Union letter

gigi11744 · September 11, 2015, 05:24:06 PM

Interesting letter this morning , told me a lot of nothing,, shut him down and stop the bullshit ,nice speech at refresher now go after him ,next wedsnday sounds pretty good to me...

hognol · September 12, 2015, 03:53:12 PM

Quote from: gigi11744 on September 11, 2015, 05:24:06 PM
Interesting letter this morning , told me a lot of nothing,, shut him down and stop the bullshit ,nice speech at refresher now go after him ,next wedsnday sounds pretty good to me...

Told you a lot of nothing? It told me our medical is in deep shyt, and I hope big raises in our plan is not in our future.

yabba · September 12, 2015, 09:30:27 PM

raises lol we be lucky if we come out of this without loosing more.... too many members lost their jobs to keep the welfare fund alive... put it in neils lap,let him provide bc/bs and have the contract clearly state the copays ...

Rock Steady · September 13, 2015, 06:46:30 PM

The single biggest reason our medical is in deep shit is because of the opt-out's. It never should have been an option. And why is it an option, so the contractors can profit even more and still cry poverty ? give me a break. One of the unions biggest mistakes they let happen.

Stugots · September 14, 2015, 03:48:23 PM

Another brilliant move is that the new members dont get coverage for a year and a half. NO MONEY COMING IN FOR ALL THOSE NEW MEMBERS!!!!!!. What about no overtime after ten hours. What President of the Union negotiates that. You know how many guys are getting screwed with that. aka The Great Negotiator Mike.!!!!! - for the owners not for the members.

John Eadicicco · September 14, 2015, 03:49:13 PM

Rocksteady..........................You are under the wrong impression as far as opt outs! If the union had the foresight to see the future of premiums in NY back 5 years ago................as reported in EVERY major media market, insurance premiums were going to TRIPLEin NY by the year 2013. I at the time suggested to our union leaders that we should, in a new contract, offer to pay 1.5 % of our salary towards medical. I was called an IDIOT. I was told that we don't make a contribution into medical so why should we do it now! If that had been done, your out of pocket toward medical would NOT be, as it currently stands, $24 WEEKLY!!!!!! with ANOTHER out of pocket raise on it's way! It would always stay at the same rate which we pay now as union dues!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALSO when the opt out was announced I saw our boss Neil and asked him why such a small opt out payment to those who choose it, ( Pioneer payed at the time $937 Mo. into medical to 1181 per member) He told me that he wanted it higher but the union WOULD NOT ALLOW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Draw you own conclusion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John Eadicicco · September 14, 2015, 05:28:33 PM

I was informed by Ernie that the Ppl that opt out, Neil MUST still contribute $24 weekly as if they still were in the plan! That is why 1181 approved the opt out plan!

Buzz · September 14, 2015, 05:28:59 PM

I don't know if this is feasible or would work out in our favor, but maybe it's time for the union to get out of the health insurance business and get us in a group plan through a health insurance company.

Just a thought.

hognol · September 15, 2015, 05:08:35 PM

Quote from: Rock Steady on September 13, 2015, 06:46:30 PM
The single biggest reason our medical is in deep shit is because of the opt-out's. It never should have been an option. And why is it an option, so the contractors can profit even more and still cry poverty ? give me a break. One of the unions biggest mistakes they let happen.

The single biggest reason our medical is in trouble is not because of the opt-outs. It's because 1181 lost 3,000 members. I agree, the opt-out does not help but it is a very small percentage compared to the loss of membership.

gigi11744 · September 15, 2015, 08:46:19 PM

Op -outs hurt no matter how u sugar coat it ,,funny thing he is taking the bigger chunk ,,,pigeons

hognol · September 15, 2015, 10:24:02 PM

Quote from: gigi11744 on September 15, 2015, 08:46:19 PM
Op -outs hurt no matter how u sugar coat it ,,funny thing he is taking the bigger chunk ,,,pigeons

I agree. However, I am not sugar coating anything. Just stating a fact about his statement, "The biggest single reason our medical is trouble is the opt-outs." I personally have another medical insurance from the city and did not opt-out. If the medical costs continue to sky rocket, I may strongly consider it.

Rock Steady · September 15, 2015, 10:27:32 PM

But John, the original purpose of contributing the $24.00 weekly was to pay for the retirees medical, not the employed. And the retirees plan has gotten worse over time.

Buzz · September 15, 2015, 10:47:34 PM

I used to think it shouldn't matter that much if people opt out or that we have 3000 fewer people contributing to the fund, because ... I erroneously reasoned ... there were that many fewer people, and their families, draining benefits so it should even out.

I did a little research and found that insurance companies, (as well as casinos), are guided by an established mathematical principal called "The Law of Large Numbers." Here is the explanation I found:

Law of Large Numbers

"In order to afford to cover the financial losses of its customers, an insurance company needs a very large base of members. For each different type of loss that they insure against, insurance companies have years of statistics that help them calculate how many losses they are likely to have. They are counting on the law of large numbers which, when applied to insurance, states that the more members in an insured group, the more likely it is that the number of actual losses will be very close to the number of expected losses. This law also applies to gambling casinos."

(Source: http://enlightenme.com/how-does-insurance-work)

So, if our numbers have decreased, whether through opt-outs or loss of members, to a point that the fund's losses can no longer be accurately predicted, we have a problem. I reiterate my suggestion that perhaps it's time for the union not to underwrite our health insurance but look into putting us into group coverage with a company like Blue Cross/Shield, for example.

John Eadicicco · September 24, 2015, 02:14:12 PM

Buzz how about applying that formula to a contract agreement? 1181 decided to negotiate separate contracts for all companies instead of one uniform contract for the industry!, as we had since 1979. In essence by doing this 1181 destroyed the EPP!

Buzz · September 24, 2015, 02:28:57 PM

Quote from: John Eadicicco on September 24, 2015, 02:14:12 PM
Buzz how about applying that formula to a contract agreement? 1181 decided to negotiate separate contracts for all companies instead of one uniform contract for the industry!, as we had since 1979. In essence by doing this 1181 destroyed the EPP!

I agree. However, until and unless we get back some form of EPP, I don't think it's going to happen.