the
condition to be serious and outlines what your requirements are. This must be
filled out completely and returned promptly in order to be certified. If you
are not certified by Sedgewick, these days will count against you in the
absence procedure.
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How to Proceed
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When
you call in an absence you believe covered by the FMLA, you report it as
such. You will be connected to Sedgewick at that time.
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Questions
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If
you have any questions about your rights under the FMLA, please talk with
your Chief Steward or Attendance Counselor. You may also call the Department
of Labor, Wage and Hour Division at (313) 226-7448.
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Remember: this chart is only presented
as a summary of your rights and responsibilities under the FMLA.