July 2014 IUE-CWA RMC-81359 Newsletter...

July 2014 News Update from IUE-CWA RMC-81359

• Next Executive Board Meeting?  Thursday, July 24^th—10:00 am…my house?  Please RESPOND.  Lots to discuss!! Always looking for new Board Members & other volunteers/help?

• Next General Membership Meeting?  We agreed on Quarterly Meetings.  August/September timeframe?  Working on a New location (below).  Please give me your feedback?  Include spouses?

• Need a Secretary-Treasurer, or we can Separate the 2 positions to a Secretary & a Treasurer?   I can’t continue to do it all—Can Someone Step Up?

• Financial Report—July 2014—As of June 25, 2014—Down to $252.49 (of $1000 seed money from Local 81359, Memberships dues paid, 50-50—etc.—Income monies)

• Retiree Healthcare News—LinkedIn Discussion by GE Alumni—sent this email (on 7/6/2014) to Joe Giffi, Jim Winship & Jim Clark—IUE, to Dom-Local 81359 & Howdy—Local 81380 about Retiree Healthcare/Medical Plan concerns/issues that may be coming up—

I am a LinkedIn Member of GE Alumni Group.  Recently…there has been a discussion of the Quarter Century Club at GE’s …which basically are all dissolved.  As part of that discussion, exempts started sharing about GE Medical Benefits and ELFUN Benefits for Retirees…especially post 2014.  As I warned in emails to Retirees, when we had open enrollment in, there was a veiled threat to discontinue Retiree Medical Benefits for GE Retirees in 2015.  According to these posts in LinkedIn…it will definitely happen to, at least, exempt retirees in 2015.  I believe GE will try the same for hourly Retirees in the next Contract between GE & IUE-CWA.  As much as I hate to say this…there isn’t a lot of sympathy for Retirees among current GE employees (younger) that are losing their Pensions, and are having increased Medical Plan/Benefit costs/sharing.  I believe GE has always said the Union can’t bargain for Retirees.  Now, to take this a step further, I also warned Momentive may follow suit;  they also tried to direct people to check out the Healthcare Marketplace options (Obamacare, Affordable care Act).  With all it’s financial woes, this may be a topic of increasing interest for Momentive in 2016;  I know Dom—you say they have to bargain.  I am just putting this out there to be proactive about this whole discussion.

Here is the Linked excerpts—

• < >Keith Parker

  Rehired Pensioner at GE

  Yes, the Elfun National Board voted to disband the organization. This is probably being driven by the fact there will be no additional participants in the Elfun Medical Insurance plan after 1/1/15 (since the GE Medical Insurance plans for new exempt pensioners also end as of that date) and since the GE Volunteers structure replaced Elfun as the GE community outreach organization. Local chapters can continue as independent organizations, however.

  Jim

  Jim Luffman

  Global Logistics at GE

  Top Contributor

  Keith
  Now I understand the rationale to dissolve - Elfun was a great organization. Times have certainly changed. Thank you for the clarification.

  Zig

  Zig Biernacki

  Available - Principal at ZigBiernacki Consultants

  I have heard that the GE Company made an announcement regarding changes in GE post-65 health plan eligibility for those turning age 65 on or after January 1, 2015. To me and others, this appears to be a major shift in GE policy and we have heard that this action may be due in part to "the corporate simplification and reduction of expenses initiative."
  
  It is my understanding that by GE closing the enrollment of new salaried retirees into the GE Medical Care Plan for Pensioners (MCPP) and the GE Pensioners Prescription Drug Plan (PPDP) that it also has a direct impact on ELFUN Insurance because eligibility for EMBP (Elfun Medical Benefits Plan) requires continued enrollment in these company-paid GE plans.
  
  For those who could have spent 40+ years with GE and have been "life long" employees but, do not meet the 65 years of age by 1/1/2015, one could say they are SOL.... Those who took a SERO before that announcement came out and will not be 65 by 1/1/2015 also appear to fall into that same category.... For me, I was looking forward to be able to participate in the EMBP benefits in retirement, especially after spending 35 years as a GE Employee and now a GE Pensioner.
  
  And, I hope those who currently have the EMBP, following any ELFUN liquidation, will also have it going forward long after 1/1/2015. It is not clear to me what entity or person(s)will have oversight of the "Elfun" plan after 1/1/2015.
   

  I never got a response to this email??  Is there an answer?  Any comments?  I believe I saw Documents that holders of subordinated notes (industrial bonds) are putting in a number of claims? I assume Momentive has filed a Financial Balance Sheet to the Court by now?  Is there a copy on the KCC Website?  Do you have a copy?

  I am just trying to stay informed about the Momentive Bankruptcy Process for myself and the Retiree Group;  and how these claims can affect the Bankruptcy outcome?  Is it normal to see 400-500 documents filed in these proceedings?  Is the projected conclusion of this Bankruptcy process still on track for the last quarter of this year?

