IBEW LOCAL 440 NEWSLETTER Issue 12, November - January 2019 4th Qtr. Roger Roper, Business Manager/Financial Secretary, 1405 Spruce Street, Ste. G, Riverside, CA 92507 Bernie, students of Palm Innovation Academy Elementary, Beaumont Unified School District Superintendent Terrence Davis, and Palm Principal Lora Roman. A Day to Remember October 5, 2018 was a historical day for the members of Local 440. At our General Membership meeting, both sound and inside INSIDE: classifications voted to allocate the funds required to provide retirees Business Manager’s Report..........1-2 healthcare. This vote will change lives, both for the working members FMCP Open Enrollment Notice………2 that will want to retire in the future and for our current retired brothers Calendar of Events…………….....….…..3 and sisters. The IBEW Spirit of Giving...........…...4 This is the true definition of Brotherhood. From the President’s Desk..….……….5 Most other locals do provide retirees health, either in full or A Member’s Idea.……………..…………..6 subsidized at some level. Local 440 did have a partial subsides. However Changes to the Organizing Dept.…..6 the cost for a member and a spouse was to go up to $1320 per month for Stronger Together…………………………7 a Pre-Medicare couple. This cost was too high for most of our retirees Secretaries’ Desk………………….…....…8 to pay. Lots of our retirees have left our plan to go out on their own, Political Corner………………………………9 only to obtain a subpar plan without good coverage. Some of our retirees are living with no healthcare benefits at all. This is a big risk to Voting Guides….……………………..10-12 live with. After working hard for 30 or 40 years and paying into a plan Picnic Pics…………………………………...13 that they would hope is there when they retire. Unfortunately, this will Toy Drive & X-mas Party Flyer……..14 not help our brothers and sisters that withdrew for our health plan. Service Pins……………….….…………….15 Continued on page 2……... 1 If they want to discuss their options I am available at the hall or by phone. The retired members that are still on our plan will see a big change in their life with the burden of this large bill that was facing them every month. This will change their lifestyle of living. I would like to hear from the retirees as to what this does. Maybe we can print a letter in the next newsletter from one of our retirees and what this has meant to them. For the working members, this will now give you the opportunity to retire as early as age 56. If you thought you were going to retire at 56 without this benefit, here is the numbers. If you were to start at age 25 and worked until you were 56 years old. You average 1800 hours per year and you would have 30 years credit on your pension. Your local pension would be around $4550 per month, then after taxes would be left with about $3200. You minus the health care cost of $1320 and that would leave $1880 per month to live on. With this new benefit you go back to having $3200 per month. Your DC (annuity) is available at age 59 ½, Then at age 62 your NEBF and possibly social security, and last your PBF (I.O.) at age 65. So without this change most members would be working till at least age 62. So yes, this one vote changed the lives of all brothers and sisters in Local 440, both working and retired. October 5, 2018 will go down in IBEW Local 440 history. Your Brother and Business Manager, Roger Roper Reminder: The Annual HMO/PPO Enrollment for Journeyman and Retirees is upon us! If you choose to switch your health care provider please send in your form to the FMCP. If you do not wish to change, your current enrollment will continue to roll over into 2019. The election period: October 16, 2018– November 15, 2018 Send to: NECA IBEW FMCP 410 Chickamauga Ave Suite 301 Rossville, GA 30741 Or Fax to: (706) 841-7020 Remember to add new spouses and children to your plan! **This form was mailed to you from FMCP. Please call (877) 937-9602 with questions or to change your plan. Please do not call the Hall.