¢ April Meeting Cancelled
By
action of the membership of Local 1700, the April Membership Meeting has been
cancelled. This was a result of a conflict with the Chrysler Council meeting,
and the inability to reschedule it to an available day.
¢ Support Collective Bargaining Rights in Michigan
Local
1700 members have joined our brothers and sisters across Michigan in seeking to
put an initiative on the ballot. Together with other unions and progressive
organizations, the UAW is seeking a constitutional amendment here in Michigan.
The purpose of the amendment would be to protect collective bargaining rights
in Michigan and to prohibit interference with those rights by the politicians
in Lansing.
¢ If you have already signed the
petition, thank you.
¢ If you haven’t signed it, let
your Chief Steward know that you would like to do so.
¢ If you can take some petitions
home with you to get signatures from family, friends and neighbors, please let
your Chief Steward know, or call the local at (313) 893-0300.
¢ Sign Up for Gimme
Five from the UAW
Every
day, UAW members across the country are becoming more involved in activities as
part of the 99%, and against the greed and hatred and union busting of the 1%.
One way to stay in touch is to sign up for “GimmeFive”
from the UAW International Union. Members who do will receive text messages
containing valuable information about events and activities in the metropolitan
area.
To sign up for “GimmeFive”
text the word “Join” to 99795 from your cell phone, or go online to www.gimmefiveuaw.org.
¢Tuition Assistance Plan (TAP) Returns
Seniority
Chrysler workers are eligible for Tuition Assistance, based on the terms of the
new Plan. To get information on eligibility and forms, go to the NTC website uaw-chrysler.com.
Look for the Tuition Assistance Program under the Training tab at the top of
the home page.
¢ You will find information from
the NTC on the program, an overview with eligibility and benefit information, a
TAP application and instructions, and a TAP Reimbursement application and
instructions.
¢ This is an important benefit and
eligible members are encouraged to utilize the program to further their own
education. Doing so is good for you, strengthens the UAW, and makes us more
capable of handling the new technology of the auto industry.
¢ April 22 Deadline for Vacation Pay Sign-up
¢ SHAP management has advised
Local 1700 that the one (1) week of shutdown beginning Monday, July 16, will be
held against your vacation leave of absence entitlement, unless you are scheduled
to work that week. Affected employees are not eligible to receive unemployment or SUB
benefits for that week.
¢ Eligible, seniority Chrysler
employees who have qualified for vacation in the upcoming vacation year, have a
decision to make regarding when to receive your Payment In Lieu of Vacation
(PILV).
¢ The deadline is April 22, 2012 to
make this decision and enter it into the computer.
¢ The default decision is that
PILV will be paid on May 25, 2012, including for the shutdown week.
If you do nothing, all your PILV will be paid out – by separate check – on that
date.
¢ Eligible members may elect to
defer some or all of their PILV to a later date. Deferred payments are paid on
the normal, weekly pay check.
¢ If you want your PILV for the
shutdown week paid as payment for that week, you must defer the payment to July
27.
¢ It is important to remember that
a
member who elects to have their PILV for the July 16 plant shutdown paid in May
will still be ineligible to receive unemployment or SUB for the July 16 week.
¢ After the April 22 deadline, it
will not be possible to make changes to the PILV scheduled for May 25. ¢ However, PILV
payments already deferred to other weeks in the vacation year can be changed, beginning
May 14, provided the change is made before the payment is processed that week.
¢ After the April 22 deadline,
changes to vacation weeks must be made through your supervisor. We strongly
recommend that you confirm changes or additions to your vacation schedule with
your Chief Steward as well. Only you can change deferred PILV payments.
¢ Legal Services
Members
are reminded that the UAW Legal Service Plans will terminate at the end of
December of 2013. Legal work already in process as of that date will be
continued to its conclusion, as provided by the Plan. Eligible members are
encouraged to make full use of the Legal Service Plan between now and the end
of 2013.
¢ Employee Contact Information
It
is important that Chrysler can contact employees when necessary. Under the
terms of the national agreement between the UAW and Chrysler, each employee
must supply the company with an address of record for communications. In
addition, it is now expected that employees will supply the company with a
phone number and, if possible, an e-mail address.
¢ SHAP management has requested
that, whenever possible, employees provide a phone number that has voice mail
service so messages can be left for the employee.
¢ It is also important to
provide an emergency contact. We have experienced delays in
contacting loved ones in an emergency when this information is not provided.
¢ All of this information can be
entered – or updated – by going on-line. Through DashboardAnywhere, click on EmployeeCentral and then My Personal Information. Through a plant kiosk, click on My Personal Information.
¢ Next Membership Meeting
The
next meeting of Local 1700 will be held on Sunday, May 20, 2012, 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.
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