  Please respond….thank you.

  John M Phelps

  President—IUE-CWA RMC-81359

  From: John M Phelps [mailto:jphelps3@nycap.rr.com]
  Sent: Friday, June 20, 2014 8:08 AM
  To: jimclark@cwa-union.org; Peter Mitchell; Joe Giffi (jgiffi@cwa-union.org); Jim Winship (jwinship@cwa-union.org); Kennedy , Jennik And Murray Jennik
  Cc: Dominick Patrignani; Patrignani, Dominick; Howard Connors
  Subject: RE: Momentive Bankruptcy Update

  I do have a question…just exactly how much does Momentive owe, a total, to Creditors/Vendors/Contractors/Etc, and how much are the owners of claims for subordinated notes (industrial bonds) asking for (total dollars)?  Has anyone totaled the dollar amount being filed in all these claims?  I see the Court Documents on the Momentive Bankruptcy website have grown from an initial 16 documents to over 484 documents, with MANY claims being filed for money owed.  How does the amount Momentive owes affect the outcome of a successful Bankruptcy conclusion?  And the question nobody wants to ask…how could it affect our Collective Bargaining Agreements?

  John M Phelps

  President—IUE-CWA RMC-81359

  Chapter Telephone—518-328-8404

  Chapter Email—  iue-cwa-rmc-81359@nycap.rr.com

  12 Maple Lane

  Melrose, NY 12121

  Home Phone—518-235-5068

  Cell Phone—518-409-0441

  James Bodenstab			No Email?	238-0210
  Brad Ritchie			3.ritchies@verizon.net	885-6132
  Glen Cowdry			gjc773@aol.com	413-684-1041
  William J Lane			wlane6245@verizon.net	664-6245
  Michael Leone	Joined		MLeone4@verizon.net	424-5139 Cell
  Ed Quackenbush			ed@warriortrucking.com	518-664-3820
  Ed Q-Cell			xlt3396@yahoo.com	518-527-9998 Cell
  Bob Anuszewski			Robertanuszewski@yahoo.com	518-587-8419
  Don Reinke			dreinke@nycap.rr.com	518-831-1711
  Rick Jones			rickj0610@aol.com	518-271-7784
  Rick Jones--Cell				518-229-0299 Cell
  Cliff Viall	No Information
  John Carpenter	No Information
  Dora Patenaude	No Information
  Robert Gundrum			robgundrum@aol.com	391-5410
  Robert Murray				518-283-0192

  Hope You are ALL Having a Wonderful, Enjoyable & Relaxing Summer!

  Hopefully, We’ll See You Soon!!

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  • New Retirees will have their CWA Retiree Council Membership paid for by the Local 81359—List of newest Retirees below.

  • Momentive Bankruptcy—I sent an email to Joe Giffi, Jim Clark, and the Lawyers asking  “just how much Momentive owed” to vendors/contractors/suppliers/utilities/etc, and to claims made by holders of their subordinated notes (Industrial bond holders);  I never got a response…I will submit it again.  Here it is—

  • Spouses can join RMC-81359—CWA has confirmed that spouses are eligible to join Local RMC Chapters.  How do you feel about that?  When it comes to having Speakers of interest to Retirees…I believe some Retirees like their spouses involved (i.e.- Social Security & Medicare Topic)

  • T-shirts are in—25—Ordered—10 Large, 10 XLarge, and 5 2XLarge ; 6 ordered so far by members ( I have the list of “paid for” member shirts).  Our first use should be at the Union Summer Steakroast (see below).  I would like to hand them out to “paid” members there.  Checks need to made out to IUE-CWA RMC-81359—for $8.50.  Order NOW…thanks!

  • Banner is in—Came out nice—light yellow background—2 logos (red) on it with IUE-CWA Retired Members Chapter-81359 in middle, and then Established August 2013 under that, and then Waterford, NY under that, with a red border.  We will have our Banner at the Local 81359 Steakroast!

    

  • New Retirees—with emails—contacted by John Phelps—I sent emails to those below that have emails—1 response so far;  if you know any of these Retirees personally, please contact them…thank you—

  • ReceivedourNYS Alliance for Retired Members Charter;  there is no Business Membership for AARP

  • July 26^th Union Picnic—American Legion—Grooms Road—Please attend…we will use it as an opportunity for recruitment also…I sure could use your support that day.  We will wear our T-Shirts and have our Banner there, plus our CWA Retiree Council Brochures, and Retiree Letter.  All hands on deck!

  • Speaker for Social Security & Medicare—ready to go…waiting on us for a date for the next General Membership Meeting?

  • Chrome Restaurant (Old Costanzos)—Waterford—near Plant—trying to connect with them as a better, more centralized place to have our General Membership Meetings.

Hope You are ALL Having a Wonderful, Enjoyable & Relaxing Summer!

Hopefully, We’ll See You Soon!!