** 2 Calendar of Events November 2018 Friday 11/2 - 5:00 pm R.E.N.E.W Group Meeting Friday 11/2 - 6:00 pm General Membership Meeting Friday 11/2 - Toy Drive Begins! Saturday 11/3 - 7:00 am Golf Tournament Tuesday 11/6 - Voting Day! Go Vote!! Reference Numbers: Sunday 11/11 - Veteran’s Day Monday 11/12 - Veteran’s Day Observed (Office Closed) JATC Thursday 11/22 - Thanksgiving Day (Office Closed) 1855 Business Center Drive San Bernardino, CA 92408 Friday 11/23 - Day after Thanksgiving (Office Closed) Phone: (909) 890-1703 Website - www.inlandempirejatc.org December 2018 For information on CA State Cert: Saturday 12/1 - 12:00 pm Christmas Party Website: www.dir.ca.gov Friday 12/7- 5:00 pm R.E.N.E.W Group Meeting (type: “electrician certification” in the search box) Friday 12/7- 6:00 pm General Membership Meeting Phone: (510) 286-3900 Friday 12/14 - Last day to donate to the Toy Drive! Monday 12/24 - Christmas Eve (Office Closed) For information on your health, Tuesday 12/25 - Christmas (Office Closed) dental and vision coverage: IBEW/NECA Family Medical Care Plan Phone: (877) 937-9602 January 2019 For information on Pensions/ Tuesday 1/1 - New Year’s Day (Office Closed) Annuity: Friday 1/4 - 5:00 pm R.E.N.E.W Group Meeting Defined Contribution Pension/ Friday 1/4 - 6:00 pm General Membership Meeting Annuity: Zenith American Phone: (844) 731-7311 Ask for Joe Forbes Defined Benefit Pension: IBEW NECA Pension Phone: (800) 824-6935 Christmas Party - December 1, 2018 3 The IBEW Spirit of Giving By: Jim Rush With Thanksgiving right around the corner I thought it would be fitting to share the stories of how the membership has given back to the community over the last couple months. This year was our 3rd Annual Back to School Drive. Since its inception our goal has been to help one more school than the year before. I am proud to report that the membership came through. We raised enough money and took in enough donations to make a difference in 3 area schools! Through our efforts we were able to provide school supplies to Harrison Elementary, Longfellow Elementary, and Palm Innovation Academy. At our Annual 440 Picnic we had our 5th annual Canned Food and Diaper Drive. This event has been a huge success over the years. For those that don't know, at our picnic, if you bring 10 canned items or a pack of diapers you get one extra raffle ticket for the prize drawings. The food and diapers collected go to replenish the food bank at the Carolyn E. Wylie Center in Riverside. This non-profit, services over 3400 youth and their families annually to provide educational and therapeutic services for special learning, emotional, and developmental needs. Thank you to all the Brothers and Sisters that contributed to our fundraisers over the years to give back to our community. Let’s continue to show everyone what IBEW Brotherhood is all about. In Solidarity, Jim Rush Asst. Business Manager Longfellow Elementary - Pictured Jim Rush, Principal Geri Castro, RUSD Trustee Dr. Angelov Farooq Thank you cards from the students at Harrison Elementary for the school supplies. Harrison Elementary - Pictured Jim Rush, Diaper and Canned Food Drive Principal Clarissa Brown, RUSD Trustee Tom Hunt 4 From the President’s Desk: By: Double Luther Brothers and Sisters of Local 440, once again, I hope this letter finds you in a good place. Wrapping up 2018 and looking forward into 2019, things look promising for Local 440. Work across the nation is still booming and local area projects are going to be picking up. We are going to be busy in 2019 with both contract negotiations and Local 440 elections. I would like to address the recent wage allocation meeting. I can appreciate being passionate about your point of view. I can also understand being upset that a particular vote doesn’t go the way that you wanted it to go. I have seen many decisions go differently than how I wanted them to go. We need to remember that before, during, and after that meeting we are still Brothers and Sisters. We can always agree to disagree, but it needs to stay professional. That being said, thank you to every- body that was able to attend and participate. In the coming year, look for some pre-negotiation meetings to be held at the hall. We will be meeting in the coming months to see what direction we as a membership would like to head. If at any time you have an idea or thought about negotiations, it doesn’t have to wait for a special meeting. Please relay any suggestions to anybody here at the hall as we have been keeping notes when suggestions have been given to us. If you ever have anything you need to talk about, my door is always open and my phone is always on. If I’m not in, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Be good to each other and treat others as you wish to be treated. In Brotherhood- Daniel “DOUBLE” Luther Card #D861164 City of Perris Mayors Roundtable - Pictured Jim Rush, Venessa Ingalls-Llamado, Perris Mayor Michael Vargas. 5 A Member’s Idea to help sign Contractors By: Bernie Balland We always ask our members to give us feedback, ideas, and input.